Refugees International 2025 End of Year Town Hall

As 2025 comes to a close, our work to fight for rights and refuge for all has never been more challenging. Families are being displaced by conflict, people seeking safety have fewer pathways, and shrinking aid budgets mean fewer lifelines at the very moment they’re needed most. Governments are responding to displaced people with enforcement and detention. And political leaders are too often failing to meet the urgency of the moment.

Yet even in a year marked by crisis, we’ve also seen remarkable resolve: communities standing in solidarity with refugees and immigrants; refugee leaders speaking up for their own with courage and clarity; and local organizations—often the first to respond and the last to leave—stepping in where larger systems have faltered. These acts of leadership and compassion remind us of what is possible.

On December 10, Refugees International staff sat down to reflect on the developments that shaped 2025, the priorities that will define 2026, and the many ways to get involved.

Welcome:

Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International 

Moderator:

Mohammed Naeem, Senior Director for Advocacy Strategy, Refugees International

Panelists (in order):

Dr. Yael Schacher, Director for the Americas and Europe

Abdullahi Boru Halakhe, Senior Advocate for East and Southern Africa

Daniel P. Sullivan, Director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East

Natasha Hall, Senior Advocate for the Middle East

Hourie Tafech, Director for Refugee Leadership and Partnerships

Jocelyn Perry, Senior Advocate for Climate Displacement Program

Kenda Hawasli, fellow, Refugees International’s Refugee Fellows Program