8:30 - 9:00     Registration

9:00 - 9:15     Welcome

9:15 - 9:30     Morning Plenary I

Topic: The Refugee Journey: A Personal Story
Speaker: Ahmed Sirleaf, Program Associate, The Advocates for Human Rights
Description: Mr. Sirleaf will discuss his personal journey as a refugee.

9:30 - 10:00   Morning Plenary II

Topic: The Refugee Journey and the Law: An Overview of International
Refugee Law
Description: This plenary session will provide an overview of international laws that apply to refugee situations.

10:00 - 10:15 Break

10:15 -12:15  Panel Discussion

Topic: The Refugee Journey: Pitfalls, Protection, Prevention
Moderator: Michele Garnett McKenzie, Director of Advocacy, The Advocates for Human Rights

Panel Topic 1: Durable Solutions vs. Durable Suffering
Speaker: Jessica Eby, Protection Officer, Immigration and Refugee Program, Church World Service
Description: Once refugees cross an international border, what are their rights and options? Why isn't the international refugee system better equipped to ensure durable solutions for refugees? Eby will address issues relating to local integration, outsourcing of refugee situations to developing nations, and refugee "warehousing."

Panel Topic 2:  Displaced in Your Own Country:  Challenges Facing Internally Displaced People
Speaker: Michael Barringer-Mills, Field Support Manager, American Refugee Committee International
Description: If people forced to flee their homes do not cross an international border, what unique challenges does this situation present?   What protections are in place for those internally displaced in their country of origin?  The panelist will address challenges facing IDPs from the perspective of an international relief worker, basing his remarks on field work and a recent trip to East Africa.

Panel Topic 3:  The American Dream vs. the American Reality
Speaker: Mark Hetfield, Senior Vice President for Policy and Programs, HIAS
Description: Hetfield will discuss what needs fixing in the U.S. refugee resettlement system, how to do it, and how changes needed in the U.S. system interrelate to changes needed in the international refugee protection system.

Panel Topic 4:  The Reality of Repatriation: The Liberian Experience
Speaker: Jennifer Prestholdt, Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
Description: Prestholdt will discuss the issue of repatriation in the context of Liberia and the Liberian Diaspora and will provide a context for the current forced repatriation of Liberians from the Budamburam Refugee Camp in Ghana. 

12:15 - 1:00   Lunch

1:00 - 1:45    Afternoon Plenary I

Topic: The Refugee Journey: Lessons from Darfur
Speaker: Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan until 2008.
Description: Dr. Simar will discuss her experience as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Sudan and lessons learned that may be applied to improve the current refugee protection system and to prevent protracted refugee situations.

2:00 - 2:30    Afternoon Plenary II

Topic: The Refugee Journey: An Overview of Refugee Protection Mechanisms
Speaker: Jennifer Prestholdt, Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
Description: The speaker will help to provide a foundation for the afternoon working sessions by discussing the different international protection mechanisms available to advocate on behalf of refugees and how to use them.

2:30 - 3:30    Working Sessions 1 & 2

Topic: Strategizing to Develop Durable Solutions
Description: Conference participants will choose to attend one of two working sessions at which they will discuss the priority areas of refugee protection that need to be improved, potential approaches to address these areas, and ways in which the community may take action to promote change. Each working session will focus on a different refugee population, one on Liberia and the other on Sudan.

Working Session 1: Liberia and its Diaspora
Facilitator: Laura Young, Staff Attorney, The Advocates for Human Rights

Working Session 2: Sudan, Chad and Refugees from Darfur
Facilitators:
Ellen Kennedy, Interim Director, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Brad Lehrman, Attorney at Law, Lommen Abdo Cole King Stageberg P.A.  

3:30 - 3:45    Break

3:45 - 5:00   Working Plenary & Evaluation

Topic: Mobilizing for Change
Facilitators: Colleen Beebe, Director of Education, The Advocates for Human Rights
Ellen Kennedy, Interim Director, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Description: Conference participants will reconvene in one group to discuss each individual groups' conclusions from the working sessions.

6.0 CLE credits have been applied for. A CEU certificate of attendance will be provided.