Education and Workforce Opportunities for Refugees and Migrants

Today there are more forcibly displaced people globally than at any time since the end of the Second World War.  Over half of all refugees are children. Global levels of migration are also higher than ever before. In 2017 258 million people (or one in every thirty) were living outside of their country of birth. The education and assessment needs of refugee and migrant children are complex and can differ enormously.  In many cases education policy and practice can further hinder the chances for young refugees and migrants to acquire the education and qualifications that they will need to thrive in the communities where they reside and in the world.

Building on the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report and recent Education for Tomorrow’s World work on language policy and social and emotional learning, this program will bring together experts, policymakers and practitioners from a wide range of organizations, sectors and countries to develop policy and financing solutions that can create better education outcomes and life chances for both refugees and displaced people and their host communities.

During and immediately after the Salzburg program, participants and staff will co-create a number of strategic products to leverage the learning and recommendations from the meeting:

• Advocacy: A Salzburg Statement will be jointly drafted to respond concisely to the Key Questions and serve as a call to action to help participants personally as well as their institutions and communities.
• Online engagement: A series of online debates will be launched following the program to continue online engagement on a monthly basis around key questions raised through the program.
• Multimedia outreach: A series of webinars and podcasts will discuss and disseminate the Salzburg Statement and multiply its impact in different settings. These will provide an opportunity to engage with many more people than are present at the meeting and bring the outcomes to new audiences.
• Impact report: A report will subsequently be published summarizing the program as well as highlights from the Twitter and webinar debates that follow it.

The highly interactive program will be structured around a mix of thought-provoking presentations, curated conversations, informal interactions, knowledge exchange, and practical group work. The process seeks to combine theory, policy and practice across sectoral silos, opening up new perspectives and learning opportunities. Participants will also work intensively in focus groups, allowing for in-depth group work on key issues.