Displacement in a Changing World: Global Dialogue Across Campus and Continents

Seventy-five years ago, the world came together in the shadow of war to make a solemn promise: No person forced to flee their home would face the world alone. 

The 1951 Refugee Convention became the cornerstone of international protection — yet today, that promise is under increasing pressure. Humanitarian funding is shrinking, multilateral institutions are strained, and political will for global responsibility-sharing is faltering, even as the number of displaced people continues to rise.

Commemorating with a Year of Dialogue

In 2026, Columbia Global is marking this landmark anniversary with a year-long series of events connecting Columbia schools, Global Centers, and communities across the world. We started with a series of virtual discussions hosted by Global Centers in the Middle East, East Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Each event featured an on-campus watch party, providing Columbia students with the chance to engage with these discussions in their community. 

In the autumn, we will also hold faculty dialogues, policy workshops, and student programming at the campus. 

The series brings together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and people with lived experience of displacement to ask the questions that matter most: How is today's shifting world order reshaping the lives of displaced people? What does global protection mean?

It culminates in December with a flagship summit to mark the moment of collective reckoning and map out a way forward. With the Global Compact on Refugees also under formal review in 2026, this is a rare convergence of anniversary, accountability, and opportunity