International Migration Conference at Fordham Leads to Greater Collaboration
NEW YORK, NEW YORK-SEPTEMBER 11, 2025
September 9–11, 2025, Fordham University’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), completed the three-day Scientific Symposium, The Role of Community Engagement in Migration Management, which welcomed an international group of speakers and attendees. The numerous attendees — from Europe, Africa, and the United States — came to Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus to learn from senior officials, law enforcement experts, migration practitioners, civil society organizations, international institutions, and academics from the Arab region.
“The importance of this symposium, especially at this time, cannot be underestimated,” said Brendan Cahill, executive director of the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs. “ It is only through consultation with migrant communities that we can establish greater trust and greater dialogue. This in turn makes the overall management of migration more humane and effective.”
This symposium examined, over a number of panel discussions, how to better enhance immigration, mitigate tensions, create trust among migrants, and immigration officials with a human rights and humanitarian lens.
Dr. Abdulmajeed Abdullah Albanyan, Ph.D., president of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, said, “As part of its efforts to strengthen border security and address border-related issues and migration and asylum issues, the Naif Arab University established the Arab Center for Technical Cooperation in Migration and Border Management in 2022, in cooperation with IOM, with the aim of providing technical, legal, and operational support, strengthen regional capacities, protect migrants and human rights, and provide strategic and administrative advice on migration and human mobility.”
Throughout the three days, the main themes presented included community policing, community engagement, trust-based policing, and community-based protection approaches (CBPA). Increased collaboration in these areas will lead to a human-rights-based approach to working with migrant groups worldwide.
“Migration cannot be addressed in isolation, it requires coordination, cooperation, and keeping migrants at the center of our efforts.” said IOM Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Mr. Othman Belbeisi in his opening speech.
In response to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March 2025 by Fordham University, IOM, and NAUSS representatives, this conference served as the first step toward further academic collaboration and the exchange of ideas on community engagement and migration.
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Founded in 2001, the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA) is a university-wide center that incorporates the academic rigor and intellectual standard of Fordham University with the experience and expertise of aid and development agencies in the field. IIHA endeavors to advance the methods and framework by which humanitarian workers operate, serving as a bridge between academia and humanitarian efforts worldwide. In addition to our courses, the IIHA is a US partner of NOHA, a consortium of 12 European universities offering humanitarian education, and publishes on a wide range of humanitarian topics, hosts symposia and lectures, gallery exhibitions at our Refuge Gallery, the Humanitarian Fault Lines podcast, webinars, and student events. Media Inquiries: S. Lily Egan
Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, committed to educating students in the Jesuit tradition to care for the whole person and address the world’s most pressing challenges. With residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, as well as campuses in Westchester and London, Fordham enrolls approximately 17,000 students across its eight undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, preparing them with sound hearts and strong minds to become leaders who pursue excellence and make an impact in every field from Wall Street to Broadway, in media, law, social service, STEM, and beyond.
