Transborder Cafe: Building Resilience in the Failed States and Curbing Intervention of the Mighty States

På høsten 2015 opplevde Kirkenes en flyktningestrøm over den norsk-russiske grensen som ingen hadde kunnet forestille seg. Selv om denne Storskog-passeringen ikke varte lenge, er ikke flyktningetema mindre aktuelt i Europa og Norge i dag, heller ikke i Barentsregionen, spesielt nå etter byggingen av et 200-meters gjerde ved Storskog. Diskusjonen vil gå rundt årsakene til slike migrasjoner og om hvordan man skal takle dem, internt og eksternt.

Vi har invitert bl.a.

Fadl Saleh from Lebanon is an up-and-coming practitioner and researcher in the sphere of aid and development. On the research side, he recently received his master degree in Global Public Policy in Moscow, his dissertation covered reforming classical aid and development policies (the LRRD concept) with a focus on how provide a more sustainable response to countries affected by crisis. On the practical side, he is currently engaged with field work in refugee camps populated by Syrians and Palestinians and will share his experience in tackling spill-over effects of the Syrian crises in Lebanon.

Alexey Khlebnikov is a MidEast and Russian Foreign policy expert and Ph.D candidate on international relations.  During his Masters education in Public Policy from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Khlebnikov travelled to the Aleppo and Damascus Universities in Syria, the Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities in Israel and to the Central European University in Hungary.

Composer, musician and artist Dror Feiler was born in Israel and emigrated to Sweden after opposing the occupation of Palestinian lands after Israel’s Seven-day war.  Feiler is the Vice President for Society of Swedish Composers, Chairman for Swedish Music, Spokesperson for Ship to Gaza and Chairman for European Jews for a Just Peace.  His work as an artist and activist is informed by a history of conflict and underpinned by a responsibility to ensure that the freedoms he enjoys in Sweden apply to all.  For the Transborder Café, Feiler will respond to the recent migration crisis he has seen in Sweden and contribute with a musical performance that crosses lines between art and politics.

Moderator – Sten Inge Jørgensen is a foreign affairs journalist at Morgenbladet and author. He has worked extensively with the refugee crisis over the past two years. His latest books are about geopolitical transformations (Vesten mister grepet, 2007), global challenges (Globale utfordringer, 2010) and Germany (Tyskland stiger frem, 2014).