The Mahali Innovation Lab

The Syrian conflict has resulted in a massive displacement crisis: in Jordan, there are over 650,000 registered refugees. As the displacement becomes increasingly protracted, refugee savings and assets are all but exhausted, the Government of Jordan is struggling to address refugee needs, and aid agencies find themselves ever more stretched to provide both emergency and long-term support. And yet, though it’s clear that available resources are not enough, there remains an enormous untapped asset: the creativity and agency of refugees themselves.

The Mahali Innovation Lab is a co-working space in East Amman dedicated to putting refugees in the lead of developing cutting edge solutions to challenges that impact their lives. Through three design sprints over 18 months, the Mahali Innovation Lab seeks to surface breakthrough solutions in humanitarian practice. Underlying the Mahali approach is the belief that, if properly supported, those experiencing a problem are best placed to solve the problem.

Join Eva Kaplan to discuss lessons-learned from a year into the community innovation lab work, and deep dive into specific solutions coming from the design sprint on informal learning.

Bio
Eva Kaplan is the Regional Director of Innovation, Middle East, for the International Rescue Committee. Prior to the IRC, Eva worked in various roles at the UN, including setting up a network of Social Innovation Labs for children across Jordan, setting up UNICEF’s first foresight function, and developing and implementing 9 research projects in the UN’s first big data initiative, the UN Global Pulse. She also has worked extensively in Kenya, working with Kenya National Library Services to establish libraries as spaces for community-led development, and with Poverty Action Lab implementing several randomized controlled trials at the intersection of economics and health.

As this event occurs at noon, attendees are welcome to bring a bag lunch. Water, coffee, and cookies will be supplied.