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Migrants and refugees are an asset to economies, say social enterprise experts
DUBAI, 15 November 2021 – Creating opportunities to integrate migrants and refugees into the workforce are important for their wellbeing, and can enhance and grow the local society and economy, said experts who shared innovative solutions designed to break down barriers to employment during Expo 2020 Dubai’s Tolerance & Inclusivity Week.
PichaEats and Meet My Mama are among the grantees supported by Expo Live – Expo 2020’s global innovation and partnership programme – that are making a real difference in people’s lives and helping communities around the world. A select number of the 140 Expo Live grantees are being featured in The Expo Live Impact Series, taking place from 15-19 November at 1600 at The Hub, The Good Place.
Speaking during Monday’s session of The Expo Live Impact Series, Sook Shian ‘Suzanne’ Ling, Co-Founder of Malaysia-based PichaEats, said: “Conscious consumerism means you have the power to change a life. We are often asked if we give the chefs money or free equipment, but truthfully, the chefs want to work hard and take pride in knowing that it supports their families – and when you strive to meet the standards of the market, then you can compete with other food businesses. Therefore, we emphasise that these are not ‘refugee chefs’, but chefs, full stop. We also share the impact of our business with our corporate clients, who enjoy international food and provide income that supports more than one family, instead of ‘making the rich, richer’.
“Many refugees are well-educated, highly-skilled, and had great jobs before their countries fell into war – and for those that aren’t, there are a lot of jobs in construction, restaurants and so on. Malaysia already brings in expats to join our workforce, so why not let them [the refugees] work instead? They pay rent to Malaysian house-owners, utilities, buy from local businesses that pay taxes… so ultimately it all goes back into the Malaysian economy. Our bigger vision is that our growing business can turn into a case study that will lead to policy change.”
France-based Meet My Mama combines a non-profit organisation that trains migrant women and offers them business opportunities, with a platform through which companies can order food for their events. Co-founder Donia Amamra said at The Expo Live Impact Series session: “We don’t talk about charity. We talk about making these women the best entrepreneurs, chefs and managers they can be, and then they have their own company, earn money, and do what they want for their family… and one of the key pillars of Mama’s Academy, is that they are a responsible ‘Mama’; it’s not just about the food, but about how to eat healthy, use environmental packaging, and so on.”
Fellow co-founder Loubna Ksibi added: “They [migrants] have to live, and to do so, they need money. So there is a choice. Either the government provides, which means [the migrants] cost money, or they need a job, but no one wants to give them a job, or they become entrepreneurs. In the last scenario, they aren’t ‘taking jobs’ from anyone, and they spend money in the community, and they even hire people. In fact, one of our ‘Mamas’ has five people working under her. She is making a big impact, and it’s because she was given an opportunity.”
Greece-based Code on the Road empowers migrant women and girls through a business entrepreneurship and software training programme. Its Founder and Director, Aya Burweila, said: “Our non-profit believes that one of the most fundamental ways any human being, male or female, is truly empowered is through work and practical education that leads to work. That is why we focus on delivering entrepreneurship and software training to native and migrant women. We also believe that to be truly integrated into society, migrants not only have the right to enter the labour market, but to do so in a way that is also profitable and meaningful for them. Too often, skills training for migrants is focused on fulfilling low skill-set or [so-called] ‘undesirable’ jobs like cooking or cleaning and that’s not fair when women’s, and migrants’ potential is so much greater.
“The beauty about entrepreneurship is that with the right mindset and direction, anyone can be an entrepreneur, even without a fancy education. If we look at the future labour market, there will be a shortage of workers with software and tech skills. We want to prepare women to fill that gap. I also believe that an empowered woman, who is often the centre of her family, is a direct benefit not only to society but to her immediate family and children, who are the next generation.”
Aya Burweila will speak at the Women’s World Majlis on 17 November at 1100 at Expo 2020’s Women’s Pavilion as part of Tolerance & Inclusivity Week. Running from 14-20 November and held in association the UAE Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, Tolerance & Inclusivity Week is the fourth of 10 Theme Weeks in Expo 2020’s Programme for People and Planet, offering an exchange of inspiring new perspectives to address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time.
{:}{:ar}إكسبو 2020 دبي يعرض حلولا مبتكرة لدمج اللاجئين في سوق العمل
دبي، 15 نوفمبر 2021 – يعتبر دمج المهاجرين واللاجئين في سوق العمل وإيجاد وظائف لهم أمرا أساسيا لرفاهيتهم وأصلا لبناء مجتمع متوازن، وفقا لخبراء دوليين سلطوا الضوء على مجموعة من الحلول المبتكرة المصممة لكسر الحواجز التي تحول دون توظيف المهاجرين واللاجئين، وذلك خلال سلسلة نقاشات “تأثير إكسبو لايف” ضمن فاعليات أسبوع التسامح والتعايش في إكسبو 2020 دبي.
تقام السلسلة في الفترة من 15 إلى 19 نوفمبر؛ ويشارك فيها القائمون على المشروعات المبتكرة التي حصلت على منحة برنامج الابتكار والشراكة العالمي إكسبو لايف من إكسبو 2020 دبي، والذي يلعب دورا محوريا في دعم الجهود المبذولة لتعزيز الاستدامة من خلال توفير التمويل والتوجيه والترويج للحلول الإبداعية التي من شأنها تحسين حياة الناس والحفاظ على الكوكب.
وخلال جلسة أقيمت في جناح “مبدعون في الخير”، قالت سوزان لينغ مؤسسة شركة “بيتشا إيتس”، وهي شركة ماليزية ناشئة تسعى إلى تحسين حياة الأمهات اللاجئات وعائلاتهن في ماليزيا من خلال تسويق الوجبات المنزلية: “اللاجئات في ماليزيا أغلبهن من ميانمار وأفغانستان، والنسبة الأكبر منهن تلقين تعليما جيدا ولديهن مهارات عالية وكانت لديهن وظائف جيدة قبل أن تسوء الأحوال في بلدانهن. لذا، يمكنهن بالفعل المساهمة في اقتصادنا بطرق مختلفة كقوى عاملة، ونحن في ماليزيا نجلب الخبراء من جميع أنحاء العالم. فلماذا لا ندعهن يعملن؟”
فيما تم عرض مشروع “ميت ماي ماما”، الذي يتخذ من فرنسا مقرا والحاصل على منحة إكسبو لايف أيضا. تقوم فكرة المشروع على تدريب النساء المهاجرات وتوفير فرص تجارية لهن من خلال منصة يمكن للشركات من خلالها طلب الطعام بكميات كبيرة للمناسبات الخاصة.
وقالت دنيا عمامرة مؤسسة مشروع “ميت ماي ماما”: “إذا كنت لاجئا، فليس لديك نفس الفرص للعمل. نحن ندعم تلك الفئات؛ وأعتقد أن الحكومة يجب أن تشكرنا، لأن هؤلاء الناس عليهم أن يعيشوا، ولكي يعيشوا فهم بحاجة إلى الأموال. وبينما تعطي الحكومات مبالغ مالية للاجئين، نقوم نحن بتوظيفهم؛ وفي تلك الحالة لن يكلفوا المجتمع أموالا، بل سيندمجوا في عملية الإنتاج ودفع الضرائب وإفادة محيطهم الاجتماعي ماديا ومعنويا”.
يُقام أسبوع التسامح والتعايش في الفترة من 14 إلى 20 نوفمبر، وهو الرابع في سلسلة أسابيع الموضوعات العشرة التي ينظمها إكسبو 2020 دبي ضمن برنامج الإنسان وكوكب الأرض لتبادل وجهات نظر جديدة وملهمة بشأن أبرز التحديات الملحة في عصرنا ووضع حلول لهذه التحديات.{:}
