What refugees need to start new lives

About two years ago,

I got a phone call that changed my life.

"Hey, this is your cousin Hassan."

I froze.

You see, I have well over
30 first cousins,

but I didn't know anybody named Hassan.

It turned out that Hassan
was actually my mom's cousin,

and had just arrived
in Montreal as a refugee,

and over the next few months,
I would have three more relatives

coming to Canada to apply for asylum

with little more than
the clothes on their back.

And in the two years
since that phone call,

my life has completely changed.

I left academia, and now lead
a diverse team of technologists,

researchers, and refugees

that is developing customized
self-help resources for newcomers,

and we want to help them overcome
language, cultural, and other barriers

that make them feel like they've lost
control over their own lives.

And we feel that AI can help restore
the rights and the dignity

that many people lose when seeking help.

My family's refugee
experience is not unique.

According to the UNHCR,

every minute, 20 people
are newly displaced

by climate change, economic crisis,

and social and political instability,

and it was while volunteering at
a local YMCA shelter that my cousin Hassan

and other relatives were sent to

that we saw and learned to appreciate

how much effort and coordination
resettlement requires.

When you first arrive,
you need to find a lawyer

and fill out legal documents
within two weeks.

You also need to schedule a medical exam
with a pre-authorized physician

just so that you can apply
for a work permit.

And you need to start looking
for a place to live

before you receive
any sort of social assistance.

With thousands fleeing the United States

to seek asylum in Canada
over the past few years,

we quickly saw what it looks like
when there are more people who need help

than there are resources to help them.

Social services doesn't scale quickly,

and even if communities do their best

to help more people
with limited resources,

newcomers end up spending
more time waiting in limbo,

not knowing where to turn.

In Montreal, for example,

despite millions of dollars being spent
to support resettlement efforts,

nearly 50 percent of newcomers

still don't know that there
are free resources that exist

to help them with everything from
filling out paperwork to finding a job.

And the challenge is not
that this information doesn't exist.

On the contrary, those in need are often
bombarded with so much information

that it's difficult
to make sense of it all.

"Don't give me more information,
just tell me what to do,"

was a sentiment we heard
over and over again

and it reflects how
insanely difficult it could be

to get your bearings when
you first arrive in a new country.

Hell, I struggled with these same issues
when I got to Montreal,

and I have a PhD.

(Laughter)

As another member of our team,
himself also a refugee, put it,

"In Canada, a SIM card
is more important than food,

because we will not die from hunger,

but getting access to the right
resources and information

can be the difference
between life and death."

Let me say that again:

getting access to the right
resources and information

can be the difference
between life and death.

In order to address these issues,

we built Atar,

the first ever AI-powered virtual advocate
that guides you step by step

through your first week
of arriving in a new city.

Just tell Atar what you need help with.

Atar will then ask you
some basic questions

to understand your unique circumstances

and determine your
eligibility for resources.

For example, do you have
a place to stay tonight?

If not, would you prefer
an all-women's shelter?

Do you have children?

Atar will then generate
a custom, step-by-step to-do list

that tells you everything
that you need to know,

from where to go, how to get there,

what to bring with you,
and what to expect.

You can ask a question at any time,

and if Atar doesn't have an answer,

you'll be connected
with a real person who does.

But what's most exciting

is that we help humanitarian
and service organizations

collect the data and the analytics
that's necessary to understand

the changing needs
of newcomers in real time.

That's a game-changer.

We've already partnered
with the UNHCR

to provide this technology in Canada,

and in our work have conducted
campaigns in Arabic, English,

French, Creole, and Spanish.

When we talk about the issue of refugees,

we often focus on the official statistic

of 65.8 million forcibly
displaced worldwide,

but the reality is much greater than that.

By 2050, there will be
an additional 140 million people

who are at risk of being displaced
due to environmental degradation,

and today, that is today,
there are nearly one billion people

who already live in
illegal settlements and slums.

Resettlement and integration

is one of the greatest
challenges of our time,

and our hope is that Atar can provide
every single newcomer an advocate.

Our hope is that Atar
can amplify existing efforts

and alleviate pressure
on a social safety net

that's already stretched
beyond imagination.

But what's most important to us

is that our work helps restore
the rights and the dignity

that refugees lose throughout
resettlement and integration

by giving them the resources that
they need in order to help themselves.

Thank you.

(Applause)