On all politics is local

A screenshot from this week’s (brilliant) New Yorker hits incredibly close to home —

On updates

In the world post-thesis (!!), updates are coming to this site. Watch this space!

On visiting the neighbors

Long time neighbor, first time visitor: I finally got to take a tour of the US Embassy today (..unsurprisingly, zero cameras or phones allowed) just before giving a briefing on refugee issues to D.C. and Oslo staff. The building is shaped like a triangle — stairwells included!

On offices under construction

Greetings from my little corner from inside the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget)! With thanks for all of the assistance in digging out old Swedish records despite considerable construction.

On back to the stacks

I spent 7-10 March back in Geneva, visiting the archives at IOM, IFRC, and the UNOG: With thanks to the three offices for my visits!

On finding inspiration

Beyond thankful that my singular wish of 2015 – to see Hamilton – came true! The cast album is certainly wonderful, but the brilliance of the live experience is something I won’t soon forget. Happy to report the show exceeded my (very high) expectations and deserves every superlative. While in NYC, K and I tried to absorb as […]

On introductions and pep talks

Bonus perk of working out of UNHCR’s archives this week? Getting to watch the new UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi’s introductory remarks to the HQ — “UNHCR is navigating extraordinarily difficult waters,” Grandi said. “The combination of multiple conflicts and resulting mass displacement, fresh challenges to asylum, the funding gap between humanitarian needs and […]

On having a corner window

Fresh off a winter holiday spent at a cabin in the mountains, I’ve landed in Geneva and am happy to report that UNHCR’s archives offer working space on the third floor — not in the basement, as I had feared! (y’all can see the window behind my case of documents, right!?)

On conferences: The European refugee situation and the role of civil society

Norsk Folkehjelp hosted a conference on The European Refugee Situation and the Role of Civil Society on 8 December. The presentations themselves were interesting, but the most memorable point was a brief exchange during a question from the audience: After Vigdis Vevstad’s presentation situating the current legal (and, to some degree, political) situation, a woman […]

On meetings: Migration Across the Mediterranean

On 30 October 2015, I attended the Migration across the Mediterranean: Challenges and Solutions meeting hosted at Institutt for samfunnsforskning. The timing of the meeting was spot on: halfway through the budget addendum went public, relating specifically to the discussions of the Ministries represented. Also always interesting to hear discussions of more the technical issues […]