ISS-USA interns Alanna Hays (left) and Ema Makas (right) traveled to Geneva, Switzerland in December. During their time there, they visited with International Social Service’s CEO, Secretary General, Jean Ayoub (center). “ISS Geneva, the General Secretariat, is the central link for 20 branch offices and affiliated bureaus and over 100 correspondent countries.”
Makas and Hays participated in a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) meeting titled, “Consultation on Housing for Migrant & Refugees Publication, Geneva.” The purpose of the meeting was to collaborate and offer recommendations on the provision of housing to incoming migrants and refugees. 
Makas and Hays also attended United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees‘ (UNHCR) Global Refugee Forum. The forum served as an opportunity to translate the principle of international responsibility-sharing into concrete action.
They participated in an event hosted by the Lego Foundation and personally wrote letters of hope to refugee children. In addition, they visited the Srebrenica monument to pay their respects to the lives lost during the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.
Hays’ (left) research concentrates on refugees and migration. Makas’ (right) research concentrates on human rights and international law. Both are graduate students of the Global Affairs and Human Security program at the University of Baltimore.
To learn more about ISS-USA or donate to assist vulnerable cross border families, visit our website, www.iss-usa.org.