Advocacy and Education staff from JRS participated in Refugees & Migrants in Our Common Home, a conference that took place between the 1st-3rd  of October 2025, in Rome.  

The event was sponsored by The Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration of Villanova University, at the Augustinian Patristic Pontifical Institute in Rome, Italy. A variety of participants from academia, civil society and government from more than 40 Countries around the world met to tackle the challenges of education for migrants and refugees.  

This conference was important for JRS with key programmatic work centring on delivering quality education for refugees as a means of fostering agency among refugee peoples. During this education conference, JRS played a key role in co-facilitating one of the working groups that focused on advocacy with a focus on higher education, secondary school education and collaboration. 

The conference also supported the participation of refugees sharing their testimonies, including the story of Viktoria Palamuk who had to flee Ukraine to Poland and seek refuge in Lithuania. 

Tevfik Karatop, Project Manager at JRS Canada, attended the conference and agreed to answer a few questions about it. 

JRS Canada: We hear you just came back from Rome. How exciting! Can you tell us what was your role there? 

T.K: Sure, I was in Rome for three major objectives:

1) I facilitated our simulation exercise at the conference Refugees and Migrants in our Common Home.

2) I represented JRS with my colleagues from the International Office in the advocacy working group, which is a significant part of the initiative Refugees and Migrants in our Common Home.

3) I also facilitated our simulation exercise with our colleagues in Italy and Malta and ran a “Train the Trainer” workshop for people from 8 different JRS country offices. This workshop represents the first phase of our global project where we create local versions of the simulation for which I train future facilitators from different countries.   

JRS Canada: We also want to hear about your meeting with the Pope. It must be a privilege in your line of work! How was that experience for you and what did you talk about? 

T.K: On the second day of the conference, Pope Leo XIV granted the participants a private audience. Meeting with the Pope is a “once in a lifetime” experience. More importantly, his remarks will always resonate with me.

While I promote our simulation exercise, I emphasize that our educational content aims to address indifference towards refugees. The Pope in his speech spoke of the “globalization of indifference” and offered a “culture of encounter” as the antidote for the globalization of indifference.

I think our simulation in its core invites people to encounter with refugees and have a more informed opinion after experiencing the simulation exercise. You can read his speech on the following link.  

JRS Canada: How was the experience of presenting A Journey Into Exile in Rome? 

T.K: Up until now, I have facilitated more than 130 workshops and every session is unique as different participants attend each workshop. While other speakers were given 7 minutes to talk about their projects, the conference organizers graciously gave me 75 minutes to facilitate our simulation. It was a great to joy to share our simulation with those people who already work with refugees.   

JRS Canada: What will you retain from this trip on a professional level? 

T.K: My conversations with the participants and people during the conference assured me that our objective to amplify refugee voices is more critical than ever. I’m also very grateful for my colleagues from the International Office and other JRS country offices who empower me as we create local versions of the simulation exercise. Their enthusiasm makes my job easier every day.  

JRS Canada: What will you retain on a personal level? 

T.K: One of the best parts of my job is meeting with refugees and people who serve them. I personally build my work on the hope that stems from refugees and migrants themselves. I can say this trip has confirmed that hope in my spiritual life. The Pope’s speech about hope and participating in Jubilee activities are great memories that I will carry until the end of my life.