refugee woman attending an ILO training cheering

PROSPECTS podcast - Refugees at Work

Refugee inclusion in practice: Experiences, outcomes, and impacts

This final episode of the series examines how the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDPN) shapes refugee livelihoods and host community economies. Svein Erik Stav (Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research) and Tewodros Aragie Kebede (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Norad) share about the opportunities, challenges, and policy lessons from countries applying the HDPN approach.

24 September 2025

Participant of ILO's SIYB training in Jordan. © ILO

Podcast description:

In this sixth episode of Refugees at work – What are their prospects?, we explore how the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDPN) is reshaping the international refugee response. Speakers, Svein Erik Stav and Tewodros Aragie Kebede share research findings and field experience from countries where new policies have expanded refugee access to work and fostered economic inclusion.

The discussion highlights the positive impacts of granting refugees the right to work, the importance of aligning humanitarian and development policies, and the need to adapt Nexus models to local realities.

With insights into both successes and ongoing constraints, the episode underscores how refugees can move from dependency to self-reliance when given the right opportunities — benefiting not only themselves but also host communities and national economies.

(Produced by ILO PROSPECTS, with support from consultants Tom Netter and Philip Staercke)

Speakers

  • Photo of Svein Erik Stav
    Svein Erik Stav
    Senior Researcher, Global Studies, Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research
  • Photo of Tewodros Aragie Kebede
    Tewodros Aragie Kebede
    Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)

See also

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS)
students of technical schools wearing helmets smiling

Programme

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS)

Refugees at work - What are their prospects?
refugee agriculture worker in Lebanon

PROSPECTS podcast series

Refugees at work - What are their prospects?

Transforming the international refugee regime and framing the Humanitarian Development and Peace Nexus
Poni Suzan a refugee from South Sudan working at the hotel

PROSPECTS podcast - Refugees at Work

Transforming the international refugee regime and framing the Humanitarian Development and Peace Nexus

The history of the ILO’s refugee engagement

PROSPECTS podcast - Refugees at Work

The history of the ILO’s refugee engagement

Relevant projects

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Sudan
woman and a child sitting inside a shop

ILO-Netherlands Partnership

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Sudan

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Ethiopia
men at vocational training center wearing uniform

ILO-Netherlands Partnership

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Ethiopia

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Uganda
young people showing their products during donor visit in Uganda

ILO-Netherlands Partnership

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Uganda

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Egypt

ILO-Netherlands Partnership

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) in Egypt