WHEN: May 28-29, 2021
WHERE: Bogotá, Colombia
CONTACT: [email protected]

Globally, there are an estimated 79.5 million people who have fled their homes due to conflict, violence, and persecution. This includes refugees (26 million), internally displaced persons (45.7 million), and asylum seekers (4.2 million). Nearly 85 percent of these forcibly displaced are hosted by the developing countries (UNHCR Global Trends, 2019).

Given the scale and the complexity of the crises, the World Bank and UNHCR have significantly stepped up their joint initiatives on forced displacement, through analytical work; collaboration with governments on microdata collection; and joint missions to inform the Bank’s programming on refugee situations, particularly through IDA18 and the Global Concessional Financing Facility. To further synergize efforts, both organizations, with support from the Danish government, have set up the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement (JDC) to improve the quality and quantity of data on forcibly displaced persons and host communities.

Part of the JDC mandate is to stimulate research and data around forcibly displaced persons and enhance the ability of stakeholders to make timely and evidence-based policy decisions. To support this, the JDC hosts an annual Research Conference on Forced Displacement, with the following objectives:

• to stimulate the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data-based evidence on forcibly displaced populations, with special emphasis on microdata.
• to develop a community of practice among stakeholders who are engaged in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of forced displacement data.

The JDC’s 2nd Research Conference on Forced Displacement will be held on May 28-29, 2021 in Bogotá, Colombia, in partnership with the School of Economics at Universidad de los Andes.  The conference will gather academics, practitioners, and policymakers for interactive presentations, panel debates, and policy sessions on the latest data and evidence on forced displacement, with a special emphasis on research on internally displaced populations. The conference will be preceded by a Policy Forum on Forced Displacement on May 27, 2021.

Call for papers

The JDC solicits submission of papers on the collection and analysis of microdata on forcibly displaced populations and their hosts. Therefore, the Center invites researchers and practitioners to submit completed papers or extended abstracts to be considered for inclusion in the conference, at [email protected]  by  October 31, 2020. The papers will be selected by a scientific committee comprising senior practitioners and academics from the World Bank, UNHCR, Harvard University, and Universidad de los Andes.

The final selection will be notified by January 06, 2021.  Economy air travel and hotel will be covered for one presenter for each paper.

The 2nd Research Conference on Forced Displacement will have a particular – albeit not exclusive – focus on research on internally displaced persons. The choice of the conference venue is therefore not accidental. Colombia has endured over 60 years of protracted conflict and has the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world. Moreover, there is a track record of policies, program design, and academic research related to the humanitarian and development responses to the displacement crisis in Colombia. The Colombian experience can be informative to promote new research and gather attention on emerging scholarship on this topic from around the world.

A final conference program will be shared in January 2021, which will include multiple academic sessions, side events, and a dedicated policy session. 

Key note speakers (tentative):

• Ana María Ibáñez: Principal Economics Advisor at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and a Professor at the School of Economics in Universidad de los Andes
• Edward Miguel: Oxfam Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics, Dept. of Economics, Berkeley University of California and Faculty Director of the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA)

Read the Full Call for Papers