American University in Cairo Summer Programs

 

THE FORCED MIGRATION AND REFUGEE STUDIES PROGRAM

 

 

Summer Short Courses 2007

 

 

• Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Refugees.

   

• Understanding Nationalism and Ethnicity

   

• International Refugee and Human Rights Law 

   

 

 

 

Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Refugees

 

 

11 – 16 June, 2007

 

 

Course description:

 

In this course, participants will increase their understanding of the psychosocial and mental health issues of refugees and learn how to implement effective interventions. Topics will include: Review of international research about the psychosocial and mental health consequences of war and violence; Implications for working with various cultures and contexts; Skills for assessment of need; Culturally sensitive interviewing skills; Methods for working with translators; Introduction to individual, family, group and community interventions; Overview of methods for monitoring and evaluating the impact of intervention; and Specific mechanisms workers and organizations can use to minimize staff burnout and maximize organizational effectiveness.

 

 

Instructor:   Nancy Baron, Director of Global Psychiatric and Psycho-Social Initiatives (GPSI)

 

Dr. Nancy Baron received her Doctorate in Education at the University of Massachusetts, U.S.A. with a concentration in Family Therapy and Counseling Psychology. While working in the U.S.A., she was a program director of home and community based programs for adolescents and families involved with the courts and private therapist specializing in marital and family counseling. She taught courses in counseling and psychotherapy at various universities and helped to establish a graduate program in community mental health and an institute for family therapy. In 1989, she changed her context and specialization and since that time has lived and worked in numerous countries during and after wars and disasters including in Africa: Burundi, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda; in Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan and Sri Lanka; in Eastern Europe: Kosovo and Albania and in the South Pacific: Solomon Islands. Dr. Baron is presently the Director of Global Psychiatric and Psycho-Social Initiatives (GPSI). She provides consultation, assessment, training, program design and development, research and evaluation for UN organizations and international and local NGOs in community and family focused psycho-social, mental health and peace building initiatives for conflict and post-conflict countries. She is also the International Training Director for the International Trauma Studies Program, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA and Consultant and Senior Trainer for the Psychosocial Training Institute of the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization of Uganda.

 

 

Maximum Enrollment: 26 Participants

 

 

The course will take place in the 6^th floor lounge, Hill House, Main Campus at the American University in Cairo from Monday June 11- Saturday June 16 (excluding Friday) everyday from 9 am to 5 pm.

 

 

See Below for application procedures.

 

 

 

 

Understanding Nationalism and Ethnicity

 

18-23 June 2007

 

Course description:

 

The course will present an overview of different theoretical approaches to notions of “nationalism” and “ethnicity” from a sociological anthropological perspective. It will also consider questions regarding the relation between national and ethnic identity, and state formation, national consciousness and ethnic consciousness. Taking the end of the Cold War as a turning point in the affirmation of ‘new’ nations and nationalisms it will explore the relation between ‘old’ and ‘new’ nationalist phenomena with special reference to current developments in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

 

 

 

Instructor: Eftihia Voutira, Associate Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.

 

Dr. Voutira is an anthropologist (Ph.D. University of Cambridge) with a background in philosophy (B.A. University of Chicago, MA., PhD Harvard University). She is the author of Conflict Resolution: A Cautionary Tale ( Uppsala, Sweden:  Nordiska Afrikainstitutet 1995), Improving Social and Gender Planning in Humanitarian Emergencies (Refugee Studies Programme, University of Oxford/ World Food Programme,  Rome 1995) and Anthropology in International Humanitarian Emergencies (with Jean Benoist; European Commission, Brussels,  Network on Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA) July 1994, 2nd edition, 1998) and numerous academic articles on diaspora and repatriation.

 

 

 

The course will take place in the 6^th floor lounge, Hill House, Main Campus at the American University in Cairo from Monday June 18- Saturday June 23 (excluding Friday) everyday from 9 am to 5 pm.

 

 

See Below for application procedures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Refugee and Human Rights Law

 

25-30 June 2007

 

Course description:

 

This course will introduce participants to the primary elements of the refugee definition and its application and to the rights guaranteed to refugees by International law. Consideration will be given to the interaction between the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1969 OAU Convention, as well as the current debates and challenges in contemporary refugee law. Topics will include the standard of proof in refugee claims, the role of international human rights law in expanding the scope of protection, violations of socio-economic rights as the basis for refugee claims, and the application of the exclusion clauses to war crimes and “terrorism”. The course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and interactive, small group exercises. Participants will have an opportunity to apply legal norms to refugee case studies and build skills in country-of-origin research, interviewing and advocacy.

 

 

Instructor: Michael Kagan, Adjunct Faculty at the American University in Cairo and consulting attorney to the Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA)

 

Michael Kagan, Juris Doctor, is an American lawyer who has worked since 1998 to develop refugee legal aid programs throughout the Middle East. He is the fonder of the website RSDWatch.org, which promotes fairness in the UN's refugee status determination procedures. He is the author of FMRS working paper no.1 "Assessment of Refugee Status Determination Procedure at UNHCR's office 2001-2002”. He is also the author of many articles on refugee-related topics, including UNHCR policies, legal aid, United Nations reform, Palestinian property rights in Israel, and the role of international law in shaping the Arab-Israeli conflict. Kagan is also teaching one of the FMRS Diploma elective courses MEST 430 "Palestinian Refugee Issues".

 

 

Maximum Enrollment: 30 Participants

 

The course will take place in the 6^th floor lounge, Hill House, Main Campus at the American University in Cairo from Monday June 25- Saturday June 30 (excluding Friday) everyday from 9 am to 5 pm.

 

 

 

See Below for application procedures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuition

 

 

The tuition fee for each course is US $100 for international participants and LE 200 for Egyptians and Residents of Egypt.  A limited number of tuition waivers are available upon request (based on need only).

 

Application procedures

 

 

Please send a letter of application stating:

 

a)       Interest in the Summer School

b)       The course(s) you are applying for.

c)       Why the course(s) is/are important to your work or academic interest.

d)       State if you are applying for a tuition waiver, and why.

 

And include your updated curriculum vitae.

 

Addressed to:

 

Ms. Maysa Ayoub                                              Email: fmrs@aucegypt.edu

Assistant to Director                                          Tel: (202) 7976626

Forced Migration and Refugee Studies                 Fax (202)7956681

American University in Cairo                               FMRS/AUC,

113 Kasr El Aini Street, PO Box 25000, Cairo 11511, Egypt

 

 

Deadline for applications is May 11^th, 2007

 

 

 

For further information regarding accommodation in Cairo and further updates on FMRS up-coming events access: www.aucegypt.edu/fmrs (under Outreach).