SPARK & IFC present IGNITE 2016

Tackling Instability, Radicalisation and Forced Migration

16 November, Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam

Thank you so much to all those that made this year’s IGNITE Conference a huge success! We were delighted to have such an amazing range of international experts and participants present. We hope to see you again next year.

Programme of Events

Report of IGNITE 2016

#IGNITE2016

Photos IGNITE 2016

Click here to see all the pictures of the IGNITE Conference 2016

Videos

Speakers

Sir Paul Collier (keynote)

Sir Paul Collier, CBE, former director of World Bank’s Development Research Group from 1998 to 2003, is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnick School of Government at the University of Oxford. Collier is also a critically acclaimed author. His book, The Bottom Billion, identifies four traps that keep the poorest people in the world poor, and offers escape routes to improving opportunities for everyone.

Mahmud Johnson (keynote)

Mahmud is the founder & CEO of J-Palm Liberia, an palm oil processing company in Monrovia, Liberia. His company produces a range of palm oil based products using a ‘no-waste’ manufacturing process. He is also the winner of the IGNITE Research Competition 2015. His research examines income risks that small-business entrepreneurs face in Liberia and the extent to which insurance mechanisms are effective or ineffective in managing those risks.

Mokhtar Alkhanshali

Mokhtar is the Founder & CEO of Port of Mokha Coffee, Yemen, and comes from an ancient lineage of coffee farmers. As a social historian, coffee interventionist, community organizer, Mokhtar hopes to connect the farmers of the oldest, highest-quality coffees with the world. Mokhtar is the first licensed Q grader (coffee sommelier) from Yemen and made international news when he escaped war-torn Yemen by crossing the Red Sea on a fishing boat with his coffee samples.

Petra Stienen (host)

Petra is the host of the IGNITE Conference. Petra is a former diplomat, senator for D66, entrepreneur and Arabist. She works as an independent advisor to ministries, governments, embassies and NGO’s. Furthermore, she regularly gives political comments to media on the Middle East, diplomacy and human rights. She has received several prestigous awards for her writing, including the Women in Media Award and the Aletta Emancipation Prize, 2016.

Hans Docter (keynote)

Hans is Director Sustainable Economic Development and Ambassador Private Sector & Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Mr. Docter has a long history in Foreign Policy. He was the Dutch special envoy for Ebola and previously he was Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ghana and Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ethiopia and Kenya. He also has extensive work experience in Indonesia and Russia.

Antoinia Norman (keynote)

Anoinia is CEO of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, South Africa. She is a Business Trainer and Strategist, as well as a professional speaker on all things entrepreneurial. Her moto is: “Being a leader is not about building your own power, it is about building people.”

Workshops

Universities at the Centre of War

Obay Ahmed, Ahmed Hussein, Thomas Hill

Afternoon

Mosul University and Tikrit University, both in Iraq, have faced many challenges in recent years. With the arrival of the Islamic State both institutions were shut down, but managed to continue educating their students in alternate locations away from their occupied campuses. Tikrit University is almost a year into its post-IS experience, whereas students from Mosul University are still waiting for a chance to return. How to rebuild a university after war? How to address the needs of students after their return? What can we learn from Tikrit first year after IS?

The New Pioneers: Diaspora Entrepreneurs

Aki Harima, Stephanie Deubler, Khaalid Hassan

Morning

Diaspora entrepreneurship has only recently become a topic of interest in the academic and development world. For a long time, diaspora engagement was not generally valued and often neglected. Over time, the diaspora communities have shown how much they can contribute to the development of their countries of origin. The question that we need to ask ourselves now is; how can we best support diaspora entrepreneurs and innovators to reach their full potential? This workshop will explore the obstacles diaspora entrepreneurs face when starting businesses, and discuss the best ways to tackle these issues.

Arrived, now what? Getting Refugees to the Right Work

Eefje Blankenvoort, Wissam Hema, Kurdo Mohamad, Amina el Berkaoui, Giselle Schellekens

Afternoon

Many newcomers in the Netherlands struggle to find suitable work. The rates of unemployment for refugees is high: only about 30% of ‘permit holders’ have a fulltime job. Many are working (far) below their level of education and skills. What solutions are there and how do we really make them happen? In a 90 minute interactive workshop, creative entrepreneurs, Wissam Hema and Eefje Blankevoort (The Asylum Search Engine), alongside Gemeente Amsterdam and Calder, as well as other participants, will find the solutions.

Hear from the Experts: Doing Business in Fragile States

Antoinia Norman, Mustafa Othman, Warda Diri, Mahmud Johnson, Tarek Elgheryani

Afternoon

Entrepreneurs from Somalia, Libya, Liberia and Syria offer new insights about doing business in fragile states. During an interactive masterclass, the entrepreneurs will share their personal experiences of becoming business-owners and describe what entrepreneurship means for their country. Obstacles such as corruption, slow government and lack of competition or capital can have a major influence on the future of businesses. The masterclass will demonstrate the struggles faced by entrepreneurs and will deliver solutions. The entrepreneurs will explain their motivation for starting their business, and how they hope to contribute to development in their countries.

The Little Things: Holistic Approach to Higher Education for Syrian Refugees

Farooq Burney, Alaa Alwani, Hamza Khedr, Ahmed Taleb

Morning

The theme of this workshop is to highlight the subtle ‘little things’ in which a holistic scholarship programme sorts out to ensure each applicant has the best opportunity to move from pre-scholarship, in-scholarship and post scholarship stages. First part of the workshop: the journey of the obvious challenges of the refugee accessing higher education by the audience. The second part: the subtle nuances shared by Syrian students. This shows how critical it is to back up each student with a holistic scholarship programme that advocates for each applicant to ensure they are able to mitigate what may seem like ‘the little things’ but are perilous for a refugee.

Peace-building Effects of Employment in the MENA region

Tilman Brück, Neil Ferguson, Valentina Mejía, Fernando Cantu, David Connolly

Afternoon

Having a high share of unemployed young men in urban areas is considered a key risk factor for the outbreak of violent conflict. The MENA region has a large and growing share of unemployed young people who are facing uncertain economic prospects. The promotion of employment is hence considered a key tool to strengthen peace and stability in the MENA region. This session will review if these assumptions are valid, what evidence we have on this issue and what next steps are needed from governments, donors and civil society. The speakers will draw on ongoing and recently completed research conducted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen and other countries.

Testimonials

It was an absolute pleasure to be included in the IGNITE Conference. Truly a wealth of information that has placed me in a position to join hands in the support of entrepreneurs in regions of such fragility and pain.

SPARK and IGNITE are always an inspiration to us working in conflict and hard environments. Seeing and listening to others that are struggling and striving to make the positive change is inspiring and “Igniting”!

IGNITE brought together a fascinating group of people all interested in how entrepreneurs and job creating can help build peace and stability. The presentations were inspiring, the discussions stimulating and the exchanges outside the meetings rooms very helpful.

As someone who has recently started working with young entrepreneurs in Somalia, the IGNITE conference has been a great platform to learn about what other organisations working in similar environments are doing to overcome the challenges of working in fragile regions.

It was a valuable opportunity to meet people from many different nations and to know their efforts to overcome the local problems. The discussions during IGNITE were organised in a good manner, it is definitely perfect work!

IGNITE 2016 offered diverse presentations and workshops by various actors such as researchers, NGOs and entrepreneurs. It is such a great platform for all the stakeholders with different backgrounds to co-create solutions for the challenges post-conflict states are facing.

I’ve rarely found myself surrounded by so many constructive actors all focused on finding and implementing sustainable and practical steps to address problems caused by radicalisation and forced migration in pursuit of more peaceful societies.

What a hopeful day IGNITE 2016 was. Educators and entrepreneurs from many countries told their stories about resilience and insights on how to move forward even in the most difficult circumstances during or after conflict.

IGNITE always brings together diverse groups of people and their innovative ideas. IGNITE 2016 was no exception. It is our privilege to partner with SPARK!

I think that IGNITE 2016 is the best scientific event I attend up to now. Speakers from different types of states and sciences discussed the problems of the world together.

More than anything, the event was exciting and optimistic, despite the serious topics at hand. Too often, I see pessimism infiltrate such serious discussions. Not here. And that was refreshing.