This two-year project led by Dr Andreas Hackl explores the contribution of digital labour and digital learning to the provision of decent work and livelihoods among displaced persons in cities, with a focus on Berlin and Beirut. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It has collaborated with individuals at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and will be hosted by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) during a Visiting Fellowship.

Both Berlin and Beirut are leading hubs for digital innovation and have recently absorbed large numbers of refugees, prompting growth in digital work initiatives. These emerged against the backdrop of a growing online 'gig economy' around the world amid an increasingly urban and 'connected' displaced population: more than 60 percent of the world's refugees now live in cities.

Digital Livelihoods researches how digital work opportunities can reshape refugees' access to decent work and sustainable livelihoods in often restrictive environments. Another question is what implications these transformations have for the rights and policies that govern urban refugee economies, and for the way displacement is conceptualised in the social sciences. The project also aims to innovate new combinations of qualitative ethnographic research and digital research methods.

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