Post by Refugee Advisory Board Germany (RAB Germany)

🟣Refugee participation also means shaping the conversation. ➡️ Abdul Basir Zarify, member of the #RABGermany, recently moderated the 26th Berlin Symposium on Refugee Protection, guiding participants through two days of discussions, panels and exchanges on the future of refugee protection 75 years after the adoption of the Geneva Refugee Convention. The symposium brought together representatives from civil society, academia, government, legal practice and refugee-led initiatives to discuss current challenges to refugee protection and the importance of defending asylum and human rights in an increasingly difficult political environment. By moderating this event, Basir helped create space for dialogue across sectors and perspectives, demonstrating the important role that people with lived experience can play not only as contributors, but as facilitators of high-level policy discussions. We thank the organisers for their trust and for their commitment to meaningful refugee participation. Furthermore, we particularly thank Dr. Max Oliver Schmidt, Nina Alizadeh Marandi, Dr. Friederike Krippner, Katharina Thote, Lars Castellucci, Clara Anne Bünger, Marcel Emmerich, Sebastian Fiedler, Prälatin Dr. Anne Gidion, Julie Lejeune, Erik Marquardt and the present board member Majdi Laktinah for fostering this dialogue! Evangelische Akademie zu Berlin, Amnesty International, AWO Bundesverband e.V., Caritas, Deutscher Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband - Gesamtverband e.V., Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, Diakonie Deutschland, PRO ASYL, Neue Richter*innenvereinigung e.V., Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV), Handicap International - Humanity & Inclusion, Terre des Hommes, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Informationsverbund Asyl und Migration e. V., Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe #RefugeeAdvisoryBoard