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Hacknight #266 – Introduction to Techfugees Toronto with Olivia Doggett & Mounir Nasri

Date: Nov 03, 2020

Topic: Introduction to Techfugees Toronto

Techfugees Toronto is one of eight chapters of the global organization, Techfugees, which exists to empower displaced people whilst supporting tech innovations designed by, with and for them. Just over one year old now, Techfugees Toronto is beginning a project addressing refugee challenges regarding housing and affordability in the GTA. The talk will introduce the chapter, its mission and what we are hoping to learn and accomplish through the housing and affordability project.

Speakers:

  • Olivia Doggett – Olivia Doggett joined Techfugees in 2019 after learning about Techfugees at a design conference in Mexico City. She is a designer and current PhD student at University of Toronto focusing on designing for communities at the margins of society through the disciplines of human computer interaction and critical design. With four years of experience working as an interaction designer and research in the fintech space in Toronto, Olivia is embedded in the local tech ecosystem and has participated in over ten hackathons in the city. She has experience working at Canadian Council for Refugees as a youth ambassador as well as with the volunteer-run, university organization, B.Refuge, which offers a matching program between undergraduate students with asylum seekers who have recently arrived in Montreal.
  • Mounir Nasri – Mounir Nasri is a social entrepreneur and advisor in the field of community development. His multicultural background as well as his wide-spread organizational network in different countries have helped him build several refugee settlement and social impact projects in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq prior to his arrival to Canada under the private sponsorship program. Mounir has been working with ACSA – Newcomers’ Centre in Toronto for the past four years, where he led the entrepreneurship, employment, skills building and mentorship programs for newcomers and refugees, and he is currently working with Toronto’s Local Immigration Partnership, where he leads and coordinates cross-sectoral innovative collaborations to build and sustain welcoming and inclusive communities for new Canadians. Mounir holds a Master of Management in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MMIE) from Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, where he also earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with distinction in Global Development Studies after studying Computer Science at Haigazian University in Lebanon.

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