The World Refugee Council and the Aspen Ministers Forum co-hosted this working meeting to explore the integration of technology into the governance and lives of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). One of the first of its kind, this multi-stakeholder event brought together representatives from the private sector and civil society as well as researchers and former political leaders to explore the challenges and opportunities in the use of technology and its potential to transform the global refugee system.
This workshop’s participants discussed technology’s potential to mobilize political will and increase accountability, facilitate greater responsibility sharing, assist in mobilizing new funding sources and improve the efficiency of existing ones, as well as technology’s risks to the refugee system and individuals and how the risks can be mitigated. They also discussed how refugees and IDPs can be included in the development of these technologies and how major technological communities and hubs can transform themselves to reflect the diversity of these populations. Creating a foundation of shared understandings about how technology fits into the refugee and IDP field is the first step toward designing a more strategic and long-term vision.
The event and this publication were made possible in part by support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
