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ONE HOME,
ONE PLANET

Action speaks

OHOP is an action-orientated event, that brings together purpose-driven, ideas-led doers, thinkers, and influencers from across different fields. Together, we break down barriers to solving key social and environmental challenges facing the world – challenges that now, more than ever, need urgent attention. Our goal is to inspire action and spark change in the areas of climate crisis, inequality, and resource scarcity, so that we collectively build back better and create the future we all want to be part of.

OHOP Dialogues 2022

Starting this year, OHOP is divided into several shorter sessions referred to as ‘OHOP Dialogues’. By dividing OHOP over the year, there is an opportunity to collaborate and build something actionable together, keeping key social and environmental challenges top of mind. 

ONE HOME, ONE PLANET Dialogues this year is all about the role of businesses in creating lasting positive impact for refugees.  

Man in IKEA Store uniform

Watch highlights from OHOP 2022

A conversation about businesses role in refugee integration

Recordings of panel discussions

ONE HOME,
ONE PLANET
2022

Together with our trusted partners at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the Tent Partnership for Refugees, we explored challenges such as: 

  • How businesses can better nurture the talent and skills of refugees.
  • The barriers for business leaders in accelerating initiatives to support refugee integration.
  • How businesses can change the perception of refugees in our communities.

Agenda

  • Cultural act

  • Today at OHOP - Opening by Jesper Brodin, Tolga Öncu and Yalda Hakim

  • 100 million - Framing by Gillian Triggs, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection

  • Changing the Narrative
    Sharing people’s authentic stories moves us to take meaningful action. In this panel you will hear from three people with different backgrounds, sharing their journey and experience with both education and professional training as an enabler of integration and growth.
    Speakers: Julia Oduol, Edgar Colmenares and Alice Moyon. Moderated by Yalda.

  • Action Speaks LinkedIn LIVE
    It's not enough to talk about and amplify the message about the plight of refugees. It's about harnessing what your organisation does best to help those in need. Then demonstrating the value it brings for those involved, the company and society. In this panel, we will explore how opening pathways for decent work for refugees has proven to be good for business and society.
    Speakers: Part 1 - Tara Nathan, Jesper Brodin, Part 2 - Hamdi Ulukaya, Jesper Brodin. Moderated by Yalda.

  • Breakouts
    Participants are divided into smaller groups, working together to contribute to breaking down the barriers and addressing some of the key challenges for refugee labour integration.

  • The time to act is now! - Wrap up by Tolga Öncu and Yalda Hakim

Our speakers

Yalda Hakim Journalist, Documentary filmmaker & Philanthropist

Yalda is an award-winning foreign correspondent and documentary filmmaker. She currently anchors the flagship program ‘Impact with Yalda Hakim’ on BBC World News. In addition to her presenting duties, Yalda regularly reports in the field for the BBC.

In 2018, Yalda launched the “Yalda Hakim Foundation,” which supports the professional advancement of exceptionallytalented Afghans and this year successfully organized the evacuation of over 200 at-risk Afghans, including some of the country’s most prominent journalists and American University of Afghanistan students.

Yalda was born in Afghanistan and fled with her family as a result of the Soviet invasion, emigrating to Australia.

Jesper Brodin Chief Executive Officer, Ingka Group

Having been with IKEA for over 20 years, Jesper has been in his current role since September 2017. Before this, he was Managing Director at IKEA of Sweden/Range & Supply, which is responsible for the IKEA Brand product range development and supply chain. In 1999, he became assistant to IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, and Anders Dahlvig, CEO at the time.

With a strong belief in valuesbased leadership, Jesper places great emphasis on togetherness, saying: “The power is where the people are. Because we’re truly stronger together.”

Tolga Öncü Retail Operations Manager, Ingka Group

Since 2018, Tolga Öncü is the Global Retail Operations Manager (Chief Operations Officer) of Ingka Group. Ingka Group, formerly known as IKEA Group, is the world’s largest home furnishing retailer and owns and operates over 390 IKEA retail stores in 32 markets under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

Tolga was born in Sweden in the late 1970s. He started his IKEA career in 2002 as a Logistics Manager in IKEA Jönköping, Sweden. During the years he has held several different roles such as Store Manager in IKEA Turkey, Country Sales Manager for IKEA Sweden as well as Country Retail Manager for IKEA Spain.

Tolga holds an MBA from University of MID University, Sweden. He resides in Malmö, Sweden with his family.

Gillian Triggs UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection

Gillian is a public international lawyer who has held a number of appointments in service to human rights and the refugee cause, including as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Gillian oversees UNHCR’s protection work in support of millions of refugees, asylumseekers, those who have been forcibly displaced within their own country and stateless.

Gillian has held a number of leadership roles, including as Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London, President of the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal and Chair of the UN Independent Expert Panel of Inquiry into Abuse of Office and Harassment in UNAIDS.

Hamdi Ulukaya Chairman and CEO of Chobani & Founder of Tent

Raised in eastern Turkey, Hamdi Ulukaya founded Chobani in 2005 with the mission of making better food more accessible and providing good food for all, while also improving local communities. Selling the first cup of yogurt in 2007, Chobani became the No. 1-selling Greek Yogurt brand in the U.S. less than five years later.

A devoted philanthropist, Ulukaya signed the Giving Pledge and founded the Tent Partnership for Refugees in 2016 to help end the global refugee crisis. Ulukaya serves on the boards of La Colombe Torrefaction LLC, Pathfinder Village, and the Tent Partnership for Refugees.

Tara Nathan EVP for the Humanitarian & Development sector, Mastercard

In her role, she leads the company’s strategy to develop and scale new digital and commercial solutions for people living in fragile political and economic contexts. Ms. Nathan founded Mastercard Community Pass, a social impact business that digitally enables scalable delivery of critical services, including education, health, commerce, identity, and humanitarian aid. By working in collaboration with governments, NGOs and other private sector companies, Tara’s team is focused on driving commercially sustainable social impact and furthering Mastercard’s commitment to inclusive economic growth across the globe.

Prior to this role, Ms. Nathan served as chief executive officer of Mobile Payment Solutions, a Mastercard/Smart Hub, Inc. joint venture. In this role, she led the innovation and commercial development of the Mastercard Mobile Payments Gateway, an open mobile payment processing platform designed to facilitate mobile payments for consumers around the world, particularly important for consumers in emerging economies who do not have access to modern forms of commerce.

Julia Oduol Coordinator in Refugee-Led Research Hub at Oxford University

Julia is a Kenyan asylum seeker residing in Cape Town, South Africa. She is currently pursuing an MA in Development Practice at Regis University. She holds an associate degree in health care management and a bachelor’s degree in management from Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Education Movement, where she previously worked as Chief of Staff for the Global Education Movement.

Prior, she worked as the livelihoods manager at the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, where she ran trainings for refugee and migrant women, supporting 800 graduates to achieve financial stability

Edgar Colmenares Co-worker, IKEA Belgium

Edgar graduated in computer science and worked as a language teacher for 12 years.

Coming from Venezuela looking for a better life, he arrived in Belgium 4 years ago and obtained his refugee status a year later (2019).

This journey represents a challenge as a person and as a professional: to start a new life, to learn a new language, to learn a new job.

Edgar has now been working at IKEA Mons in Belgium as a sales co-worker for a year and a half, where he likes to share his experiences and knowledge and of course to learn every day. Values, hope and a smile will always open doors.

Alice Moyon People and Culture leader, IKEA Monson, Belgium

Alice has been with IKEA for 7 years, finding her passion within Human Resources, where she has advanced in different roles. In 2020, she started leading the Skills for Employment programme at IKEA Mons in Belgium. A role that showed her firsthand, the value that looking beyond a CV can bring a company.

It is the belief in the human potential that has allowed Alice to find her place, summing up the essence of sharing, and the values that are important to her with this African proverb: "alone we go faster, together we go further".

Skills for employment

At IKEA, we believe that refugee integration is good for business and society, we also believe that companies, big or small, have an important and unique role to play in accelerating refugee integration. Our Skills for Employment program is one example of how businesses can create lasting positive impact for refugees.  

Through the program, we’ve committed to supporting 2500 refugees by opening pathways to decent work and providing local language skills. The Skills for Employment initiative has been rolled out in 24 countries reaching +1700 people.  

You can read more about the program and take part of our how-to guide for opening pathways to decent work for refugees. 

Woman standing in front of a window, smiling.