Global Leaders Call for Action for Young Refugees in the Face of a Growing Education Crisis
AT TODAY’S WORLD INNOVATION SUMMIT FOR EDUCATION (WISE) IN DOHA, HOSTED AND ATTENDED BY HER HIGHNESS SHEIKHA MOZA BINT NASSER, THE CHAIRPERSON OF EDUCATION ABOVE ALL FOUNDATION, WORLD LEADERS CALLED FOR ACTION TO HELP YOUNG REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED YOUTHS.
With more than 260 million children and adolescents not in school today, and only 1% of young refugees able to access higher education, the world will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals if young people are denied quality educational opportunities.
Speaking in a keynote address at Education Above All Foundation’s high-level panel on “Asset over Burden – Education for Refugee Youth”, His Excellency, Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, Co-Chair of SDG Advocates said:
“The spectre of tens and tens of millions of young refugees growing up without the needed skills to create a meaningful life for themselves is a dangerous one. What do we expect them to do? What opportunities are available to them? How competitive can they be in this global economy? These are questions that must elicit a concerted and calculated response from the world’s leaders.
In my view, education, education and more education is the only way by which we can foster a sense of cohesion and solidarity amongst displaced persons, especially of those of school going age, and, help create for them, an enabling environment, which will spur them on to lead more purposeful and dignified lives.”
Speaking at the event, Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said: “Tens of millions of children are deprived of education. We cannot afford lost generations. No single child should be left behind. It is our moral duty to do more. This is why I will devote in 2018 8% of the EU’s humanitarian budget to education in emergencies.”
EAA Foundation signed several new partnerships at the event, as part of the Foundation’s commitment to address the global education crisis and its goal of enrolling 10 million out-of-school children. Launched in 2012 to enable human development through the provision of inclusive quality education, the Foundation has already committed to providing education opportunities to 7.3 million children worldwide.
The new partnerships will help:
- Over 3,000 Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Turkey with full university scholarships, including tuition, accommodation, health insurance and a monthly stipend in partnership with SPARK and the Council of Higher Education in Turkey.
- 30 Palestinian junior teachers from Gaza to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom in partnership with the British Council.
