Now Published: 2024 – 2025 Newsletter

It was in late 2015 that the idea first emerged for a seven-year collaboration between academics and community partners to understand and enhance the role of civil society in the functioning of the global refugee regime. At the time, the world was witnessing the failure of European states to collectively respond to the needs of some 1 million people seeking asylum. Looking back on the past decade, we see how much has changed while so much stays the same. Collective action to realize protection and solutions, both with and for refugees, is arguably harder than ever, but there is a deeper understanding of the inequalities and power asymmetries and frustrate these efforts. While progress is slow, there is a deeper appreciation of the role that refugee participation, diverse forms of knowledge and shifting power must play in the process of change.

LERRN has played an important role in broader collective efforts to encourage this process of change. Through research, training, mentorship, knowledge mobilization and policy engagement, LERRN has demonstrated the benefits that come from being guided by the priorities of those most affected by displacement. This approach has led to new questions, new perspectives, and new possibilities. As the stories in this newsletter make clear, our seventh year has been one of our busiest.

But we aren’t done yet. Stay tuned for exciting details on what comes next for LERRN…

James Milner
Project Director, LERRN