Courses: Center for Migration and Refugee Studies Winter Short Courses

Source: Forced Migration List – http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/forced-migration.html.

Center for Migration and Refugee Studies
Winter Short Courses 1-19 February, 2015

The Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at The American University in Cairo (AUC) is offering the following three short courses during the month of February 2015:

. Refugees hosted during political transitions: Understanding the Protection Needs of Vulnerable Migrants and Refugees (February 1-5, 2015)
. Training Skills for Trainers of Psychosocial and Mental Health Workers in Countries Affected by Emergencies (February 8- 12, 2015)
. International Refugee Law (February 15-19 , 2015)

Eligibility for all courses

Requirements: These courses are offered for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers as well as practitioners working with migrants and refugees. A minimum knowledge of displacement and migration terminologies and context is a requirement for participation in any of the three courses.

All courses are conducted in English and no translation facilities are provided. Participants should have a sufficient command of the English language. The courses will be from 9 am till 5pm for five days.
Interested applicants can apply for one course or for all the three courses. Different deadlines are specified for each course as indicated below.

The fee for each course is $ 500. Independent researchers and students can apply for the limited number of scholarships. The scholarships cover only tuition waiver – applicants are responsible for their flight and accommodation.

Number of Participants: minimum of 12

NB: Non-Egyptian applicants are strongly encouraged to apply three weeks before the course start, in order to have enough time to obtain their visa.

Venue

All courses will take place in AUC Tahrir Campus in Downtown Cairo. The exact location and room numbers will be forwarded to accepted participants before the start of the courses.

Course Descriptions

Refugees hosted during political transitions: Understanding the Protection Needs of Vulnerable Migrants and Refugees (February 1-5, 2015)

At times of political turmoil in host countries, refugees and migrants receive the least attention.  Being hit by waves of xenophobia and arbitrary policies, they become increasingly vulnerable.  This course aims to examine the meaning and factors of vulnerability in the context of the protection framework through which service providers and refugees operate in transitioning host countries with a focus on Egypt. It will focus on understanding the needs of specific groups at risk such as: Unaccompanied Minors, SGBV survivors, Irregular migrants at the borders, Victims of Trafficking, Detainees, medically vulnerable and closed files or those with no permits. Using a variety of interactive methods including lectures, audiovisuals, group assignments and fieldwork, the course will cover the main protection challenges faced by migrants and service providers catering to them alike with a focus on Egypt. The course will look at the risks faced by vulnerable groups and opportunities they have manifested in community networks and service provision.  At the end of the course, participants in groups will explore case studies and will come up with recommendations for a protection framework in light of the local context. To learn from best practices, during the course, participants will be required to give an individual presentation on their area of expertise related to the overall theme of the course. The course will also host practitioner representing service providers catering to migrants and refugees as well as community leaders and community-based organizations.

About the Instructor

Sara Sadek is a PhD Candidate at the Center for Applied Human Rights, Politics Department at the University of York, UK. She obtained her B.A in Political Science at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and her M.A in Refugee Studies at the University of East London (UEL), UK. She is currently a consultant and trainer in the field of migration and protection in Egypt and MENA region. She has lead and participated in a series of medium to large-scale needs assessments and research projects in the realm of protection and migration as a researcher and consultant for international organizations and academic institutions. To name a few: the International Organization for Migration (IOM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Save the Children (SC), Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), Egyptian Foundation for Refugee Rights (EFRR),  the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo (AUC), University of East London, the French Institute for the Near East (IFPO), Duke University,  and Center for Applied Human Rights at the University of York, UK. Research topics covered: trafficking and smuggling, mixed migratory flows, domestic labor, unaccompanied minors, survivors of Sexual and Gender-based Violence, Diaspora and transnational communities, child protection, livelihoods and socio-economic rights, citizenship, narratives of Iraqi and Syrian displacements, transitional justice and civil society groups. She has published widely on the topic of Iraqi displacement in MENA and urban refugees in Egypt. For the past few years, she has been engaged in a variety of initiatives and projects through providing trainings for government officials and civil society groups to bridge the gap between migrants and local communities.

Deadlines for submitting application for this course are:

. 1st of January, 2015
. Deadline for paying course deposit (30% of the course fee) is the 5th of January, 2015

Training Skills for Trainers of Psychosocial and Mental Health Workers in Countries Affected by Emergencies (February 8-12, 2015)

Refugees and migrants struggle with the mental health and psychosocial consequences of their experiences in the aftermath of wars, conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies. Efforts for mental health and psychosocial supportive services span the globe and are often part of aid operations. Professionals commonly need to prepare the teams to provide these services.

During this short course, participants will have opportunities to share their experiences and practice new skills. They will learn practical techniques for how they can best train the workers who will provide the psychosocial and mental health support during emergencies. They will learn how to design a curriculum that moves from theory to applied skills and about participatory and experiential training techniques including how to give an effective presentation, facilitate a discussion and practically use experiential training techniques, such as role play, drama and storytelling.

About the Instructor

Nancy Baron is the Director of the Psychosocial Services and Training Institute in Cairo and Global Psycho-Social Initiatives (GPSI). She received her Doctorate in Education at the University of Massachusetts, U.S.A., with a concentration in Family Therapy and Counseling Psychology. Since 1989, she has provided consultation, assessment, training, program design and development, research and evaluation for UN organizations and international and local NGOs in community and family focused psychosocial, mental health and peace building initiatives for conflict and post-conflict countries. She has lived and worked with emergency affected populations in the Middle East: Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Occupied Palestinian Territories; Jordan and Lebanon; in Africa: Burundi, Egypt, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda; in Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan and Sri Lanka; in Eastern Europe: Kosovo and Albania; in South America: Colombia; and in the South Pacific: Solomon Islands. Some of her related publications can be found on www.mhpss.net

Deadline for submitting applications to this course:

. 4th of January, 2015
. Deadline for paying course deposit (30% of the course fee) is the 8th of January, 2015

International Refugee Law (February 15 – 19, 2015)

The course will provide post-graduate students, international agency staff, NGO workers, lawyers and others working with refugees or interested in refugee issues with an introduction to the international legal framework which governs the protection of refugees.  Through lectures, case studies and  small group discussions, course participants will learn about the basic features of international refugee law through the lens of the 1951 Refugee Convention, looking at the elements of the definition(s) of “refugee,” who is excluded from the definition, the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the process by which refugee status is determined, the rights of refugees under international law, the ethical and professional obligations of those representing refugees, and other issues of refugee policy.  A background in law is useful but not required.

About the Instructor

Parastou Hassouri has previously taught international refugee law at the American University of Cairo and has extensive experience in the field of international refugee law and refugee and immigrant rights and migration policy. Most recently, as a consultant with the Global Detention Project, she researches the issue of migration-related detention in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Her previous experience also includes serving as a consultant with the UNHCR in the Zaaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, and with the UNHCR office in Moscow. Prior to that, as a consultant for Human Rights First, she conducted extensive research on the resettlement of Iraqi refugees out of the Middle East to third countries. She has worked as a Legal Advisor and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Focal Point at Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) in Cairo. Her experience in the United States includes serving as an Attorney Advisor at the Immigration Courts of New York City and Los Angeles and working as an immigration attorney in private practice in New York City. In addition, she designed and directed the Immigrant Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, where she focused on responding to ethnic profiling and other forms of anti-immigrant backlash in the United States in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11.

Deadlines for submitting applications to this course:

. 8th of January, 2015
. Deadline for paying course deposit (30% of the course fee) is the 13th of January, 2015

Application procedure for all courses:

1. Fill out the application form. The form is available on the CMRS website: http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/Pages/CMRS-Winter-2015-Short-Courses.aspx

2. Send the application form to cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu with your most recent C.V, Att. Ms. Naseem Hashim

Applicants may apply to and be accepted in more than one course. Please do not hesitate to contact cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu if you have any difficulty with the application process.

Applicants accepted for the course will be notified by email within a week after the deadline for submitting the application.

Participants are expected to pay a 30% of the total fees ($150) as a deposit. Please pay attention to the deposit deadline for each course and kindly note that the deposit is non-refundable. More information on payment method will be provided to accepted participants.

Tuition fees will cover course material and two coffee breaks per course day. Any other expenses are not included.