As part of the Lunchtime Seminar Series, the African Centre for Migration & Society invites you to a seminar titled The role of the church and the challenge of local integration by Father Rampe Hlobo (Jesuit Refugee Services).

Whether forced or voluntarily, human beings have been on the move and migration has been part of their activity. The exponentially increasing numbers of (forced) migrants and refugees in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries have, however, more than ever before, arguably brought the phenomenon of migration and refugees to the attention of the international and faith-based communities again. Consequently, in trying to mitigate the challenges of those who have been forced to leave their homes, local integration has been identified as one the solutions to the many challenges posed by migrants and refugees in host communities. This presentation explores the role of the church, particularly the Catholic Church and its different agents as faith-based organisations and the challenge of local integration. The presentation looks at some of the perceptions of local integration, the doctrine of the Catholic Church on migration and refugees and the challenges of local integration.

Biography

Fr. Rampe Hlobo SJ is a Jesuit priest (Society of Jesus) working at the St Mary’s Catholic Church in Nyanga, Cape Town. He has worked with both Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees in Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) projects in South Sudan and Northern Uganda (2000). In South Africa, he was the Advocacy and Information Officer for JRS (2000 – 2003). During his theological studies in London, he worked as a volunteer for JRS UK (2005 – 2007). He was the Country Director for JRS South Africa (2010 – 2014). Rampe is currently a member of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Migration group and the Africa representative in the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN) Migration group. He holds an MA in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies.

Date: Tuesday 5 June 2018

Time: 12.30 -13.30

Venue: ACMS Seminar Room 2163, South East Wing, Second Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House, University of the Witwatersrand East Campus