We are delighted to announce the 2024 recipients of funding awards from the Gil Loescher Memorial Fund: Tegan Hadisi and Bisimwa Mulemangabo. The Fund was established to support the costs of original research on any topic related to refugees and forced displacement by a graduate student (Masters or DPhil) at the University of Oxford.
Tegan Hadisi is studying for the MPhil in Development Studies. Her research focuses on the Migrant TikTok ecosystem. TikTok has transformed digital content creation, empowering marginalised voices such as refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers from the Global South to share their migration experiences. Migrants use TikTok to challenge prevailing media portrayals and construct counter-narratives that contest prominent Global North media stereotypes of ‘invading’ migrants. TikTok’s wide reach and accessibility create an ecosystem where many varied actors can contribute to dominant and media-adjacent narratives. This results in a tension between different actors and their vested interests in refugee, migrant, and asylum-seeking issues. The influence and legitimacy of TikTok in the migration context were underscored when the UK government attempted to hire TikTok influencers to create content aimed at deterring migrants. The way this ecosystem manifests on TikTok has potential implications for the lives of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, as well as their home and host countries.
Bisimwa Mulemangabo is pursuing a DPhil in International Development. His research project examines ‘The past and present of energy programming in displacement settings’. When displacement response plans are prepared, humanitarian agencies seldom think of energy as a worthwhile sector. Energy projects are implemented on an ad hoc basis, often with limited impact. By investigating the history of energy programming in refugee camps, we may gain an appreciation of the evolving institutional practices and the possibilities for the future of humanitarian energy. The project asks the questions: How does the humanitarian system support energy access for forcibly displaced persons? What project design approaches are used? Who is and who is not involved? The research takes a historical perspective to provide answers, drawing upon UNHCR’s archival material and expert interviews.
About the Fund
The Gil Loescher Memorial Fund supports research with a connection to refugees or forced displacement, ideally with policy relevance. Awards are for up to £2000, and eligible costs include travel, subsistence, and data collection costs in any region of the world. All graduate students at the University are eligible to apply, although priority will be given to applicants from the Global South and/or with lived experience of displacement.