The Businesses for Refugees Pledge: How U.S. Businesses Can Advocate for Refugees | Concordia

Moderator - Joe Sackor

Speakers:
Kate Olsen
Veronica (Noni) Rossini
Chris Chancey
Hans How
Abhinav Bahl

A Community Discussion from the 2021 Concordia Annual Summit: U.S. businesses are uniquely positioned to offer refugees the opportunity to rebuild their lives. It is not just the right thing to do; refugee inclusion also strengthens our economy, our workplaces, and our communities. The Businesses for Refugees pledge is a one-time advocacy effort to encourage businesses of all sizes​—from Main Street to Wall Street— to sign a public statement expressing their support for refugees. The pledge, which will culminate at the end of September, shares the important message that American companies want to welcome refugees and that business leaders are open to including refugees in their companies. As the U.S. prepares to welcome tens of thousands of Afghan refugees, there has never been a more critical moment for businesses to take this step.

Signatories of the pledge that are interested in taking their advocacy one step further, will be offered strategic support for further commitments to support refugees, including hiring refugees, supporting refugee inclusion, creating employee volunteer programs that support refugees, or beginning a dialogue with refugees in the workforce. Join refugee entrepreneurs, advocates, and business leaders for a conversation on why U.S. businesses should support refugee inclusion and what businesses can do to support refugees.