Short Courses

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. It is closely linked to migrant smuggling, as both are often perpetuated through cross-border organized criminal networks; it is also common for one of these crimes to lead to the other. The Middle East region is host to almost 60% of the victims of human trafficking. The most common forms of trafficking in the region are “forced labor” and “servitude” in various sectors including domestic work, wherein women and girls are disproportionality represented. This makes it imperative to analyze human trafficking through an intersectional lens which takes into account the conflation of human trafficking with gender and migration. Therefore, the main purpose of this short course is to engage the participants in understanding the means and patterns of human trafficking, its crimes, and its intersection with gender and migration. It specifically aims to: 

1) explore key concepts and components of human trafficking 

2) examine the international, regional and national legal anti-trafficking frameworks.

3) learn how to identify and provide protection and assistance for victims of trafficking in lieu of international regulations and standards.

The training methodology relies on the use of various methods, such as lectures, case studies, film screenings, and practical activities that enable participants to acquire skills in identifying and combating the crimes of human trafficking.

About the Instructor:

Amira Ahmed is both a scholar and practitioner in the areas of diaspora engagement, migration, refugees, gender & human trafficking. Amira Ahmed is an assistant professor currently based at the American University in Cairo where she teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in the fields of sociology, anthropology, community development and migration; she also leads the research project: “Traces of mobility, violence and solidarity. Deconceptualizing cultural heritage through the lens of migration”. Amira also worked with leading humanitarian/development organizations such as UN-IOM in Jordan and Egypt and IFRC in Switzerland. Recent publication: co-author, book chapter, “Skills for Science Systems in Africa: The Case of Brain Drain” (eds.) 2021.

Course Location: AUC Tahrir Square

This course will examine from a critical perspective the support of private sector development policies and projects through entrepreneurship initiatives that seek to enhance refugees’ self-reliance in host countries. It suggests adopting a « research into action » approach by utilizing both, concrete entrepreneurial refugee projects, as well a theoretical framework borrowed from political science and sociology to evaluate the socio-economic transformations that took place in their forced migration trajectories. As various international organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Bank have increasingly been considering entrepreneurship as a solution to assist refugees in their forced displacement trajectories in host countries, this course explores scientific tools to analyze refugees’ self-reliance through entrepreneurship. It also suggests situating international public policies that support entrepreneurship in host countries within international relations dynamics, with a goal to better examine their impact, including from the host countries and refugees’ perspectives

About the Instructor:  

Maya Chehade, is an international development professional, with a doctoral degree in political science from the university of Sciences Po in Paris. Maya Chehade's PhD dissertation evaluated Syrian refugees’ entrepreneurial trajectories in Egypt and Jordan between 2011 and 2023. She brings a dynamic and multifaceted professional background to the table, characterized by her experience as a researcher and international development professional, which includes a proven track record of working directly with the private sector and international donor organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA Region.

Course Location: AUC Tahrir Square

The current tragedy in the Gaza Strip and the forced displacement of nearly 2 million Palestinians have revived memories of the events of 1948 and brought the world’s focus onto the issue of Palestinian refugees – one of the world’s longest running refugee crises. The refugee question has been one of the most intractable dilemmas of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a consistent source of tension in the Middle East, and a vexing challenge to international refugee policy. Every aspect of the subject has been mired in controversy – from its historical origins to the status of Palestinians in other Arab countries and the right of return.

This course will examine the issue of Palestinian refugees from an inter-disciplinary perspective, providing participants an opportunity to engage with the major practical and theoretical issues connected with the topic, and to critically assess the historical, political, legal, and ideological forces shaping the debate. the course will begin with a review of the historical events leading to
the displacement of Palestinians, followed by an examination of the status of Palestinians in exile, especially in the Middle East/North Africa region. We will study the legal framework governing the refugee question, looking at key themes of statelessness, right to return, right to self-determination, and repatriation, among others. We will also discuss potential solutions and
the implications of this crisis for other protracted refugee situations around the globe.

About the Instructor:

Parastou Hassouri is a Refugee and Migration Law Consultant, she has previously taught international refugee law at The American University of Cairo and has extensive experience in the field of international refugee law and refugee and immigrant rights and migration policy. Parastou is currently a legal consultant with Lamp Lifeboat Ladder, a pro bono resettlement project of Reed Smith LLP. She has previously served as a consultant with different UNHCR operations in the Refugee Status Determination, Resettlement and Protection Units in Morocco, Turkey, Jordan, and the Russian Federation. She has served as a research consultant for NGOs including the Global Detention Project, where her research focused on migration-related detention in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Prior to that, as a consultant for Human Rights First, she conducted extensive research on the resettlement of Iraqi refugees out of the Middle East to third countries. She has worked as a Legal Advisor and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Focal Point at Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) in Cairo. Her experience in the United States includes serving as an Attorney-Advisor at the Immigration Courts of New York City and Los Angeles and working as an immigration attorney in private practice in New York City. In addition, she designed and directed the Immigrant Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, where she focused on responding to ethnic profiling and other forms of anti-immigrant backlash in the United States in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11. Parastou Hassouri also occasionally writes on the topic of refugee and migration policy.

Course Location: AUC Tahrir Square

Integration is one of the most debated and ambiguous term. The ambiguity stems from the variety of understandings, interpretations and applications that have taken place in the last decades. In this course we will first conceptualize the idea of integration and then dive into the different integration models to assess their effectiveness, efficiency, implications and impacts. In this course we will address the following models: assimilation model, multicultural model, Universalist model, and the segregationist model

In this intense summer course, we will adopt an interactive learning experience where you won’t just be the recipient of information but you will also be on the front-line of the learning process. This means that each day is embedded with all sorts of activities, from debates to presentation, from documentaries to negotiations amongst others, aimed at making sure the students learn by doing and enjoy while doing so. By the end of this course, you will be able to know the multifaceted reality of migrant integration in host countries, from its challenges to its opportunity and be able to deeply reflect on the consequences and implications of integration today.

About the Instructor: 

Adham Aly is an assistant lecturer, PhD candidate, and project manager at Erasmus University, Rotterdam (NL). He received his bachelor’s degree at Bocconi University in Milan (IT) majoring in International Economics, Management and Finance. Thereafter he received his master’s degree in Public Administration with specialization in Governance of Migration and Diversity at Erasmus University. He currently teaches and lectures Public Administration subjects such as International Migration, Political Philosophy and Political Science within the Erasmus School of Social Behavioral sciences faculty at EUR. He previously worked for IMISCOE, the largest interdisciplinary network of scholars in the field of migration. He was also the project manager and leading researcher for one of the SPRING (H2020 project) work packages. His work focuses on migration integration, second generation dynamics, belonging and anti-discrimination. He is also a public speaker, often invited in anti-discrimination symposiums and events.

Course Location: AUC Tahrir Square