Note: This page is frequently updated. It is by no means complete.
This page focuses on Facebook groups and websites of NGOs, volunteer groups, think tanks, and programs serving and/or discussing refugee education and training. Links to Facebook and/or websites are just below the organizations' descriptions. Descriptions are from their Facebook page, unless noted.
Armando Aid, a UK-registered charity, is a member of the Education for Refugee Children Group recently set up in Greece by a group of NGO's working in providing, supporting and lobbying formal and informal education for refugee children.
ArmandoAid is currently developing projects geared to supplement and support the education among refugee communities.
We are working together with The World Wide Tribe as well as local charitable groups in Greece with this initiative.
A Time for School
Time is running out for the world's children. We have less than 500 days to meet the Millennium Development Goals and get all children, everywhere, into school and learning by 2015. We are short two million teachers. Four million classrooms. A billion books. And money alone won't fix this problem. It’s time to speak up and speak out.
Benvenuti ABC (Welcome ABC)
Italy welcomes every year a growing number of migrants, and among them, many children; Welcome ABC is designed for the first reception, to establish a dialogue, to snatch a smile.
This is the result of a working party at the beginning of 2016, which saw the light thanks to the collaboration of 120 illustrators and many other people who have given their talent.
We are happy and grateful, but not surprised: there are tons of people every day are dedicated reception and integration, voluntarily. Among them, the Fondazione Migrantes, who married the start the initiative and help us spread and use Welcome to ABC in Italian shelters, anywhere they can find.
Welcome ABC was made with Pubcoder, and is designed for use on mobile phones and tablets. Our technology, however, also allows you to publish your work to a website, and that's exactly what we did! Find 189 beautiful, interactive tables, you can animate with the mouse or a finger; you can listen to the reading of words, numbers, colors, body parts and family. Good fun!
Child of Play
Using the concept “recreation-education-awareness” CHILD OF PLAY (through its operational branches) is conceived as an initiative which aims at promoting universal values to children and youth through art and culture in a playful and recreational atmosphere. Being active both in places where social and ethical values are at stake, Child of Play intends to foster self-consciousness, respect, tolerance and engagement which are considered to be pillars for empowering the children.
Our approach and concept is developing innovative education through empathy, commitment and a work ethos, allowing the children to express them-selves on something which is bigger than them, both physically and intellectually by combining playful education and sharing artistic skills with the young generations. At the same time we are working on a transformation of the documentation of this real-life-people co-operations into a piece of art. This „result“ is intended to be utilized as educational tool itself for lots of other children and young generations by provoking questions and debate, and like this spreading awareness for the essential values which all the young generations shall have the chance to build their future on.
Our initiative is structured in a unique way to involve and benefit from partnerships to ensure that all projects lead to an investment in the future of children and the young generation and do not remain a one-off “event”.
Note. They have a project in Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan.
EduApp4Syria
Three million Syrian children are unable to attend school because of the war. Many are having to cope with traumas and high levels of stress, which also affects their learning ability.
Norway is therefore through the EduApp4Syria project fronting an initiative to develop a smartphone application that can help Syrian children learn how to read and improve their psychosocial wellbeing.
Nafham is a free online K-12 crowdsourced educational platform linked to the mandated public curriculum. Nafham provides 5 to 20 minutes crowd sourced videos which are revised by professionals. Videos are explaining concepts usually taken in class using different approaches, making it easier for students to understand them.
These videos are categorized by grade, subject, term and academic schedule which make the curriculum easier for students to navigate through it and get the lessons they want in seconds.
Note. Nafham was featured in "How Egyptian Techies are Helping Tackle the Refugee Crisis." The blue in the logo is "We understand," while the gray underneath is "We make learning simple."
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Mobile apps (both iOS and Android available)
The Schoolbox Project
In many refugee camps, children make up more than half of the residents. Most have been out of school for years and have experienced severe trauma. Therefore, they need access to education and need it delivered thoughtfully with attention to trauma-informed principles.
Much of the work being done to directly ease the suffering of refugees is performed by independent volunteers and small NGOs. Independent volunteers from around the world, of all ages and from all different backgrounds, work hard every day to meet basic needs of survival for refugees. Very few volunteers have experience or knowledge of the principles of "trauma informed care.” Sometimes they have access to support from larger organizations, but often they do not. Camps and “hot spots” can be unpredictable, and can be shut down or cleared out suddenly. This requires programming to be nimble, portable and “turn-key.”
The Schoolbox Project provides mobile, solar-powered schoolhouses in shipping containers. The containers can be delivered within a few days of being ordered, fully stocked with supplies. They can be moved to a different camp as needed, with one day notice. The values, policies and volunteer training materials of the project will travel with each “box,” as will instructions on how to get the program up and running immediately. Boxes are staffed and funded remotely.
Each Schoolbox is:
** An art and play program- rotating crafts and art projects for children who have little opportunity for creativity and emotional expression during an extended time of trauma. Quieting, reflective and nature-inspired activities are emphasized to provide balance to the steady diet of "sensory junk food" regularly available to children in refugee camps.
** A schoolhouse- the space allows for organization and structure of instruction based on division of age and languages spoken. Regular, daily and weekly volunteer teachers provide language and other lessons, always through a lens of gentle, trauma informed care.
** A mother+baby safe space- designated hours before and after school for mothers with babies is an opportunity to provide a sense of community as well as to provide culturally sensitive care to women/mothers.
** A solar powered charging and wifi zone- one of the greatest needs after food, water and shelter at these camps is for communication and access to information.
Sky School
The idea for Sky School was conceived in 2016, in response to the gap in quality secondary education provision for young displaced people.
In emergencies and crises, investment is often focused on primary school education, security, health and other basic needs. With a growing number of opportunities at tertiary level for displaced youth, secondary education remains neglected. And yet, students are often looking for an accredited high school degree that will be accepted in many different countries and will unlock opportunities for further studies, training and work.
Sky School wants to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes to meet many of the needs of young displaced people. The IB is specifically designed for people who are mobile, and aims to create students who are globally minded citizens. IB programmes are well respected, and are recognised by universities all over the world. Our programmes are already inspired by the International Baccalaureate, and we aim to offer full IB programmes to our students in the near future.
A NEW EDUCATIONAL MODEL
Sky School aims to leverage the network and resources of existing IB schools and alumni around the world to provide a high quality international education for its students. Sky School’s blended learning model harnesses the potential of online learning to deliver content, combining this with the power of physical learning communities.
Recognising that students of Sky School will be required to be entrepreneurial, creative, and even to help rebuild their communities and countries in the future, all Sky School programmes equip students with the skills and mindset to become changemakers.
PILOT PROGRAMME
The Sky School team is initially focusing on developing two courses which will take place in Amman, Jordan from September 2017- May 2018 and will be open to ambitious young students, looking for a different kind of education. Courses are inspired by the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and are innovative both in content and delivery.
THE PROGRAMME
At Sky School, classes will take place both online and offline. Online elements can be accessed at any time, allowing for more flexible study, while offline elements ensure you feel supported in your studies and able to succeed.
The language of instruction will be English at first, and there will be a English preparation classes as the beginning of each course. Mentors and facilitators speak Arabic as well as English. We hope to be able to provide the programme in both English and Arabic as Sky School expands.
SOLE Greece
A self-organised learning environment or SOLE allows children to work in groups, collaborate, and find
answers to Big Questions.
SOLEs allow children to take control of their learning and develop critical reading, writing, and listening skills. Children can work in groups, access the Internet and other software, follow up on a class activity or project and take them where their interests lead them.
SOLE Greece was established in response to the needs of refugee children stranded in Greece. Over 20,000 children and their families are seeking refuge in Europe and elsewhere after being displaced due to conflicts in the Middle East. Most of these children have been out of school for over a year and some have never been to school. We facilitate learning for children ages 6 - 16 in their own language and with content sensitive to their cultural and historical background. After running a 5-week pilot project, we now operate in camps in and around Athens. We will use the funds raised here to expand the SOLE methodology into 5 more camps in central Greece. Our SOLE will be a mobile school bus that travels from camp to camp. Please consider supporting these children as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
Teachers 4 Refugees is based in Uppsala, Sweden. Their mission: "Social innovating , new learning environmen ts and technologi es for the educationa l needs of the refugee children. Non Profit for the benefit of Humanity."
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World Refugee School works with committed education providers to ensure that every refugee child receives quality primary and secondary education. WRS leverages cutting-edge, proven educational technologies that are cost-efficient, scalable, and adaptable to different curricula and content appropriate for refugee and forcibly displaced children and youth regardless of location.
Coursera for Refugees
We believe education is a human right. Coursera's mission is to connect the world to a great education and let people learn without limits. Learn from renowned professors, watch high quality lectures online, achieve mastery via interactive assignments, and collaborate with a global community of students.
The U.S. Department of State and Coursera, the largest open online education provider, are partnering for the launch of Coursera for Refugees, a new initiative that will help refugees around the world access educational opportunities and will facilitate mutually beneficial relationships within host communities. Through this partnership, refugees will be able to receive fee waivers for over 1,000 Coursera courses, and will join local students in facilitated course discussions.
Under this partnership with the Department of State, Coursera will provide fee waivers to organizations working directly with refugees, allowing participants to get certification at no cost for completed online courses. Any non-profit that works with refugees can apply to Coursera for Refugees, and the State Department will help connect Coursera with eligible organizations in its network. U.S. Embassies and Consulates will host in-person facilitated discussions for small cohorts of course participants, targeted specifically at communities with significant refugee populations. The first program will be hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon and will focus on English language learning for a mixed group of refugees and local Lebanese students.
Facebook (for the main Coursera information)
Website
App on iTunes
App on Google Play
The DO School offers unique educational programs enabling talented emerging social entrepreneurs to launch their own innovative and sustainable ventures.
The program allows its participants to learn from passionate peers, engage with current leaders and experts, and create change by implementing their social start-ups in their home countries.
The year-long program takes place in two phases, the ten-week Incubation Phase on campus and the ten-month Implementation Phase in the Fellows' home countries.
Note. The DO School, based in Berlin, has a special program for refugees, The Bridging Challenge, to work on ways for refugees and German employers connect.
Funzi is the quick, fun way to learn new skills – and to get the information you need to build a better future.
Funzi is made for mobile phones. Each topic is a deck of cards filled with practical information you can start using immediately.
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Link to the app
Hack Your Future
We teach refugees web development in our 6-month program.
We teach our students front- and backend development for the web, making them full-stack developers as they finish our course.
We do this with our group of experienced developers who closely support our students in their process.
Besides coding we train our students in project-management, becoming independent coders and teach them about the working culture in Dutch companies.
International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) serves to ensure the right to education for all regardless of crisis or conflict, along a spectrum of preparedness, prevention, response and recovery. INEE undertakes a range of functions around communications, information management, learning, member support, network development, policy influence, advocacy and resource mobilization in order to fulfill this purpose.
Note. INEE provides information about and guidance on how to rebuild education in Syria.
The Jamiya Project aims to provide higher education for Syrian refugees, taught by Syrian academics and accredited by European universities. The Project's model seeks to overcome many of the barriers facing Syrian students by making courses free, flexible to study and taught in Arabic.
The model reverses the challenges of higher education for Syrians by replacing the institutional and infrastructural backing required for higher education, providing the means for Syrian academics to teach Syrian students once again.
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Jusoor was founded in June 2011 as a non-governmental organization with a mission to bring together and engage the global Syrian expatriate community in efforts that will help Syria and its people realize their full potential.
The organization currently has over 80,000 individuals in the network from over 50 countries all committed to bettering Syria’s future. Programs have focused on education through a global university scholarship program and the building of schools for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, an academic mentorship program supporting students to pursue their education, a career development program empowering displaced Syrians to find jobs, and an entrepreneurship program enabling startups and young Syrian entrepreneurs.
The possibilities are endless. We are committed to building the most organized and engaged expatriate community of any country in the world. Please join us in this very important cause. Together we can make an extraordinary difference in Syria.
Kiron Open Higher Education is a start-up project, registered in Berlin, Germany as a nonprofit non governmental organization. The goal of Kiron is to provide people and especially refugees, worldwide, with the opportunity to get higher education and eventually graduate with an internationally accredited university degree.
There are more than 6.5 million refugees world wide that are qualified to be enrolled at a higher educational institution. However, the main problems standing between them and the acquisition of their basic human right range from the lack of financial resources, to the absence of required legal documents, to the extremely small number of available seats at the universities of the host countries, as well as problems such as the language issue.
Our project aims to solve these problems by offering absolutely free higher education, and granting an internationally accredited degree after graduation. Not setting a deadline for the submission of the legal notarized documents, but giving the students time until their last days before graduation. Since the University-to-be will be online, we solve the capacity issue since we will be able accept all the students that we need to take in. We solve the language issue by offering our courses in English, the number one most widely spoken second language in the world, and the easiest to learn. We also offer language courses for people whose language is not sufficient enough on an academic level.
Our team consists of entrepreneurs, IT-specialists, web designers and of course, the academic staff who partly worked at Harvard and other world-leading institutions before, who bring a lot of experience in founding a real university. We are based in Berlin @ Social Impact Lab which is a SAP backed institution.
Our goal is to launch the programs and let the students start their education in Fall 2015.
This page is made to keep you updated on the progress of the project: Kiron University. Through this Facebook page you will be able to follow all the events that the Kiron team is attending or organizing, any updates on our website, any new achievements and/or developments that take place. Also, we will be posting scholarships, fellowships and grants opportunities provided by different organizations and educational institutions worldwide. If you share our vision in providing the less privileged people with an opportunity of getting free higher education and ultimately a better life, or you would like to be one of our full time students, or study certain courses independently, please visit our website in order to get further information and follow this page. Moreover, use your voice to share it so that it reaches the biggest number of people. Hand in hand we will be able to make a change in this world
Masmoo3 for Audio Knowledge is the first specialized Digital Audio Books Production and Publishing house in the Arab world. We aim to offer Arabic speakers easy access to a Digital Audio Library for Arabic speakers.
Match & Teach Me for Integration
An e-Learning platform which educates refugees with foreign language and computer skills, for their integration into the European societies. This initiative is the result of a joint effort between university professors, graduate researchers, Syrian and Afghan immigrants, social activists, volunteer trainer and the two largest companies in the field of e-Learning in Greece, the Match and Teach Me and WIDE Services .All of us voluntarily participate in this effort.
Rafiqi (Arabic expression for my companion) is a Netherlands-based online platform for enabling online crowd mentoring for young refugees. Rafiqi breaks the distance between refugees and their new communities, through connecting refugees to volunteers who provide them with customized online mentoring, and through assisting refugees along and after their mentorship.
Mentoring opportunities enabled through Rafiqi aim at helping refugees access the job market, develop new skills in demand in the job market and open their own businesses.
Rafiqi operates as follows: in the first stage, refugees and volunteers fill forms that provide us with relevant information about their context, current skill sets and expectations. We compile this information for setting a SMART (specific/measurable/achievable/realistic/time-bound) mentorship goal for each refugee and for matching him/her with the mentor whose profile better match his/her expectations. Once matching is done, we assist refugees and volunteers throughout the mentorship, mainly through facilitating their online interaction and providing them with relevant e-learning resources. We also work on building a supportive ecosystem formed by corporates, start-ups, incubators and learning institutions, for providing post-mentorship opportunities to successfully-mentored refugees, and on matching refugees to these opportunities.
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Ready 4 Study
The [online] course is offered for refugees interested in studying in Germany. Learn about the German system of higher education, improve your language skills and acquire an extensive set of competencies to prepare for your studies in Germany.
ReBootKamp (RBK) -- Rebooting the lives of refugees and victims of conflict through intensive computer training.
Re:Coded aims to equip Syrian youth refugees and IDPs in the Middle East with the skills required to be self-reliant, resilient agents of change.
REDI School of Digital Innovation
Refugees are too often seen only as a problem within Europe. We want to prove that our new neighbors offer an opportunity for Europe to enrich its culture and empower its economy. We believe that every human being has the right to live up to their potential and to improve themselves. Our aim is to help refugees to build and expand their qualification as software developers and provide them the opportunity to work with startups and tech companies. We do this by creating a coding school.
Note. In Berlin, part of the GTEC, German Tech Entrepreneurship Center (Facebook, website).
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CNN story by Fareed Zakaria
Refugees on Rails
We believe programming offers a tool to turn ideas into concrete projects and to pave the way for integrating into a society, where labour market requirements increasingly suppose technical skills. To better reach refugees and meet their interest, we wish to channel the energy and resources of the many volunteer organizations on the field.
Our aim is to help refugees to build and expand their qualification as software developers and provide them with valuable skills that will improve their chances on the labour market.
Note. Based primarily in Germany and the Netherlands, RoR's website is in English, French, and German. They also arrange for upcycling of used laptops for refugees to use.
The Silent University is an autonomous knowledge exchange platform by and for refugees and asylum seekers.
VocApp an exciting new initiative with the Jamiya Project, which brings together higher education for Syrian refugees taught by Syrian academics in exile.
VocApp is a web and mobile platform where technical language for applied higher education, culturally effective learning methods, and social elements mix. Vocapp provides collaborative technical language support for students starting new courses in a second language in Europe and provides a mentoring discussion board to allow Syrian refugee students across Europe to ask questions and share common challenges in transition from learning in Arabic to a second language, monitored and contributed to by Syrian domain-experts.
This project is in partnership with the Jamiya Project.
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Website -- link to EmpowerHack, the incubator for this effort
Last updated November 20, 2016
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