Emel Seven Bozcam is a PhD student at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University. Emel’s multi-faceted training, both within and outside of the academic, coupled with the breadth and depth of her professional experience with refugee and immigrant-serving non-governmental agencies in Turkey, the United States, and Belgium, position her particularly well to meet the challenges of Balsillie School’s PhD Program and to successfully undertake an ambitious and internationally focused research project, which will explore the integration of social entrepreneurs in official responses to the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey and Lebanon, with an emphasis on their growing role vis-à-vis the protection of children and youth.

Emel is an expert in making successful grant applications to the UN and the EU besides developing strategies for organizations on utilizing available resources functionally. She is an experienced business development director, with a rich record of leading projects development, coordination between non-governmental and governmental bodies, developing training content and e-learning programmes. Motivated to redress the issues about refugee children’s protection and immigrant youth, she established her company in 2015, in Istanbul, Turkey. As a social entrepreneur, Emel collaborated with national and international NGOs to develop training and research on social inclusion and anti-discrimination. She has 13 years working experiences with the immigrants living in Belgium and has provided consultancy services to the Belgian NGOs on inclusion, diversity, advocacy and organizational development. Emel is currently at the Committee Chair of The Immigrant Parents Network, which is an association aiming to empower immigrant parents who in turn help their kids reach their full potential and thrive in a cross-cultural Canadian Society.