Fafo news archive

Iraqi refugees in Jordan

21 February 2007

Jordanian officials indicate Fafo will be asked to take on the task of surveying Iraqi refugees in Jordan. A spokesman for the Jordanian government, Nasser Jodah, told Nettavisen that Jordan has registered around 400,000 Iraqi refugees, but believes that the true number may be closer to 700,000. A more accurate number will help the government adjust its policy responses accordingly. Research director Jon Pedersen hope agreement can be reached between Jordan and Norway shortly, and the survey could begin quickly thereafter. Fafo has previously carried out surveys all over the Middle East, and has been engaged in estimating the number of Palestinian refugees.

Iraqi refugees in Jordan

21 February 2007

Jordanian officials indicate Fafo will be asked to take on the task of surveying Iraqi refugees in Jordan. A spokesman for the Jordanian government, Nasser Jodah, told Nettavisen that Jordan has registered around 400,000 Iraqi refugees, but believes that the true number may be closer to 700,000. A more accurate number will help the government adjust its policy responses accordingly. Research director Jon Pedersen hope agreement can be reached between Jordan and Norway shortly, and the survey could begin quickly thereafter. Fafo has previously carried out surveys all over the Middle East, and has been engaged in estimating the number of Palestinian refugees.

- A large self-image

16 February 2007

Before starting his speech at the Fafo-conference yesterday Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg took the oportunity to congratulate Fafo on it's first 25 years:
- An impressive institution with an impressive history, impressive persons conducting quality research.

- Fafo is alo a very ambitous institution, the Prime Minister jokingly added, quoting a paper from Fafo to The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions in 1981 "There's reason to believe that the economic crisis in the western industrialized countries will deepen and there's a real danger that the international economic systems will suffer a break-down"

- The fact that the answer to this was Fafo bears witness to a large self-image, said Mr. Stoltenberg.

Today the conference continues, featuring among many others, key-note speakers George Soros and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre.

The Fafo Conference 2007

15 February 2007

Welcoming 500 guests, Managing Director Jon M. Hippe delivers his opening adress for Fafo's 25th anniversary and the Fafo Conference 2007. During two days of conference we proudly presents almost 20 hours of program in three plenary and six paralell sessions. Among the speakers in the opening sessions are Terje Rød-Larsen, the founder of Fafo, research legend Richard B. Freeman and the prime minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg.

Read more

New report: The Syrian Labour Market

30 January 2007

At a technical seminar on the Syrian labour market in Damaskus 29 January, Fafo presented the report The Syrian Labour Market, by Geir Øvensen and Pål Sletten. The report is a result of 3-year cooperation with Syria’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The project has collected and analysed labour market and living conditions statistics. Furthermore, it had a capacity building component whereby Fafo provided training in the analysis of labour statistics to CBS staff as well as employees at Syria’s State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Labour, the Agency for Combating Unemployment, Damascus University and Teshreen University. Read more and download pdf

New report: Facing Return

25 January 2007

Facing Return. Perceptions of Repatriation among Nigerian Women in Prostitution in Norway

This report by Fafo researchers May-Len Skilbrei and Marianne Tveit deals with the issue of repatriation of Nigerian women in prostitution in Norway, and aims at creating knowledge about what influences whether they want to go back to Nigeria or not. Read more and download pdf

Fafo's Forum on the EU enlargement Seminar: Romania and Bulgaria

16 January 2007

The first Fafo Østforum seminar in 2007 will focus on the EU's newest member states, Romania and Bulgaria. The seminar will shed light especially on issues related to the economies, foreign investment and business development, labour markets, business development, and the potential mobility of labour and companies. Key speaker Mr Iuliu Winkler (pictured), Romanian Minister for Commerce, and introductions by Mrs Lilia Stankova, head of division "EU-2" in the Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) and Nicolai Vazov, Assistant Professor, University of Sofia. Programme and registration

Madrid 15 years later

January 10th 2007

Madrid+15 is a civil society initiative which aspires to identify the concerns and expectations of the respective parties and deliberate on what could constitute the beginning of an official political process, culminating in a peace conference that would seek to create the conditions for a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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