World Refugee Day is marked on June 20 every year to highlight the suffering of millions of people forced to flee their homes, such as these Palestinian children in Gaza, due to war or persecution. EPA
World Refugee Day is marked on June 20 every year to highlight the suffering of millions of people forced to flee their homes, such as these Palestinian children in Gaza, due to war or persecution. EPA
World Refugee Day is marked on June 20 every year to highlight the suffering of millions of people forced to flee their homes, such as these Palestinian children in Gaza, due to war or persecution. EPA
World Refugee Day is marked on June 20 every year to highlight the suffering of millions of people forced to flee their homes, such as these Palestinian children in Gaza, due to war or persecution. EP

Art

Four virtual events you can still attend to mark World Refugee Day

From film screenings to online discussions, these events aim to help people understand the plight of refugees

Samia Badih
Samia Badih

June 20, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

World Refugee Day is marked every year on June 20. Created by the United Nations in 2000, the day is meant to shed light on the situation of refugees around the world.

According to the UNHCR's most recent numbers, at least 79.5 million people around the world had been forced to leave their homes by the end of 2019, among which there are 26 million refugees.

To mark World Refugee Day, here are four virtual events, taking place today and in the coming week, that you can join in support of the cause.

Refugee Film Festival 

On Saturday, June 20, the UNHCR in Thailand is holding the 9th Refugee Film Festival, which is taking place virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The festival brings together a selection of films that focus on the experience of refugees across the world. Award-winning Syrian documentary The Cave by Feras Fayyad is among the films that will screen at the festival. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Date: Saturday, June 20

Time: 4pm-9.45pm GST

Alexia Vassiliou with special guests 

The Cypriot singer will be celebrating this World Refugee Day with an online humanitarian concert. Vassiliou will be joined by Madeleine Peyroux, Henri Dikonue, Tarq Bowen and Lebanese composer and singer Christiane Karam, alongside refugee musicians and artists. The concert will be in English and Greek, featuring international songs.

Date: Saturday, June 20

Time: Midnight GST

A Walk in their Words

The Centre, a non-profit organisation in New York that supports refugees, has put on a project called A Walk in their Words. The project allows people, for a $30 (Dh110) donation, to listen to the stories of refugees describing the journey they have made to come to New York. Whether it's an actual walk, or a virtual one, the idea is to allow people to listen to the stories of others. You can even read some moving stories here.

Date: Saturday, June 20

Time: All day

Exodus Deja Vu

A 3D virtual exhibition will feature in a live discussion with Syrian photographer Issa Touma and Selin Unal from UNHCR Turkey. The exhibition will showcase the work of 12 renowned and award-winning photographers who have captured the journeys of refugees throughout their careers.

Date: Wednesday, June 24

Time: 6pm GST

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll

 

 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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