Events
The world is experiencing the highest levels of human displacement on record, as millions of refugees flee violence and persecution. Many undergo strenuous journeys to seek asylum and a better life elsewhere. Understanding the refugee experience has become more important than ever, and film offers a unique medium for telling the stories of refugees.
Please join Perry World House, Penn Cinema and Media Studies, and One Journey on January 23 for a screening of three short vignettes on the refugee experience and a panel discussion with experts, policymakers, and refugees. The discussion will be followed by a reception and breakout sessions with local resettlement agencies and NGOs working on these pressing issues.
Organizations attending include:
- 1 Journey Film Festival
- African Family Health Organization
- Bridge
- HIAS Pennsylvania
- Nationalities Service Center
- Refugee Congress
- Penn FilmAid
- SEAMAAC
The reception will be catered by the SoPhiE food truck of the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition.
SPEAKERS
Peter Decherney is Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and English at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a secondary appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and an affiliation with the Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition at Penn Law School. He is the Faculty Director of Penn’s campus-wide Online Learning Initiative and Director of the Cinema & Media Studies Program. He is the author or editor of six books including Hollywood’s Copyright Wars: From Edison to the Internet and Hollywood: A Very Short Introduction. He has directed documentary and virtual reality films including Filmmaking for Democracy in Myanmar, Glimpses of Kalobeyei, about a refugee settlement in Kenya, and The Heart of Puerto Rico, about artists in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria. Prof. Decherney is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
ZarZo Lian came to the United States as a refugee from Burma in 2000. Lian is working as a part-time outreach worker with SEAMAAC to help her community access resources. She spent the last two years working on the SoPhiE food truck to gain the experience and skills to become a successful entrepreneur. Her goal is to own a take-out restaurant within her own community, where she can serve healthy food to customers and create jobs for refugees. Her dream has come true: Lian now is the owner of sushi bars across the Philadelphia area.
Cathryn Miller-Wilson has been Executive Director of HIAS Pennsylvania since November, 2016. Prior to joining HIAS Pennsylvania as Deputy Director in June, 2014, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Villanova University School of Law where she co-taught the Civil Justice Clinic. She has several law journal publications regarding legal ethics, disability law and policy and legal education. She graduated from Tufts University in 1989 and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1993 and currently sits on the law school’s Board of Managers. In 2004 she was awarded the Penn Law Alumni Society’s Young Alumni Award for Professional Achievement.
J
ocelyn Perry is the Global Shifts Program Manager at Perry World House. Prior to joining the PWH team, Jocelyn served as a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow with Malawi's Department of Refugees, working on advocacy for and development of Malawi’s Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework alongside the United Nations Refugee Agency. Her current research focuses on forms of governance, political organization, and participatory decision-making among displaced populations and in urban areas. A proud Penn graduate, Jocelyn also received her MPhil from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar.
Anne Richard teaches at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and is affiliated with Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of International Migration. In addition to Georgetown, she is or has been a visiting fellow or professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center (Spring 2020), Hamilton College (Fall 2019) and Perry World House (Spring and Fall 2017). She served as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration in the Obama Administration (2012-2017). Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Ms. Richard was the vice president of government relations and advocacy for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Ms. Richard is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.
