On Thursday 1 July 2022, the Strong Cities Network (SCN) hosted the second in its four-part webinar series on one of the most pressing urban issues of our time: city-level responses to refugee flows. The series explores different city-level responses across the refugee response cycle, bringing together officials and non-government actors from across the world to share their experiences.

In this online conversation, we explore the period after the initial influx of refugees. Cities face immediate and urgent questions about how to effectively and humanely respond to the rapid inflow of large populations due to conflict, natural disasters, or socio-economic crises. To prevent the complete overwhelming of local government capacity, this webinar examines effective rapid response mechanisms that both address immediate challenges and help strengthen the social cohesion and community resilience that are essential for preventing extremist and hate-motivated violence.

Speakers:

• Julio Andrade, Director of CIFAL Malaga, Spain
• Fariborz Birjandian, CEO, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, Canada
• Manny Castro, Commissioner at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, United States
• Angela K. Plummer, Executive Director of Community Refugee & Immigration Services, United States

Moderator:

• Jasmine El Gamal, Senior Manager AMEA, Institute for Strategic Dialogue