On 27 March 2025, we were delighted to welcome Prof. Sandra Rozo from the World Bank. As part of our lecture series on Cross-Border Labor Mobility, Prof. Rozo delivered an insightful lecture on “Insights from Evidence on Colombia’s Regularization Programs for Venezuelan Forced Migrants”.
In her lecture, Prof. Rozo focused on how forced displacement has reached unprecedented levels, with over 120 million people displaced globally in 2024 due to conflict, violence, climate change, and human rights violations. These crises are becoming increasingly protracted and feature low return rates, underscoring the need to transition from hosting models that rely solely on humanitarian aid to financially sustainable, medium- to long-term strategies. While immediate humanitarian assistance is vital for addressing urgent needs, its impact is limited without clear pathways to self-sufficiency. Hosting models that enable forced migrants to generate income and access essential services have proven effective in enhancing self-reliance and well-being. For example, Colombia’s approach to hosting Venezuelan migrants—by granting them the right to work and full access to services—has significantly reduced dependency and fostered resilience.
This lecture series is organized by Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) and the Doctoral School in Economics, Finance and Management at the University of Luxembourg, in the framework of the Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR), Luxembourg funded project ACROSS and financing scheme RESCOM.
The next lecture series will feature Prof. Katrin Millock from the Paris School of Economics and will focus on “Migration as adaptation to climate change”.
An event supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) (PRIDE19/14302992) and (RESCOM/2024/LE/18786706).
