Responding to the Afghan Refugee Crisis in the United States and Canada

Online Webinar on June 20, 2022 — 11:00 am – 2:15 pm (EST) | 8:00 am – 11:15 am (PST)

Organized by Metropolis CARES (Coalition to Assist Refugee Entry and Settlement) an initiative of the Metropolis Institute

OPENING REMARKS

11:00 am – 11:15 am (EST) / 8:00 am – 8:15 am (PST)

  • Jennifer MacIntyre, Assistant Deputy Minister for Afghanistan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Ottawa, Canada
  • Julieta Valls Noyes, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), US Department of State, Washington, DC, USA

PANEL 1 (PANEL SESSION)

Welcoming Afghan Refugees in Canada and the United States

11:15 am – 12:30 pm (EST) / 8:15 am – 9:30 am (PST)

  • Session Chair: Jasteena Dhillion, Professor, Humber College / University of Windsor, Toronto, Canada
  • Chris George, Executive Director, IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, New Haven, USA
  • John Biles, Director, PNT Integration at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Calgary, Canada
  • Wendy Cukier, Founding Committee – Lifeline Afghanistan / Professor, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Founder & Academic Director of the Diversity Institute, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto, Canada
  • Jack Jedwab, President & CEO, ACS-Metropolis Institute, Montreal, Canada
  • Kit Taintor, Vice President of Policy and Practice, Welcome US, USA

PANEL 2 (ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION)

Meeting the Challenges Encountered by Afghan Refugees in the United States and Canada

12:45 pm – 2:00 pm (EST) / 9:45 am – 11:00 am (PST)

  • Session Chair: Rebecca Neuwirth, Executive Vice President, Upwardly Global, USA
  • Aziz Rafee, Executive Director, Afghan Civil Society Forum-organization
  • Rebecca Fishman, Special Projects Lead and Afghan Response Coordinator, Upwardly Global, USA
  • Fariborz Birjandian, CEO, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • Lori Wilkinson, Canada Research Chair in Migration Futures, Professor, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
  • Elizabeth Frank, Director, Sponsor Circle Program, Community Sponsorship Hub, USA

CLOSING REMARKS

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm (EST) / 11:00 am – 11:15 am (PST)

  • Lloyd Axworthy, Chair, World Refugee & Migration Council
  • Anne Richard, Distinguished Fellow and Afghanistan Coordination Lead, Freedom House, Washington, DC, USA