SI4RI Conference: The COVID-19 Crisis: A ”Make-or-Break” Moment for Social Innovation for Inclusion?

In this session Kenny Clewett, Director, Ashoka Hello Europe Initiative; Mustafa Alio, Managing Director, R-SEAT (Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table); Fayrouz Saad, Director of Public Engagement, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and Kava Spartak, Managing Director, YAAR e.V, Germany discuss the following questions in a conversation moderated by MPI Europe Policy Analyst Liam Patuzzi.  What role has social innovation played in responding to new forms of marginalization and inequality exacerbated by COVID-19, supporting the most vulnerable while preventing rifts within diverse communities? How has the pandemic affected the operations of civil society, social enterprises, public service providers and other key players that have propelled social innovation for inclusion in recent years—on both sides of the Atlantic? What models of engagement and service provision have suffered, and which ones have proven more resilient? What new forms of community engagement and solidarity have originated amid crisis, and how sustainable are they? What main adaptation strategies have we observed—from shifting to digital to expanding emergency services, from seeking new funding/financing sources to strengthening collaboration with community leaders and other stakeholders? What short- and long-term impact could these transformations and adaptations have on refugee and migrant inclusion? After years of vitality and experimentation, but also persisting weaknesses and sustainability challenges, how well-placed is the ‘infrastructure of inclusion’ to address urgent and long-term needs of newly arrived refugees—both in Europe and North America?