In an op-ed for Scientific American, Batten's Lucy Bassett and co-author Hirokazu Yoshikawa outline immediate steps the Biden-Harris administration should take to begin addressing the trauma inflicted upon children through inhumane immigration policies.
Read MoreHumanitarian groups globally praised Tuesday’s preview of an upcoming short online film about the migrants living in a border tent encampment in Matamoros, Mexico.
Read MoreThis year, there has been a laser focus on COVID-19. So when earlier this month the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nation’s World Food Programme, people asked (as our students have been doing): What is the connection between food security and a global pandemic?
Read MoreWith election day less than a month away, we must not forget the ongoing immigration crisis. Join us on October 27th for a virtual event highlighting the inhumane policies in place at the US-Mexico border.
Read MorePrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately one in six people in the Charlottesville/Albemarle region faced food insecurity, unable to consistently access and afford healthy food. Local leaders say the pandemic, which has led to a sharp increase in unemployment claims across the commonwealth and the country, is exacerbating existing problems, especially where systemic issues already existed.
Read MoreGiven current health recommendations based on the rise of COVID-19, people around the world are being careful to wash their hands, practice social distancing, and use personal protective equipment when it’s available. But for millions of people living in conflict and disaster contexts, taking measures like these can be next to impossible, and Professor Kirsten Gelsdorf emphasized how important it is to understand their situation.
Read MoreOn Monday, March 23, the Global Policy Center, Career Services from the Batten School of Public Policy and Leadership, the University of Virginia’s Career Center, and University students came together over Zoom to discuss advice and best practices for a job search in the humanitarian field.
Read MoreTwo faculty members in the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy – Kirsten Gelsdorf, Professor of Practice of Public Policy, and Lucy Bassett, Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy – recently joined forces to help what is perhaps the most vulnerable population in the world: children living in areas of crisis and conflict.
Read MoreAt the end of January, the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative hosted a ‘Research Roundtable’ that brought together scholars from across grounds and practitioners from the United Nations, Save the Children International in London, and the Peace Appeal Foundation. Participants discussed the outcomes of four research projects sponsored by the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative.
Read MoreAs one of the world-leading humanitarian organizations, the International Rescue Committee has long contributed humanitarian response and engaged in policy and advocacy work for displaced people across the globe. And December of 2019 was no exception. But one of the IRC’s smallest U.S. offices, the IRC in Charlottesville, also made a big splash when their New Roots program was invited to the GRF to share their work on the New Roots Photovoice project in the forum’s Marketplace of Best Practices.
Read MoreLucy Bassett has focused her nonprofit work and recent research on the U.S.-Mexico border crisis, specifically a makeshift refugee camp in Matamoros, Mexico, a sprawling compound of improvised shelters separated from Texas by just a few yards of dirt and the Rio Grande. As it happens, Matamoros is also the subject of a Bruce Springsteen song, “Matamoros Banks.”
Read MoreCome join the Wilson Journal in Brooks Hall to hear Batten Professor Lucy Bassett discuss the needs of families and children seeking asylum at the U.S./Mexico border. Light refreshments and free copies of this semester's journal will be provided.
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