Crossing borders EFFECTS OF DISPLACEMENT ON HEALTH THEMATIC FORUM IN JORDAN
From Oct. 6 to Oct. 12, the Atlantic Institute hosted a thematic forum in Jordan, the first of a new suite of gatherings for Senior Fellows designed in response to emerging themes and interest areas. Eighteen Senior Fellows from across the seven programs travelled to Jordan, joined by eight program staff members and the President and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies, Christopher G. Oechsli. They learned more about the factors surrounding displacement and how the Syrian refugee crisis has unfolded into what the UN has described as one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. The forum was designed to stimulate connection across all the programs, disciplines, cultures and ideologies in the spirit of curiosity, reciprocity and collaboration. It provided stimulating place-based content: Fellows were able to see firsthand the effects of displacement and hear about its effects on health through meeting Syrian and Jordanian people living through the crisis. The visit provided the group with significant opportunities to collaborate to explore how they might contribute to shifting the narrative on displacement. Tala Al-Rousan, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, who originates from Jordan, led on the design of the forum and provided guidance to ensure that while the wider goals of the thematic gathering were met, the visit was also conducted in a culturally sensitive way. Tala is a member of a Displacement Affinity Group, along with Durkhanai Ayubi, Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity; Dominic Campbell, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health; Zanele Figlan, Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in South Africa; Johnny Miller; Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity; and Luqman Yesufu, Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in South Africa. As well as contributing to the design of the convening, the Affinity Group led on facilitating workshops in Jordan and shaped the creative outputs. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Day one: Tala Al-Rousan and Rania Tarazi, Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity, who is also Jordanian, gave a presentation that introduced the group to the historical context of the land and its peoples. Day two: After presentations at Jordan University of Science and Technology, Fellows took part in a cooking session and had dinner with Syrian refugees.
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