🎥 Video | Presentation of the Book The Search for Home among Forced Migrants and Refugees

A few weeks ago, the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá invited us to present Home Renaissance Foundation’s latest book, ‘The Search for Home among Forced Migrants and Refugees.’ The book explores how forcibly displaced people (migrants, refugees, asylum seekers) attempt to reconstruct a sense of “home.” It examines the emotional, social, cultural, and political dimensions of home in the context of forced displacement.

Víctor M. Mijares, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Studies at Universidad de los Andes, moderated the event and introduced the three speakers:

• Prof. Antonio Argandoña, HRF director and Emeritus Professor at IESE Business School. He is the book’s editor too.
• Prof. Magaly Sánchez, Senior Researcher and Scholar at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. She is a contributing chapter author.
• Prof. Allison B. Wolf, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.

Some main ideas:

• The need to decenter traditional notions of home linked to territory, nationality, or ownership.
• The book’s interdisciplinary approach (anthropology, sociology, migration studies).
• The book’s relevance in light of the current global migration crises.
• “Home” as a social construct, not merely a physical place.
• The impact of displacement on identity, belonging, and dignity.
• Personal stories of migrants and how they redefine or rebuild homes in exile.
• Bureaucratic, cultural, or emotional barriers in the process. Emphatising migrant resilience.
• The role of migration policies in facilitating or hindering the reconstruction of home.