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WATERLOO – Syria is experiencing a civil war that has resulted in the displacement of more than 11 million people.

There are several Laurier experts available to comment on refugees and migration:

Jenna Hennebry, associate professor in Laurier’s Communications Studies program and director of the International Migration Research Centre, is an expert on international migration. Her recent research has focused on mapping the global governance of international migration. Contact information: jhennebry@wlu.ca.

Areas of expertise:

• International migration, migration flows and trends
• Mobility and transnationalism
• Immigration policies and migration governance
• Migrant rights, health and social protection
• Political economy of migration

Kim Rygiel, associate professor in Laurier’s Political Science department and lecturer at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, is an expert on refugee activism, citizenship politics and collaborative work on humanitarian aid. Contact information: (cell) 416-254-7195 or krygiel@wlu.ca.

Areas of expertise:

• International relations and global politics
• Globalization and global governance
• Citizenship and migration
• Security studies

Bree Akesson, assistant professor in Laurier’s Faculty of Social Work, is an expert on international child protection and the effects of war and disaster on young children. Her current research includes a SSHRC-funded research project along with Geography Professor Sean Doherty focusing the everyday mobilities of children and families living in refugee camps. Contact information: bakesson@wlu.ca.

Areas of expertise:

• International child protection
• Psychosocial effects of war and disaster on young children and their families
• Global social work practice and social service workforce development

Robert McLeman, associate professor in Laurier’s Geography and environmental studies department, is an expert on human dimensions of environmental change, with particular attention to the relationship between environment and human migration. His latest book Climate and Human Migration examines such events at Hurricane Katrina. Contact information: 519-884-0710 x2653 or at rmcleman@wlu.ca.

Areas of expertise:

• Human dimensions of environmental change
• Environment and human migration
• Rural adaptation to climatic variability and change

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