On the 24th of February 2022, Russia renewed and intensified its horrific war against Ukraine. The invasion has driven over 8 million Ukrainians to seek refuge across Europe. As a response, neighbouring countries and those further afield acted quickly to provide displaced Ukrainians with temporary protection. The UK government announced the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which has seen a total of 100,000 Ukrainians housed in the UK through sponsors, an unprecedented show of solidarity.

As a society, what have we learnt from the Homes for Ukraine scheme? How has it changed or challenged public perceptions of refugee resettlement? The panel will explore these questions, reflecting on the positives and negatives of Homes for Ukraine, the evolving challenges one year on, and further models for engaging government and private actors in international refugee settlement. The panel will discuss the lessons learnt from the scheme and how these may inform future government and societal responses to acute crises.

The event will begin with a short film by film director Lily Vetch, following the lives of displaced Ukrainians who were resettled in the UK through the help of USPUK. The film viewing will be followed by the panel discussion and a Q&A session.

Panellists:

Lord Richard Harrington has been a member of the House of Lords since March 2022, he was Minister of State and Minister of Refugees in the Department for Levelling Up, between 8 March 2022 and 6 September 2022. He entered government in 2015 as minister for Syrian refugees. He then served as parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions (2016-17) and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (2017-19). He was the Conservative MP for Watford between 2010 and 2019. He enjoyed a 30-year career in business before entering politics.

Tim Dixon is the co-founder of More in Common, an organisation with teams in the US, UK, Germany, and France that is working to unite our increasing polarised and fragmented societies. Tim is a social entrepreneur who has started businesses and non-profits in the US, the UK and Australia, where he was born. He has served as chief speechwriter to two Australian Prime Ministers. For the past decade he has lived and worked between New York and London, co-founding social movement organisations around the issues of modern-day slavery, the Syrian crisis, the Colombian peace process, economic inequality, gun control and civic participation. Tim has conducted extensive public opinion research on public attitudes towards refugees in recent years to support efforts to expand sponsorship programs in the UK, US, Germany, and other countries.

Anastasiia Spivak is an integral member of USPUK, she leads a team of consultants to support fellow Ukrainians in coming to the UK. Anastasiia was studying for her Masters degree in Lviv, Ukraine, when the war suddenly changed the course of her life. At first, she volunteered in Kraków at refugee centres and Kraków railway station. It was in Kraków where she became involved with USPUK. Anastasiia also supports Ukrainians coming to the UK through Communities for Ukraine, a joint project between USPUK and Citizens UK. Anastasiia herself came to the UK as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, she arrived in London in September.

Jennifer Bond is a law professor, social entrepreneur, and leading global expert on the policy and operational dimensions of the global refugee system. She is Founder & Managing Director of the Refugee Hub and Co-Founder & Chair of the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative. She also serves on the Board of Airbnb.org.  Jennifer has supported the design of refugee protection pathways and community sponsorship programmes in over 20 countries, working closely with governments, civil society, and private sector partners. This includes supporting the development of several innovative new protection pathways in response to the crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine. She has also served with the UNHCR in Syria and as Special Advisor to Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Jennifer has been awarded the International Commission of Jurists’ Tarnopolsky Award and appointed to the Order of Ontario in recognition of her contributions to refugee protection.

Film:

Lily Vetch is a London based filmmaker, producer and photographer working across the portraiture, documentary and fashion industries. In 2019, Lily  partnered with the British-Bengali fashion designer, Rahemur Rahman, to co-direct and co-produce their first feature documentary, BODY OF MY OWN, about the Hijras (Trans) community in Dhaka, Bangladesh. BODY OF MY OWN is a haunting and inspiring exploration of gender and identity in Bangladesh and India, at a moment in time when social justice is threatened by a global pandemic and increasingly polarised politics in the region. Recently the duo have partnered with Onerva Pictures to bring the film through production to completion. Currently, Lily is working as an Associate Producer for the Emmy award winning documentary director, Kate Blewett.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Moderator:

Nicholas Vetch will be moderating the panel. Nick is a London-based businessman and founder of the Ukrainian Sponsorship Pathway (USPUK). USPUK is a registered charity that helps displaced Ukrainians come to the UK as part of the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme. Nick was recently awarded a CBE for his service to refugees. Nick is also the Vice Chair of the Uyghur Tribunal, he engages with several NGOs particularly in the field of Human Rights and was a member of the China Tribunal.

Attendance is restricted to Conduit members

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