Innovation, Resilience and Economic Empowerment of Urban Refugee in Uganda.

Keynote Address delivered by Donnas Ojok at the inaugural #RiseUpForRefugees Forum on the 17.10.2018 at Makerere University, Kampala.

It is my singular honor and privilege to give the keynote address at the inaugural #RiseUp4Refugees Forum. An honor because to me this forum is no ordinary gathering but a testament that an idea once refined, shared, supported and tried is indeed the commencement of something revolutionary and truly impactful. Its fulfilling to be part of that idea.

A privilege because standing here this afternoon is a stark reminder that we should always defy odds and not let our ambitions, dreams and hopes for a better future be thwarted by where we come from.

I was raised up in Camp-Swahili, then an urban refugee settlement slum in Lira town, Northern Uganda. At height of the LRA conflict in the early 2000s, our homestead was an IDP settlement camp with over 300 victims of forced displacement.

This experience of growing up in a neighborhood surrounded by Nubian and Congolese refugees and my parents hosting IDPs at home has shaped my worldview of regarding and treating refugees as full human beings whose social, economic and political rights must be guaranteed as reflected in the 1951 Convention on the Rights and Protection of Refugees.

But that childhood exposure has also made me an advocate and a staunch supporter of refugees to be integrated as key stakeholders in the formal economy. I do this by creating avenues for enhancing their capabilities, directly creating opportunities to utilize their skills or influencing public policies through my research undertakings and shaping conversations by tirelessly working to provide spaces for and contribute constructively to dialogues on forced displacement, for instance, through NoSSCOU an umbrella network of South Sudanese NGOs in Uganda where I am a co-convener; RISE-UP project which I co-founded and RISE-UP African Fashions and its subsidiary, the Hub located on Kampala road where I am the chief executive.

But enough about me. Let’s delve a bit deeper into the theme of the conversation this afternoon.

‘’Innovation, Resilience and Economic Empowerment of Urban Refugees’’ is not only a timely theme but it is also very relevant for Uganda because of two reasons:

Firstly, the spike in the numbers of people seeking refugee across borders is its all-time high. By Oct 2018, over 68.2 million people were displaced worldwide, driven from their homes by famine, conflict and natural disasters. This is more than at any time since the WWII. More than half (about 60 million) of these refugees are urban residents.

In fact, data from UNHCR indicate just 30% of all refugees live in planned camps administered by government and international agencies[1].

Their move to cities is often based on a perception that cities offer better economic opportunities, increased security and greater access to services[2].

While in urban areas, reality usually do set in as refugees join millions of other youth in the host communities who are also facing the wrath of unemployment. This compound on the multiple pathologies of urbanization such as slums proliferation and crime among others.

Secondly, we are a global leader in refugee management not only by hosting capacity but mostly because of our unique and unconventional ‘open doors’ national framework that allows refugees to almost enjoy all state benefits as her nationals.

Whilst many of you might have just learnt about the progressive refugee management approach quite recently, this approach is probably as old as the history of refugees in Uganda. For instance, my mother and Majuma, a Nubian refugee were both vendors at Lira Main Market about 20 years ago.

Myself and Hasan, Majuma’s son hawked groundnuts snacks in the streets of Lira town as children supplementing our single mothers’ incomes. Yes, the 2006 Refugee Act cemented this progressiveness as a national strategy, but we must appreciate that Ugandans and refugees have interacted, related and traded with each other for decades.

The political and social will in Uganda therefore provides a conducive environment for refugees to be more resilient and innovative. If I had time, I could list dozens of new products, services and activities introduced to my childhood neighborhood by refugees but let me just recall the samosa, pillao and bagia delicacies, the floral kitenge dress-code, Lingala music and dance styles which were all popularized by the Congolese and Nubian refugees in my hometown.

The juxtaposing promise of a permissive legal environment and a receptive host communities’ dynamic enables entrepreneurialism and market-based initiatives to thrive amidst the multiple challenges as refugees find alternative ways to creatively solve problems using their own skills, talents and ambitions.

As noted by Alexander Betts and his friends from Oxford University, this creative problem solving through enterprises do not only enable individual refugees to earn an income, but they also contribute to building skills, services and resources in their communities, creating platforms upon which other people can also succeed[3].

Unfortunately, ‘’this bottom-up innovation by refugees, they note, has always been neglected by mainstream humanitarian world. This oversight disregards the capabilities and adaptive resourcefulness that refugees often demonstrate’’[4].

This is our entry point.

While many projects designed and implemented to support refugees treat them as vulnerable and passive victims, the Refugee Innovation and Sustainable Enterprise — Urban Project (RISE-UP Project) defies this logic and instead regards and treats urban refugees as key assets, problem solvers and constructive agents of socio-economic development.

The RISE-UP idea is built on the simple notion that innovation flourishes in supportive environments with incentives for urban refugees to engage actively and constructively. To us, innovation isn’t some rocket science invention or a mind blowing discovery. Rather, it is the simple application of new ideas to solve existing social and economic problems. Perhaps, it can be best understood as ‘’using the resources and opportunities around you in a particular context, to do something different to what has been done before’’[5].

RISE-UP’s intervention follows an innovation logic where, together with urban refugees, we identify a problem, ideate and identify feasible solutions, pilot the interventions and scale up operations. At the heart of the RISE-UP intervention is the flexibility to adjust according to market demands and the attention and willingness to act on the constructive feedbacks generated by the various stakeholders involved and through scientific undertakings such as market surveys to inform key decision making.

The innovation of the project is the provision of a collaborative ecosystem that enables urban refugees to expand their skills, social and economic networks; nurture their talents and be integrated into the economy as productive economic actors and community leaders. This is done along a spectrum of several value-chains in many products ranging from leather works, recycling, fashion and design, computerized visual illustration, video and audio production, arts and craft to mention but just a few.

Providing an ecosystem that facilitates urban refugee’s economic empowerment involves a plethora of engagements such as leadership development seminars, entrepreneurship trainings and innovation camping excursions.

This past two days, for instance, we gathered urban refugees to engage in pop-up innovation challenges such as building banana towers and practical but simple hands-on skills like professional facial makeup, home décor and baking. We even had unconventional luminaries like Nabwana Isaac who started Ramon Film Productions, aka, Wakalihood, a thriving film industry out of Wakaliga slum to share insights on leadership and entrepreneurship.

This might sound so usual and basic to many; but for Janet, a young Congolese single mother with two children, the session on creative bottle decorating was eye-opening. ‘’I didn’t know that small pieces of thrown-away kitenge fabrics can be used to beautify and add value to discarded bottles of wine for home décor. It amazing how we can some create value and make money out of nothing’’ she exclaimed in excitement.

Like Janet, just the two-days innovation camping execution felt like flipping through the pages of a new chapter in an adventure book. That’s the RISE-UP adventure book we have set-off to write. It won’t only be gripping tales of reaching the unsurmountable peak but also the painful efforts to traverse the snows, rains and sun burns to get there.

Together, lets #RiseUpForRefugees and #StandWithRefugees.

Thank you!

[1] UNHCR 2017. UNHCR and the 2030 Agenda — SDGs. Preliminary Guidance Note.

[2] World Bank (2017). Cities of Refuge in The Middle East: Bringing an Urban Lens to The Forced Displacement Challenge. Policy Brief.

[3] Betts A, Bloom L & Weaver N (2015). Refugee Innovation: Humanitarian Innovation that starts with Communities. Humanitarian Refugee Project, University of Oxford.

[4] Ibid

[5] ibid