27 January 2021 | 9:00 am EST
Watch the Recording
Further Reading
- Read WMRC Vice-President of Research Elizabeth Ferris’ Article: On International Day of Education — Don’t Forget about Refugees
- WRMC Research Report: Challenges Facing Syrian Refugees and Jordan: Pressures from a Pandemic
- Crisis in Lebanon Event Report
About the Panel Discussion
According to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, education — aimed at increasing understanding and tolerance among groups and furthering the cause of peace — should be available to all. But refugee children, forced to flee from their homes and countries, are often deprived of educational opportunities. Half of the world’s elementary school-aged refugee children and three-quarters of refugee adolescents were not in school in 2019.
Lack of educational opportunities has devastating economic, political, and social effects on individuals and communities in the near term and with consequences for long-term prospects of peace.
On Wednesday, January 27, the World Refugee & Migration Council partnered with the US Institute of Peace for a panel discussion to explore links among refugees, access to education and conflict. Three distinguished panelists — international consultant Marc Sommers, Sarah Dryden-Peterson of Harvard University’s School of Education, and Suha Tutunji, academic director of Jusoor in Lebanon — discussed refugee education policies and practice, and the implications of limited access to education for refugee youth. US Institute of Peace President and CEO Lise Grande and senior advisor Pamela Aall introduced the program. The discussion was moderated by Elizabeth Ferris, WRMC Vice-President of Research and Research Professor at the Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University.
Panelists
Sarah Dryden-Peterson
Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Director of Refugee REACH
Moderator
Elizabeth Ferris
Partner Speakers
This event is supported through a WRMC partnership with Cuso International.
