Opening keynote: The constitutional and the compassionate: catalysing partnerships of hope
Vicky Tennant, UNHCR Representative to the United Kingdom, and Krish Kandiah, Founder and Director of the Sanctuary Foundation
In the last decade the number of people who have been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, or violence has nearly doubled to 122.2 million, equating to approximately 1 in every 67 people on Earth.
As such the role of the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has never been more important. Since its foundation 75 years ago it has continued to deliver life-saving aid and protection in emergencies, advocate for improved asylum laws, and help find long-term solutions for those affected. It’s an essential safety net for those seeking sanctuary.
However, it cannot act alone. Addressing forced displacement requires coordinated and united efforts rooted in partnership across a range of actors and entities – international, national, community-based, academia, private sector, refugees themselves, and more. Such a ‘whole of society’ approach, outlined in the Global Compact on Refugees, is vital to provide help for those in need that will allow them to return home when the time is right or build a future in a country of safety. The Sanctuary Foundation does just that, offering compassion and practical aid to those fleeing persecution.
In this keynote, against the backdrop of global forced displacement today, Vicky Tennant will talk about emerging challenges and evolving responses that can ensure host communities get the support they need and empower refugees to lead productive lives.
In turn, Dr Krish Kandiah will outline some of the work the Sanctuary Foundation has done within this framework, and the positive effect its work within communities has had for the life chances of refugees. He will explore the shifting national narrative on immigration in general and asylum in particular and point to important ways civil society, the arts and business can help tell a better story about immigration and humanitarian resettlement.
Together, they will discuss their different perspectives, their commonalities and differences, and will encourage a dialogue with the audience to understand how, by working together, they can catalyse partnerships of hope.
- Vicky Tennant is the UNHCR Representative to the United Kingdom. Educated at the University of Essex and Queen’s University, Belfast, she is a member of the English Bar. She has worked for UNHCR since 2000 in countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Myanmar and Syria.
- Dr Krish Kandiah OBE is Founder and Director of the Sanctuary Foundation. He is a social entrepreneur who has led the charge on mobilising civil society groups and churches as they have supported recent arrivals from Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Ukraine. He has helped to inspire and train thousands to care for vulnerable adults and children. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 2, 4 and GB News.