Towards a New Response to Forced Migration | LERRN-R-SEAT Webinar

On September 12, 2025, LERRN and R-SEAT hosted the panel discussion called Towards a New Response to Forced Migration through Local Engagement Refugee Research Network. The roundtable brought together academia and civil society partners with lived experience of displacement to announce the newly launched global partnership between academia and forcibly displaced communities (LERRN 2.0). It highlighted the need to prioritize new ways of incorporating the expertise of people with lived experiences of forced displacement into the functioning of the global refugee system. This includes fostering trust and investing in truly collaborative relationships between academics and forcibly displaced populations.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction by Rez Gardi.
03:49 Ana Maria Diez discusses the challenges she faces in her sector and region.
11:11 Stephanie López Villamil speaks about the challenges she sees in her research in South America.
15:24 James Milner discusses the challenges he faces as an academic in the global North.
19:54 James Milner talks about the possible changes needed in academia.
23:09 Ana Maria Diez discusses the importance of building trust.
26:37 Stephanie López Villamil shares what gives her hope.
30:57 Mustafa Alio speaks about why this partnership is important.
38:36 The panel answers questions from the audience.
57:32 Summary and closing remarks by Rez Gardi.

Speakers
Moderator - Rez Gardi
Co-Managing Director, R-SEAT
Profile: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/people/rez-...

Mustafa Alio
Managing Director, R-SEAT
Profile: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/people/must...

Ana Maria Diez
President of the Coalición for Venezuela
Profile: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/people/ana-...

Stephanie López Villamil
Gerda Henkel Foundation Scholarship Recipient; South America Project Lead Researcher
Profile: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/people/step...

James Milner
Project Director, LERRN
Profile: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/people/jame...

Organized by:

LERRN is a team of researchers and practitioners committed to promoting protection and solutions with and for refugees. The goal is to ensure that refugee research, policy and practice are shaped by a more inclusive, equitable and informed collective engagement of civil society.

LERRN Website: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/
Twitter:   / lerrning   @Lerrning
Facebook:   / lerrning  
LinkedIn:   / lerrning  

R-SEAT is an international initiative working to enhance the effectiveness of global refugee responses by co-designing mechanisms to amplify refugee leadership ecosystems and increase the participation of refugees at state levels in a meaningful, sustainable, and transformative way.

R-SEAT Website: https://www.refugeesseat.org/


Edited by Madison Eldridge