From local to global - advocacy for refugee education

[WEBINAR] From local to global - advocacy for refugee education

Oct 24, 2019 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Webinar recording  |  Presentation

This webinar, presented in English, focused on advocating for education for refugees, and covered examples of what strategies have worked and what have not. Presenters talked about their experiences, from local, regional, and national advocacy campaigns to advocacy for refugee education at the global level. It was a chance to learn about advocacy specifically related to the forthcoming Global Refugee Forum where education is one of six areas of focus. 

The webinar was an interactive session and participants had the chance to ask questions and make suggestions. 

Background: This webinar is the fourth in the series run by the INEE Advocacy Working Group. To watch previous webinars and access other advocacy resources, please visit https://inee.org/collections/advocacy. 

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Presenters:

Mercy Musembi is the Donor Relations and Compliance Lead at Xavier Project, an INGO working in Uganda and Kenya using education as a tool to empower refugees to lead fulfilled lives. Besides donor relations, Mercy has for  the past five years coordinated with other partners who support refugee education, including UNHCR, to advocate for inclusion of refugees in education.

Emma Wagner is the Education Policy and Advocacy Adviser for Education in Emergencies at Save the Children. Before joining Save the Children, Emma co-founded Umoja Tanzania, a successful youth education charity in Arusha, Tanzania. She is chair of Umoja UK, a UK registered charity. She is a member of the Advocacy Working Group of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), a member of the Global Campaign for Education, and part of the civil society group for Education Cannot Wait. Previous publications include Unlock Education for Everyone (2019), Time to Act (2018) and Promising Practices in Refugee Education (2017) and Restoring Hope, Rebuilding Futures (2017). Find Emma on Twitter at @ewagner48

Jennifer Roberts holds the position of Senior Education Officer in UNHCR’s headquarters education unit, with a specific focus on education access in emergency contexts.  Between 2014 and mid 2019 she held the position of Senior Education Officer with UNHCR Turkey, which is responsible for supporting a range of higher education programmes for refugees and working with the Ministry of National Education to promote educational access for children and adults. Jennifer has also worked with UNRWA, the South African education Ministry and various NGOs.  Areas of professional specialisation include refugee education, programme evaluation, quality assurance in education, and policy development.

Foni Joyce is a founding member of UNHCR’s Global Youth Advisory Council. This council aims to amplify youth voices in decisions that affect them. She graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology with a degree in Mass Communication with a major in Public Relations attaining a first-class honors degree. She is passionate about advocating on education, policy, inclusion, involvement and empowerment of refugees in a bid to change the perception of refugees. She works to improve their image and reputation not only among the world and immediate community but also among refugees themselves.

Edmund Page (Moderator) is the founder and CEO of Xavier Project, an international NGO working with refugees in Kenya and Uganda, focusing on education as well as livelihoods. Advocacy has been part of the work Xavier Project has done, especially in Kenya and these experiences will be shared in the webinar. Edmund is also a co-chair of the INEE Advocacy Working Group.