The Institute for Global Prosperity is delighted to announce the launch of the ESRC-funded RELIEF Centre (Refugees, Education, Learning, Information Technology, and Entrepreneurship for the Future). The RELIEF Centre is led by Professor Henrietta L. Moore, the Director of the IGP, and is a 5-year initiative of University College London, the American University of Beirut, and the Centre for Lebanese Studies.
The Centre will coordinate a programme of research and education for improving the prosperity of Lebanon, the country that contains the most refugees as a percentage of its population in the world.
Research at the centre will focus on how we can measure prosperity and growth in a country that is experiencing such a massive displacement of people, moving beyond indices like GDP to include measures of well-being, health, employment and education. The centre will examine how refugees can work alongside their host Lebanese communities to design more resilient and better quality living environments. It will also look at how new technologies can be used to deliver affordable education to both refugees and Lebanese citizens, equipping people with the skills and capacities for managing conflict, and improving their environments and well-being. In addition the centre will conduct research into how Syrian cities, institutions and communities can be rebuilt and strengthened once the current conflict is over.
Professor Henrietta Moore says “63.5 million people around the world are currently forcibly displaced from their homes presenting a huge challenge for global prosperity.”
“Lebanon is host to over a million refugees and is at the epicentre of this crisis of displacement. The RELIEF Centre will explore how to make countries like Lebanon and Syria more prosperous, and improve the life of all in the face of such mass displacement”.
“Prosperity isn’t just about improving GDP, you also need to fight inequality, promote social cohesion, and provide education, health, and decent employment. Giving people hope for the future.”
“My hope is that the RELIEF Centre will ultimately improve the quality of people’s lives through a programme of research, education and civic engagement that develops a vision of future prosperity for Lebanon.”
The end result of the research project will be to enhance future prosperity for Lebanon with indicators that ordinary citizens can use to determine whether their communities and governments are on track to achieve their vision. The model could also be used in other countries affected by global migration.