students at the “Populations on the Move” conference.
The University of Iowa Global Health Studies Program, the UI Center for Human Rights, International Programs, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences hosted a conference April 7-9 entitled, “Populations on the Move: Health and Human Rights of Refugees and Immigrants.”
Attended by 150 UI students, the event featured over 20 speakers who addressed “the humanitarian challenge created by over 65 million individuals displaced by violent conflict and the increasingly frequent deadly natural and environmental disasters.”
Keynote presenters included Anne-Marie McGranaghan (Associate Resettlement Officer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington, DC), who gave an overview of global trends in refugee displacement; and Mark Grey (Program Director, University of Northern Iowa Center for Immigrant Leadership and Integration), who spoke on “New Patterns of Human Migration in Iowa.”
The conference provided students the opportunity to respond to the ethical and legal aspects of refugee and immigrant status on both a national and global level through small-group discussions, Q&A periods, and formal written assignments.
The conference was open to all UI students but was a required course for the Global Health Studies B.A. and B.S., which were implemented in the fall of 2016.
