Migration: The Good, Bad & Ugly!

This will be a presentation on real-life issues and mitigating strategies Pushpi Weerakoon has encountered during her 15+ years as a frontline peacebuilder. She will focus on the conflict sensitive tools and lessons learned she has applied while working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and serving for the United Nations as a rapid response emergency coordinator in Asia, the Middle East, North & Central America, the Caribbean and Oceania/Pacific. There she assisted populations to navigate safe and orderly migration, giving priority to prevention of sexual exploitation, assault & harrassment (PSEAH), Trafficking in Persons (TIP), Gender Based Violence (GBV) and suicide.

Introduction by: Mari Clarke, President Elect of Rotary Club of Washington Global, Chair of the Rotary District 7620 Peace Committee. This presentation is part of the District 7620 Peace Committee Monthly Peace Talks Series.

Moderated by: Jeff Helsing, Research Associate Professor and Executive Director, Better Evidence Project, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution 

Speaker: Pushpi Weerakoon is a specialist in Peacebuilding, Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, Transitional Justice, Restorative Justice, Migration Management, Development, and Diplomacy. She has worked for the past 15 years for the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations, often as a Sub Regional Program Manager or as Project Coordinator. Pushpi is a former Rotary Peace Fellow and she is the recipient of the prestigious 2025 ‘Rotary Alumni Global Service Award’ for 'Exceptional Humanitarian Services,' the highest honor presented to a Rotary alumnus internationally.