50 entities commit to step up collaborative work through the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies
At the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) Education Campus on 12 December 2023, the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) members officially commit to a new pledge building on the successes of the last four years since Switzerland, together with 9 co-signatories, pledged to promote Geneva as a global hub for education in emergencies at the 2019 GRF.
The world stands at a critical moment for the education of refugee, displaced and crisis-affected children and youth, which calls for a strong alliance of like-minded stakeholders ready to communicate with urgency about the challenges faced. Close collaboration is needed to address overall underfunding and under-prioritisation of education in emergencies. The members of the EiE Hub affirm that this can only be done by joining efforts, and have therefore made this renewed commitment:
“We, as members of the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies, pledge to collaboratively step up visibility, political and operational commitment, and funding for Education in Emergencies by catalysing joint action, promoting policy dialogue, and facilitating multistakeholder synergies and partnerships so that refugee, displaced and crisis-affected children and youth can enjoy their right to continuous, safe and quality education.”
The EiE Hub is also delighted to announce that six more entities have just taken up this call. As the EiE Hub has expanded its work across the nexus and engaged new sectors, a growing number of partners are recognising the unique value of joining this alliance. The new members are:
- Colombia
- The United Kingdom
- United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
- International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
- Human Rights Watch (HRW)
- Humanity and Inclusion (HI)
“We are very happy that we are now part of this EiE Hub in Geneva that promotes education in emergency contexts,” said Elizabeth Taylor Jay, Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs, Colombia. “As a country in an area affected by conflict, and now, of course, affected by climate change, we are working diligently to include all children in education, among both migrants and the host communities.”
The pledge facilitates engagement and collaboration with Member States and other stakeholders about ensuring the education of refugees, displaced and crisis-affected children and youth, fostering solidarity and responsibility sharing with hosting States, and putting the respective Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) provisions into action.
“What happens when there are delays in education after you are forced to leave home?” asked Noor Azizah, co-founder and director, the Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network. “The consequences are profound. It prevents community development, and impedes our positive contributions to society. Delayed education exacerbates the challenges faced by displaced communities, injuring their capacity to rebuild and thrive.”
By collaborating through this pledge, stakeholders will have the opportunity to:
- Take up leadership in a group of like-minded partners.
- Join a community of committed stakeholders to promote greater awareness, political and financial commitments, and robust, agile and complementary humanitarian and development action for the education of refugee, displaced and crisis-affected children and youth.
- Shape and influence policies related to education in emergencies, and enhance the visibility and recognition of host communities’ efforts in education in emergencies.
“For a host country, it requires funding to absorb refugee children and youth into the national system,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director, Education Cannot Wait. “There is no principled or policy resistance for them to be absorbed into the national system, but the challenge is to ensure that these governments have the finances available.”
The Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) was born from a successful pledge at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum. The EiE Hub counts 50 members as of 12 December 2023 – including UN entities, UN Member States, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, civil society organisations, philanthropic foundations, and special procedures. Faced with the under-prioritisation and underfunding of education in emergencies, and given the magnitude of the challenge, members come together to form a strong alliance of like-minded States and organisations to step up visibility, political and operational commitment, and funding for the 224 million children and youth in need of educational support. Our priority is to ensure that their right to a quality education is fulfilled, respected and protected.
