Summer 2025 AFE: Lilian Villanova Vogt MIDP'26

Seeing the Whole: Rethinking Forced Displacement Through a Systems Lens

By Lilian Villanova Vogt MIDP’26

This article was originally published on the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center site as part of the Summer 2025 AFE Blog Post Series.

In my home country, Brazil, many communities — Indigenous, Quilombolas, Caiçaras, Ribeirinhos, Povos de Terreiro, and many others — carry immemorial knowledge that reminds us of something essential: everything is interconnected. Every being, every system, every force on our planet is part of an intricate web of life.

This understanding of interdependence is foundational and critical to humanity. Yet, in modern, individualistic, and profit-driven societies, this wisdom has been forgotten. Ironically, it is these very societies – especially those that concentrate wealth and power – that claim to hold the solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

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My experience as a Rotary Peace Fellow at the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center has made it clear to me that what was once called “developed” and “advanced” is fundamentally unsustainable. What many grassroots leaders and communities across the Global Majority have long voiced is now becoming impossible to ignore. Whether in development or humanitarian work, systems long seen as standard are being exposed as inadequate and inherently flawed. And this growing momentum isn’t so much driven by a gradual awakening but by the multiple crises now arriving at the doorsteps of those who have historically held power within these systems.

As these once “irreplaceable” systems collapse, they leave behind a void that raises difficult questions: Were they ever truly fit for purpose? And to what extent have the very behaviors, structures, and mindsets upholding these systems reinforced the problems they claim to solve?

These are the questions at the heart of my Applied Field Experience with CDA Collaborative Learning, where I’m exploring how systemic change can be nurtured in the humanitarian sector, particularly in contexts of forced displacement.

A Decolonial Lens for Change

Profoundly influenced by Latin American decolonial theory, I’ve always been drawn to questions of power, language, and justice. Working on the ground as a humanitarian, I often saw the international aid system overlook – or underfund – the most promising efforts and people in the name of a rigid and “credible” structure, that kept decisions far from the people directly affected by crises.

In my work with forcibly displaced populations, I saw how the systems surrounding refugee communities in protracted camp settings strip people of the ability to live a life of dignity and agency. I could name the policies and practices causing harm, but it was harder to grasp how they all fit together; how change could happen at a deeper, structural level.

Systems Thinking as a New Language

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That’s where systems thinking came in. Although a relatively new field to me, the concepts felt deeply familiar. Its ideas of relationships, reinforcing dynamics, and interconnectedness echoed the way traditional knowledge systems in Brazil and elsewhere view the world.

Through my AFE with CDA, I’m applying systems thinking to the context of protracted displacement. I’m learning how to map systemic dynamics, identify leverage points, and facilitate conversations with those who live and work within these systems. The systems map I am currently working on is being shaped by conversations with refugee leaders, advocates, social workers, NGO staff, government officials, UN staff, and scholars — reflecting the complexity of the reality of protracted displacement and illuminating opportunities for collective action.

Alongside the systems map, I am developing case studies, practical guidance notes, and collecting stories from the ground to show how existing alternatives can enrich ongoing discussions in the sector — and, hopefully, inspire a broader shift in mindset.

Systems tools have proven to be powerful: not so much for analysis, but for dialogue. Since mapping a system is essentially the act of crafting a shared narrative, the process should be guided by a decolonial compass. This means highlighting community strengths and leadership while making visible the harmful power dynamics and mental models that perpetuate exclusion.

Moving Forward

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This experience is transforming not just my professional skill set, but also my sense of what’s possible. CDA has embraced me fully — as a curious, idealistic, and busy mom of young children — and created space for me to contribute meaningfully to a cause close to my heart.

I’m learning how to hold complexity, facilitate collective insight, and stay grounded in values of justice, dignity and true solidarity. As I move forward with my program and beyond, I carry with me a vision: a world in which refugees live with full agency over their lives, where their voices are central to every decision that affects them, and where they have equal opportunities to become everything they dream of being.

Lilian Villanova Vogt is a Rotary Peace Fellow at Duke University, pursuing the Master of International Development Policy degree. Her professional journey spans roles as an educator, humanitarian, researcher, and advocate for children’s and refugee rights. She spent several years working in the NGO sector, leading education and protection programs in humanitarian contexts. With extensive experience in education and program implementation, Lilian has developed a deep understanding of effective practices for enhancing early child development in emergency contexts. By joining the MIDP program, she aims to complement her grassroots experience with a broader understanding of how international stakeholders collaborate to promote policy-level change.