The inaugural World Refugee Day Symposium at the University of British Columbia on June 20, 2025 was a resounding success, drawing over one hundred participants from diverse academic and community sectors.
Attendees included educators, students, and community members from across UBC’s faculties—Applied Science, Arts, Education, Law, Medicine, and Science—as well as local other universities and settlement organizations. Centering the experiences of Afghan women shaped by displacement, political instability, and gendered exclusion, the event created a space for critical reflection, solidarity, and knowledge-sharing.
Hosted by the Faculty of Education’s department of Curriculum and Pedagogy and the Centre for Migration Studies, the symposium explored how the identities of Afghan women are constructed, resisted, and reimagined—particularly through education. It aimed to disrupt reductive narratives, foregrounding the intellectual contributions and agency of Afghan women themselves. Speakers participated both in person and virtually, contributing to an engaging, multidimensional dialogue. Presentations addressed a range of themes, including the denial of schooling under a system of gender apartheid, the use of technology to deliver education to conflict zones, resettlement challenges in Canada, legal status rights, transit conditions of camps and movement, and the intersection of global systems of colonialism, education imbalances, and consequences of war. The event successfully fostered solidarity, raised awareness, and honored the resilience and leadership of Afghan women in the face of systemic injustice.
Building on this year’s success, planning is underway for next year’s symposium, with the goal of expanding its scope, deepening community partnerships, and amplifying more voices from displaced and marginalized communities. We aim to create an even more engaging, inclusive, and globally connected event that continues to challenge dominant narratives and foster critical dialogue about people and circumstances of forceful displacement.
To learn more about the event, please visit the Centre for Migration Studies website.
Submitted by Dr. Sofia Noori
Organizer | World Refugee Day Symposium 2025