Tag: Refugees

How One Non-Profit Champions the Voices of Refugees

On World Refugee Day, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) calls on us to “champion [the right of refugees] to seek safety, build support for their economic and social inclusion, and advocate for solutions to their plight.”   We recently sat down with Chris Khoury and Cheri Chan from Voice of Refugees, a referral […]

The WES Economic Inclusion Forum: Building a Future for Immigrants and Refugees in the U.S.

“Investing in immigrant and refugee inclusion is investing in the future of America.” —Eva Millona, Assistant Secretary for Partnership and Engagement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security     Eva Millona, a panelist at the World Education Services (WES) Economic Inclusion Forum, captured the prevailing sentiment at this gathering of nationwide partners, immigrant and […]

Increasing Access to Higher Education for Refugees: State Policy Solutions

In May of 2022, the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations, and persecution surpassed 100 million for the first time. Approximately 40% of these individuals are refugees. Data from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) shows that in 2020 around half of refugees worldwide were under the age […]

The #UntappedTalent Campaign Calls for Policies that Create Inclusive Economies

This September, the IMPRINT Coalition launched the #UntappedTalent: Inclusive Economies for All campaign to spotlight the need for policy reforms that increase the economic mobility of immigrants and refugees in the United States. The campaign launched last month with the support of 15 partner organizations and has since grown to include 40 additional organizations who […]

Nevada’s Commitment to Welcoming Immigrants and Refugees Drives Growth

Two decades ago, Nevada was home to just over 100,000 immigrants and refugees, or 8.7 percent of its total population of 1.2 million. Yet as of 2020, the number of people in the state has mushroomed to 3.1 million, with immigration driving much of the growth. Nevada’s population is now 20 percent foreign-born, and the […]

How Community Colleges Provide Workforce Ed to Immigrants and Refugees

Members of the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE) will convene on October 6-7, with the timely mission of mobilizing community colleges to activate a workforce that supports the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the nation’s full economic recovery. Rallying around NCWE’s core value of “workforce education for all,” conference session […]

‘Improving Opportunities’ Legislation Passes House with Bipartisan Support

Last week, bipartisan legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives, putting the United States a step closer to envisioning a workforce that works for all. First introduced in August 2020 as a stand-alone bill with bipartisan support, the Improving Opportunities for New Americans Act was reintroduced in June 2021 with six bipartisan co-sponsors. The legislation […]

How Buffalo’s Commitment to Immigrant Inclusion Reversed Decades of Decline

The 2020 census revealed a trend that city leaders in Buffalo, New York, had not seen in seven decades: growth. As of last year, the city was home to 278,349 residents, a 6.5 percent increase since 2010. The growth, the first recorded in Buffalo since the 1950 census, is the result of a dedicated effort […]

Advancing Inclusion From Capitol Hill to Local Economies

WES Global Talent Bridge is publishing a series of blog posts that highlight the critical work and unique perspectives of IMPRINT network members. This month, WES Global Talent Bridge communications and policy consultant Sara McElmurry connected with Jina Krause-Vilmar, president and CEO of Upwardly Global, a national non-profit that eliminates employment barriers for immigrant and […]

New Network Expands Workforce Opportunity

An immigrant from France who is also the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants developed a supportive community that would help immigrant women in New York obtain meaningful employment and pursue higher education. The resulting network has since become a registered non-profit with more than 450 participants and alumni dedicated to empowering immigrant and refugee women.   […]

Spotlight: St. Louis – Navigating Change to Forge New Pathways

St. Louis’s Bevo Mill neighborhood—home to a corridor of immigrant-owned restaurants, markets, and salons—is known as “Little Bosnia,” a testament to the city’s revitalization by the tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees who arrived there in the 1990s, fleeing conflict in the Balkans. The newcomers made important contributions to the city, launching both businesses and […]

A Way Forward for Refugees: Findings from the WES Pilot Project Released Today

Toronto, February 22, 2018 – At a stakeholder forum in Toronto today World Education Services (WES) announced the results of a pilot study it conducted to determine if a reliable process to help Syrian refugees to Canada obtain credential assessments – even in the absence of verifiable documents from their home country – is possible […]