Hope through technology for refugees around the world

June 20 marks World Refugee Day. The global crisis of human displacement has reached a level we’ve never seen. More than one in every 69 people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Of the more than 43 million refugees worldwide, approximately 40% are children. These figures are difficult to fathom.

Refugees are mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, and children. They share hopes, ambitions, and dreams like everyone in this global community. But fate has bound them to living in crisis.

To better understand these issues and the work of ServiceNow.org customers who support refugees every day, I traveled to Kenya to hear their stories firsthand and to spread the word about the work we’re doing to support organizations working with refugees.

Although the enormity of the situation is daunting, I came away inspired, with a strong sense of hope and evidence that this work of providing technology for refugees is having a significant impact.

Meeting needs

During my time in Kenya, I had a chance to visit a joint refugee processing center in Nairobi run by the UNHCR and the Kenyan government. The importance of partnerships and integration stood out, from both a technology perspective and a human one.

Ensuring a full view of each refugee’s unique situation and interactions is crucial in delivering the care and support they need during critical times—which, in Kenya, can last years rather than months.

Meeting a need—such as providing access to information about emergency services or assistance in education, healthcare, housing, and legal support—can go a long way toward helping displaced people.

In another part of the world, Europe, ServiceNow.org has partnered with the UNHCR and British Telecom (BT). We built a contact center for displaced refugees to access vital information in their time of need.

The power of welcome

While meeting needs for refugees where they are is vital, the power of words and relationships goes a long way to building hope. The capacity of one word—“welcome”—to inspire dreams and affect change is enormous.

In 2022, we partnered with Welcome.US and Goldman Sachs to stand up a technology platform in six weeks. The purpose: to give displaced people from the Ukraine support, confidence, and the choice to connect with a sponsor family that wants to welcome them into their lives.

This created a movement of hope that’s still alive today. And it’s contagious. More than 650,000 Americans welcomed refugees into their communities over the last three years. We even produced a documentary for the Tribeca Festival that tells the story of a family whose lives have been transformed.

Providing hope through partnership

My time in Kenya reinforced that this work cannot be achieved by any individual organization, idea, or action. It requires the actions of many to build the capacity to help solve the world’s most challenging problems. The refugee crisis is certainly one of them.

Our partnership with the International Rescue Committee is more than just about equipping its frontline workers with the technology to make an incredibly challenging job more efficient. It’s about helping the organization run into locations when others are running out.

Through providing our partners with best-in-class technology, we help deliver hope when and where it’s needed most. The world needs everyone to lean in. On this day and every day, ServiceNow stands with refugees.

Find out more about how ServiceNow works with nonprofit organizations to give people hope.