The Partnership for Refugees is a refugee public-private partnership established in June 2016 as the Partnership for Refugees by the Obama administration to facilitate President Barack Obama's commitment to creative solutions for the refugee crisis by engaging the private sector. The Partnership, an initiative established through collaboration between the State Department and USA for UNHCR with significant support from Accenture Federal Services, was established to facilitate private sector commitments in response to President Obama's June 30, 2016 Call to Action for Private Sector Engagement on the Global Refugee Crisis. On September 20, 2016, at the Leaders Summit on Refugees at the United Nations, President Obama announced that 51 companies from across the American economy have pledged to make new, measurable and significant commitments that will have a durable impact on refugees residing in countries on the front lines of the global refugee crisis and in countries of resettlement, like the United States.
The commitments total came to more than $650 million to support 6.3 million refugees across more than 20 countries.
Participants and Call to Action commitments Public sector organizations engaged in and leading the initiative include the USA for UNHCR, the United States Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development. In October 2016, the Tent Foundation was born in the light of this initiative.
The partnership was established with the participation of 51 legacy businesses, brands, and technology companies. The initial commitments included three focus areas – education, employment and enablement – to align with Leaders' Summit goals.
The participants' commitments, announced on September 20, 2016, included a range of direct and indirect interventions around refugees and displaced peoples, including: 180LA pledged to provide its advertising, digital, social media, and design services to raise awareness of the refugee crisis and welcome resettled refugees. Accenture committed to providing over $3 million in financial support and in-kind strategic consulting, program management, and digital services to support the Partnership for Refugees and Upwardly Global. In regards to Upwardly Global, Accenture is expanding its refugee workforce programs in the United States and globally as aligned to its global Skills to Succeed program. Accenture is also collaborating with UNHCR to launch a connectivity strategy for refugees and with USA for UNHCR through the Accenture Innovation Challenge to increase its impact on refugees while raising awareness among graduate students nationally. Airbnb committed to developing a program that enables existing Airbnb hosts temporarily to accommodate refugee families when long-term housing is not immediately available; expand its initiative to host relief workers through the travel credits program; develop a job creation strategy for Syrian refugees in Jordan through a livelihoods pilot program; and create a social media campaign to allow its hosts and guests to raise funds for the UNHCR. Alight Fund pledged to raise $100 million in micro-loan capital to invest in 50,000 refugee and host community small-business entrepreneurs. The pilot program will be launched in Iraqi Kurdistan. Autodesk pledged to make an estimated $2 million software donation to UNHCR, offering 141 subscription licenses of Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate and 141 subscription licenses of Autodesk InfraWorks to support UNHCR's physical settlement planning and design capacity, and also to recommend a financial grant of $50,000 to support the adoption of technical solutions to help refugees in conjunction with Microdesk. BanQu, Inc. committed to creating mobile phone-based block chain economic profiles through its Economic Identity Platform for approximately 1.5 – 2.0 million refugees by the end of 2017. Bloom Five committed to providing 10 hours per month of professional development services – including technical assistance and workshops on resume and cover letter writing, written and oral presentations, seminars, mock interviews, and employment-related networking – to resettled refugees in the United States. BRCK committed to providing digital access and developing digital educational content and resources for children, youth, and women in refugee camps. Citigroup pledged to collaborate with its public and private sector clients as well as with its strategic partners to focus on sustainable solutions that are responsive to the needs of refugees. These solutions include initiatives that target youth education and employability, as well as collaboration with sovereigns and the international development community on ideas around creative financing solutions to unlock funding to address the needs of displaced persons. Citi will continue to optimize its relationships with the supranational agencies and NGOs that operate in conflict and refugee zones. Chobani pledged to continue its ongoing commitment to welcome people from all over the world to join the company, including those in its local communities who are resettled refugees. It will look for ways to support the broader business community by sharing its experiences and learnings, and work with the Partnership for Refugees to help ensure this insight is incorporated into research and materials to improve cross-sector knowledge. Coursera pledged to launch and support Coursera for Refugees in conjunction with the Department of State. Coursera for Refugees enables an unlimited number of non-profits that work with refugees to apply for at least one year of group financial aid. Partner non-profit organizations will be able to support refugees in quickly building career skills and gaining recognizable certificates through access to the 1,000+ Coursera courses offered by leading universities. Coursera for Refugees also includes organizational support services for partner non-profit organizations. DSM pledged to develop programs enabling refugees to obtain employment; develop employee volunteer programs to facilitate the development of language and cultural skills of refugees resettling in the United States; offer programs to refugees on nutrition improvement and education; and continue to work with leading organizations such as Upwardly Global, WFP, UNICEF, Global Health Corp, and World Vision to ensure that refugees have opportunity, nutrition, and healthcare. Facebook pledged to bring Wi-Fi connectivity to 35 locations across Greece, in partnership with NetHope; develop a strategy for bringing internet connectivity to individuals living in refugee camps and surrounding communities, in partnership with UNHCR and local partners; leverage the Facebook social media platform to raise awareness and funds for the refugee crisis; and donate advertising credits and creative services support to UNHCR and other refugee-serving organizations. Figure 8 Investment Strategies pledged to recruit, hire, and train refugees and provide refugee employees with access to key industry licenses and certifications (CFA, CFP, Series 7, 63, 65); partner with Global Talent Idaho and the Idaho Department. of Labor to provide skilled refugees with internship and apprenticeship opportunities in financial analysis and investment advising; support refugee communities in Idaho with pro-bono financial literacy training and advice; and source goods and services from refugee-owned business wherever possible. Goldman Sachs pledged to donate $7.5 million to support refugees in partnership with leading NGOs, including UNHCR. Specifically, Goldman will: provide support to organizations delivering critical humanitarian aid, including food, shelter, urgent medical care, and trauma support; help ensure refugee children have access to consistent education and safe learning facilities throughout camps in and around Syria; create a new online 10,000 Women program that will teach entrepreneurial and business skills; and support positive refugee integration in European host countries by providing English language, employability skills, and other training opportunities. Google pledged to provide new funding and technical expertise to organizations enabling 10,000 out-of-school primary school-aged refugees in Lebanon to access free formal education through a new primary school classroom model in 2017. Henry Schein pledged, over the next three years, to donate $350K in essential health care products to an international aid organization to support volunteer physicians providing care to Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East. Henry Schein will also donate $100,000 in oral care products to support volunteer dentists treating refugees, and 7,500 health and hygiene kits for refugees living in camps, including specialized kits for women and girls. HP Inc. pledges to establish 6 HP Learning Studios in Lebanon and Jordan to engage refugee youth in developing skills and help to give refugee students access to the latest education technology while providing adults the opportunity for employment re-skilling. HP also pledges to expand the HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE) with additional free online courses and curated content to help refugees develop essential business and IT skills; connect Girl Scouts in the Washington D.C. area with young Syrian refugee girls for one-to-one peer learning and mentoring; actively pursue the purchase of online freelance services from refugees; enable access to technology and HP LIFE e-learning for refugees at the International Medical Corps Livelihoods Center pilot in Turkey; and explore IT infrastructure solutions. IBM pledges to continue its ongoing commitment in support of migrants and refugees, with a focus on the crisis in Europe. IBM intends to continue actively seeking grant partnerships, volunteerism opportunities, and other avenues to leverage IBM's capabilities in support of this humanitarian crisis. IKEA pledges to introduce a national community involvement activity in Fiscal Year 2017, in partnership with select refugee non-profit organizations, and to use IKEA's furniture and home furnishing expertise to help refugees in the United States. This estimated in-kind donation will be worth approximately $500,000. Johnson & Johnson pledged to donate an additional $1.75 million to Save the Children, earmarked for refugees, to be spent in 2016 and 2017; to expand programmatic efforts to Turkey and Egypt; to shift its program focus to refugee education, mental health support, and community building initiatives for refugee parents; and to launch a public awareness-campaign in support of refugees. Karp Randel pledged to leverage their corporate network and expertise to garner more support for the Partnership for Refugees and encourage others to submit pledges and to support the future host organization. Kleiman International Consultants committed to establishing a multisector taskforce and organizing a Private Sector Financing Forum to develop innovative financial market projects, including sovereign refugee bonds and stock exchange company investment funds, that will enable frontline state capital markets to raise funds for their crisis response, employment, infrastructure, and development needs. Libra Group committed to continue providing monetary support, resources, and technologies to nongovernmental organizations (NGO) working directly with refugees in Greece, and to extend its focus on education, mental health and security for unaccompanied minors and women. Activities will include purchase and installation of security cameras; hiring and deployment of mental health professionals; and provision of funds, shelter, and educational scholarships for unaccompanied minors and woman entering Greece.