The Library
Do you know how to fail well?
In his book, The World After Midnight, Eddie Obeng talks about how ‘today, the current pace, scale and interconnectedness of change exceed...
Integrated communications strategy: a collaborative experience in Costa Rica
Integrated Communications strategy: a collaborative experience in Costa Rica During the Innovation Fellowship we iFellows were trained on...
Education above all: unlocking human development at Kakuma
"Anyone can become a refugee. This is not a choice we make."-- Aisha, 17 years old. Iterative Innovation For anyone who becomes a refugee,...
Could tablet-based education help ensure a high quality education for some 18,000 young refugees at Dadaab?
Our Learn Lab is working with UNHCR’s Education Unit and the Vodafone Foundation to provide tablet-based education in primary and...
Helping refugees help themselves: community based approach
In Kampala, Uganda urban refugee case load is excluded from the mainstream refugee assistance and protection that is focused on the...
Can crisis mapping show innovation a new way to grow up?
Crisis Mapping has been an inspiring example of community-led open innovation applied to big problems. Leveraging both technology and...
How to plan a prototype project: 4 lessons learned
Refugees have reported that, thanks to solar streetlights in the refugee camps around Dollo Ado, Ethiopia, there’s now more freedom of...
A life of dignity for all
The global population has crossed 7 billion and children are amongst its largest yet most vulnerable stakeholders. Exploitation of young...
SMS system for warehouse management
If functions like selling, marketing and finance could be embedded into such a device, why not logistics and procurement? It is the same...
Asylum Support Map
Making it easier for asylum seekers to access services and support. Refugees often leave behind not just homes and jobs, but their entire...
Integrated Communications Strategy
Helping refugees get critical information about rights and services. In the vibrant, bustling city of San Jose, Costa Rica, about...
Linking education and innovation in humanitarian settings…are they connected?
Education is repeatedly mentioned as a priority by refugees often as their only hope for a better future. Today, the number of refugees...
Redesigning refugee communities: post 2 of 2
Designing a Solution: The innovative design consists of a U-shaped compound, and is based on the principle of compact development. The...
Redesigning refugee communities: post 1 of 2
A Look at the Challenge: We all have our own origin and our way of life! We all wish to live in well-arranged area for our...
Informational App for Syrian Refugees
The crisis in Syria has already driven 3 million people to flee the country. In 2014 as they poured into neighboring countries, UNHCR was...
Piggeries, solar lighting, and biodigesters: my iFellow experience
As an iFellow in Beirut, Lebanon, I’ve had the opportunity to delve more deeply into sectors I’ve always wanted to learn more about....
An innovative approach to latrines in Dollo Ado
Dollo Ado is a Woreda (district) in Somali region of Ethiopia – that borders the troubled Somalia. It’s home to over 200,000 Somali...
Change is difficult: let’s dance!
As a reader, you will notice that I will use the term ¨Harmony” a lot of times during this blog. Like in music, the harmony (how each...
UPRISE – UNHCR promotional items generating sustainable earnings for refugees
Even if you dream big, you have to start small. Innovation is not about novelty or invention. It is about adapting to context. Those are...
Lessons learned from iFellow workshop in Nairobi
Innovation fellowship itself is an innovative initiative of UNHCR. I always feel proud of being a member of the first class iFellowship...
10 reasons you should be an iFellow…
1. It’s an extraordinary learning experience. The Innovation Fellowship is an integral learning experience that...
Innovation takes time…
I was excited to become part of UNHCR’s inaugural Innovation Fellowship programme. Excited because I wanted to learn about the “innovation...
Building bridges between refugees and the private sector
As an ifellow, I am receiving training in innovative design thinking and project management, and to put into practice these new skills, I...
What do I intend to do as an iFellow?
I’m a development professional with extensive experience in applied research, livelihoods monitoring, impact evaluation and...
Innovation workshop in Eastern Sudan: A wake-up call for collective efforts
Eastern Sudan is the largest concentration of refugees and asylum seekers. The region currently hosts 73,181 refugees and asylum seekers....
What have I learned about innovation?
I remember the day we received the broadcast calling for applications for the UNHCR Innovation Fellowship 2013-2014 and how it got my...
Innovation process @ UNHCR Azerbaijan – How to make protection counseling at the refugee reception center more efficient?
UNHCR Azerbaijan is a small office with 16 staff members covering around 1,600 asylum seekers and refugees. UNHCR Refugee Reception Center...
Empowering girls through sport: an iFellow in Afghanistan
Part of 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence On the 25th of November 2013, UNHCR operations around the globe...
iFellows…what are they?
What is an iFellow? That was the question that I got this afternoon in my office; I get that question a lot from my friends and colleagues...
All fingers are not same, so are poverty and vulnerabilities of protracted refugees in Eastern Sudan
The food aid, a vital livelihood provisioning intervention and an element of the relief-development continuum, aims to reduce the...
Solutions to livelihoods crises for refugees: SOLVE
At present, I am in the field, and leading the rapid livelihoods impact assessment in the refugee camps in Eastern Sudan. In the meantime,...