INCLUSIVE URBAN FUTURES

There are more than 200 million people in the world who do not live in the country of their birth, and if you are one of them you already discovered that belonging is easy as long as you are in your nation state. But what happens if you leave your country of birth for better or worse? 

What about belonging? Inclusion?  What about those who due to dire circumstances had to leave their countries as in haste as refugees?

Inclusion for migrants and refugees is one of the primordial questions when it comes to discussions about inclusion and integration at national and city levels in Europe.  

However, national and supranational as well as urban policies aiming at the inclusion of migrants and refugees remain poor on participation - in other words, they are rarely informed by the very subjects they mean to include – migrants and refugees. This hampers efforts on the potential inclusion of migrants and refugees long term at the fundamental level.  

The guest of our second episode has set to change that, at city, national and EU levels. 

Leader in her own right Sabina Kekic is known in the European circles as the youngest coordinator of the EU Urban Agenda Partnerships. 

She is the Senior Board Advisor Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) in the Netherlands. Before assuming this position Sabina served as a policy advisor on European Affairs at The City of Amsterdam for the City of Amsterdam and as a policy advisor for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Coordinator of the EU Urban Agenda Partnership for Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees.

Building on scientific, practical as well as her personal experience as a migrant herself, Kekic blazes new trends, challenges the status quo and helps design new policies and methods for the benefits of inclusion of all, while giving a voice to many who were not heard before. Her mission starts with the simple question: “How would you feel if there were policies made about women, and there were no women at the table?”

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabina-kekic-5b733a51/
Website of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers, The Netherlands:  https://www.coa.nl/nl/het-coa 


Find  our Host and Executive Producer Dr Orna Rosenfeld at: www.ornarosenfeld.com  

Inclusion can take many forms and shapes. The world of work is one of them and an important one. COVID-19 crisis has changed the way we work and where we work. These trends will inevitably change the way the cities and territories are planned and built in the future. Therefore, discussing the meaning, opportunities and challenges related to inclusion in the world of work is of crucial importance when considering inclusive urban futures. 

In this episode, we speak with Christel Adamou (MBA, LLM, MAs) the Director of the Office of Professional Conduct at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). We explored many critical issues related to the future of inclusion and diversity in the work environment including: the rise of remote work and telework, accelerated digitalization of recruitment in the view of COVID-19. But most importantly, we had the opportunity to discuss the differences in understanding diversity and inclusion across cultures and geographies as well as the importance of defining and communicating values and goals to move from diversity and inclusion to the concept of belonging. 

Disclaimer: Christel Adamou was speaking in her personal capacity for this interview and not on behalf of ADB.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christeladamou/ 
Website of the Asian Development bank: https://www.adb.org/who-we-are/organization

Find  our Host and Executive Producer Dr Orna Rosenfeld at: www.ornarosenfeld.com  

#Inclusiverecovery, #inclusivegrowth, #diversity and #inclusion are some of the key light motives cities, organisations and businesses across the globe aspire to in recovering from the #covidー19 crisis as well as addressing equity challenges that existed well before the pandemic.

But what does it mean to be #inclusive? For whom and where? How to achieve inclusion while addressing seemingly insurmountable challenges of transforming #urban #futures? 

Let’s be honest the term inclusion is conceptually complex but methodologically and politically underdeveloped. Therefore, exploring the meaning of inclusion and openly discussing the methods to achieve it is the most urgent debate and challenge of our age.

Inclusive Urban Futures podcast and video series that provides a creative space for this debate. 

In this episode you will hear from Dr Orna Rosenfeld, the host and creator of Incisive Urban Futures podcast and video series tells us about the 'why' behind this podcast. 


Find  our Host and Executive Producer Dr Orna Rosenfeld at: www.ornarosenfeld.com