These are the rooms where refugee policy is actually decided. R-SEAT's work is to make sure the response that comes out of them is better — because someone it affects helped shape it. Slide the line to travel, or let it play.
The journey · 2023 — 2026 · drag the line to travel through time
R-Space at GRF 2023Geneva, Switzerland
R-Space at UNGA 2025New York, USA
Second UNHCR candidates dialogueGeneva, Switzerland
R-Space at the GRF Progress ReviewGeneva, Switzerland
R-Space at IMRF 2026New York, USA
Rethinking the International Refugee Regime 75 years laterUERJ - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
R-Space High Level Panel & Reception at UNGA 2026ahead
R-Space at UNGA 2026ahead
TODAY
Dec 2023
Stop 01 · 08
11 – 14 Dec 2023Geneva, Switzerland
R-Space at the Global Refugee Forum 2023
R-Space's presence at the Global Refugee Forum 2023 in Geneva — the world's largest refugee gathering — where R-SEAT carried refugee leaders' recommendations into the Forum and later assessed how far participation actually reached the decisions.
Refugee leaders in direct dialogue with the candidates for UN High Commissioner for Refugees, hosted by R-Space during UN General Assembly week in New York.
R-Space at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025 in Geneva — the setting for R-SEAT's reflection 'Participation for Purpose: Seen. Heard? Trusted?'
Mixed Movements as a Governance Challenge: Strengthening Migration Pathways and Asylum Systems in Parallel
An R-Space session in New York during the International Migration Review Forum 2026 on strengthening migration pathways and asylum systems in parallel.
14 – 17 Sep 2026UERJ - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Rethinking the International Refugee Regime 75 years later
R-SEAT is kicking off an exciting week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!
Through LERRN, a research network co-led by R-SEAT and Carleton University, we're joining a week of dialogue and knowledge-sharing from a Global South perspective.
From September 14–18, the programme brings together:
The International Seminar "Rethinking the International Refugee Regime 75 Years Later from the Perspective of the Global South"
The 17th National Seminar of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Chairs (CSVM) and UNHCR
The launch of the LERRN Institute 2026, with a workshop and sessions on the future of refugee research and leadership
Hosted by PUC-Rio and UERJ, with LERRN among the organizing partners, the week connects research, practice and lived experience.
Our Latin America Regional Lead, Maria Guevara, will join conversations on Brazil, refugee leadership, meaningful participation and the future of the refugee regime.
A week to listen, learn and imagine refugee protection from the Global South.
September 23, 2026 | 5:00–7:30 pm | The Harvard Club, NYC
United Nations Transformation: Reimagining Peace, Refugee Protection, and Global Responsibility
Eighty years after the UN's creation, and with forced displacement at record levels, humanitarian needs rising and access to asylum increasingly restricted, this high-level dialogue will examine the political, legal, operational and financial changes needed to strengthen the international refugee protection system. UNHCR, governments, regional institutions and refugee leaders will discuss implementation of the Refugee Convention, the opportunities and risks of route-based approaches, the future role of UNHCR, and how to reach the High Commissioner's goal of halving protracted displacement and reliance on humanitarian assistance by 2035, while safeguarding rights and expanding protection, inclusion, self-reliance and lasting solutions.
R-Space Technical Panels at UNGA 2026: Managing Asylum, and Losing the Narrative
September 24, 2026 | The New School | Doors open 9:30 am
Panel 1 (10:00–11:30 am): Managing Asylum and Migration: International Cooperation, Public Costs and Policy Choices
As governments turn to third-country agreements, offshore processing and return hubs, legal, policy, financial and lived-experience experts assess whether externalization is lawful, effective and worth its cost, and compare it with domestic processing and community-based alternatives.
Panel 2 (11:30 am–1:00 pm): Losing the Narrative? How Media, Politics, and Public Fear Shape Perceptions of Refugees and Migrants
Experts explore how political framing, media coverage and misinformation shape public perceptions and policy, especially during elections, why counter-narratives have failed to resonate, and which trusted messengers, communication strategies and alliances can help rebuild public trust.
GRF 2019 · Geneva. Canada seats the first advisor.
At the first Global Refugee Forum, Canada seated a refugee advisor on its national delegation — the moment the model was born. Then they formed RAN Canada, and the chair has been pulled up in four more states since.
