Resources for Policymakers

Announcement Of International Pre-conference Event

Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD) in collaboration with the
International Consortium of Developmental Science Societies (ICDSS) 
Funded by Jacobs Foundation

Development of Refugee Children and Youth Living in Camps during COVID19
Organized by Frosso Motti-Stefanidi & Velma McBride Murry, Co-Chairs

During the past decade, the world has been witnessing an unprecedented number of people from around the world fleeing their country due to conflict, persecution or natural disaster. Since 2018 there are 30 million refugees, over half of which are under the age of 18. These children and youth often live and grow under dire conditions in refugee camps. In this context, the pandemic has further threatened their development and wellbeing.

SRCD in collaboration with ICDSS will organize an online Preconference Event funded by Jacobs Foundation. The pre-conference event will focus on the topic “Development of Refugee Children and Youth Living in Camps during COVID19”.

The event will take place on April 6th, 2021, which is the day before the online SRCD conference.

The first part of the event will include half-hour presentations by experts in the field focusing on the challenges and resources for refugee youth living in camps in the context of the pandemic. The following issues will be addressed:

1. What is the environment of camps where children and youth live and grow?
2. What are the challenges and what matters for children and youth development during the pandemic and for refugee children and youth living in camps?
3. What are the policy implications of these findings for promoting the resilience of refugee youth living in camps, and particularly during the pandemic?

The presenters and titles of their presentations are:

1. Professor Dr. Suha Al-Hassan, Emirates College for Advanced Education, Jordan
   “Life of children and youth in refugee camps: The case of Syrian refugee children in Jordan”

2. Professor Dr. Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University London, UK.
   “Predictors of risk and resilience in Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon”

3. Professor Dr. Susan Branje, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
   “Risk and resilience in youth adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic”

4. Professor Dr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, NYU Steinhardt, USA
   “New approaches to considering culture and human development in work with refugee populations in the Middle East and South Asia” 

The first part will also include break-out sessions: Conference attendees will be assigned to small groups to discuss issues presented during the first part and will develop an agenda to guide future research and policies.

The second part of the event will consist of the poster symposium. For this part ten (10) young scholars will be paired with a colleague to engage in a capacity-building event. The 10 young scholars will present a poster focusing on different aspects of the topic of the pre-conference event (refugee status, COVID 19, and/or policy implications). The pairs of scholars will work together on the preparation of the poster and a brief oral presentation of the work presented in the poster. They will share their experience of working with refugee children and youth and/or in the context of a pandemic, as well as their experience in preparing to present this work at an international scientific event.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

SRCD Preconference Event Participant Registration: SRCD is inviting attendees for this pre-conference event on “Development of Refugee Children and Youth Living in Camps during COVID19”. Learn more HERE.

Poster Symposium Presenters: Please see the application form for criteria to participate and other information.

Mentors: Please see the application form for criteria to participate and other information.