A two-day conference on economic inclusion and livelihood development for young refugees in their host communities kicked off yesterday in Istanbul.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Yannick Du Pont, director of the Dutch nonprofit organization Spark, stressed the importance of creating a platform to discuss the issues refugees face in their host countries.

Du Pont said Spark had provided 9,000 refugees with scholarships and praised Turkey for hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

Sadettin Akyıl, director general of international labor force division at the Turkish Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, said they are working to help migrants gain access to employment. Akyıl said brochures are distributed in Arabic and Turkish to refugees to inform them about their labor rights.

The conference has gathered 150 participants from the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, including policymakers, aid group representatives and academics.

The program is being held in partnership with Spark and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) with the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as sponsors.