Updates on Our Progress

BY Andrea Vidal

It has been a busy few weeks for Urban Refuge both here in Boston and in Amman, and we would like to share the latest with you!

Recently, Professor Noora Lori went to Amman with the goal of further establishing Urban Refuge in the city, finding more information for the database, and pulling together a team that will work with us on the ground. She also received invaluable feedback on the usability of the app, which we will consider incorporating once she comes back to Boston. Professor Lori was able to visit the UNHCR, the Jordanian Royal Geographic Centre, and the Ministry for Planning and International Cooperation, and Microsoft – Jordan. All of this forms part of our preparation for the app's launch in May!

In Boston, my Co-Director, Ellie Hitt, and myself had the honor of being the closing keynote speakers at Weston High School for their Forced Migration Symposium. We spoke to roughly 100 students on our process, the refugee crisis, and how they as students can engage with issues that they are passionate about. It was so special to be able to connect with younger students who were specifically passionate about forced migration and refugee rights. We left Weston's campus more motivated than ever to continue our work and to continue engaging with students of all ages. At Urban Refuge we firmly believe that with a little bit of initiative, lots of questions, and a good attitude, anything is possible.

Apart from these two big events, our team has been hard at work researching other potential cities, putting together an outreach strategy to implement in Jordan once the app is widely available, applying to grants, and translating all of our content to Arabic.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to get involved, please feel free to send us an email at CEO@urbanrefuge.org.