Presented at the mEducation Alliance Symposium in Washington, D.C., 15-16 October 2013

1. Integrating mobile learning
solutions for Syrian
refugees in Iraq
Mobiles
for
Educa0on
Alliance
Interna0onal
Symposium
15-­‐16
October
2013
Project
Proposal
by
UNESCO
Headquarters,
EducaAon
Sector
ICT
in
EducaAon
Team,
with
support
of
UNESCO
Iraq

2. Education emergency for Syrian refugees in Iraq
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Almost 200,000 Syrians have fled to Iraq
According to recent forecasts the number of Syrian refugees in Iraq may increase
to 500,000 by the end of 2014
96% of them located in Kurdistan
Roughly 68% of school aged refugees in camps are not participating in formal
education, 90% for those outside of camps
Complete lack of teachers, administrators and policy makers having specific skills
and competences on education in emergency
Insufficient infrastructure to accommodate the increased number of school
based refugees
The low level of enrollment in formal education, if not addressed immediately, will
increase the illiterate rate in the medium term exponentially

3. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=103

4. UNESCO response
• Short-term strategy: provide access to formal ed: secondary schooling and
non-formal education focusing on adult literacy and life skills
• Long-term strategy: sustainable quality education run by government
• Secondary education:
• Build three schools (prefab structure) in Domiz, Dara Shakran and
Kawergosk camps accessing 3,500 students (on 2 shifts).
• 100 teachers and social workers to be hired (at least 50 per cent of
teachers and social workers are women) and trained to promote
psychosocial wellbeing of refugees
• The training materials to be developed
• Stationary, teaching aids and recreation kits provided to each
temporary school to benefit all the students involved
• Literacy and life skills
• Targeted at 1,700 women and men, e.g. Sickness prevention,
Refugees rights, Livelihood training
• Establishment of community learning centers CLCs

5. Photo: UNESCO

6. Photo: UNESCO

7. Photo: UNESCO

8. Photo: UNESCO

9. Photo: UNESCO

10. Photo: UNESCO

11. Mobile learning vision
• Mobile opportunity in PCPD settings: people have devices and know how to
use them, mobile networks are available
• Immediate and cost-effective information dissemination, communication and
data collection
• Mobile learning solution will supplement and extend the educational services
it will offer in brick-and-mortar buildings
• Deliver content and assess
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Focus on developing and reinforcing literacy and numeracy skills, but will also include a peacebuilding and human rights approach
SMS, audio lessons, mobile data (if available)
• Strengthen communication for P2P networking support
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Between learners
Between learners and teachers (learning as well as psychosocial support groups and
socialization support)
Between teachers
• Support administration and education planning
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Survey teachers.
Data collection
Share data with NGOs, relief organisations, etc.

12. Copyright: Muath Freij / Muhammad Hamed / Reuters

13. Why UNESCO? Why this project?
• UNESCO is the UN agency for education.
• UNESCO has a significant presence in the field and partner connections
• UNESCO has a strong relationship and collaboration with the three
Ministries working in Education and with the Civil Society at large, with high
capacity to pursue both upstream and downstream projects
• The last allows linking Syrian Crisis response interventions to those
already implemented in Iraq, favoring the integration of the Syrian
Community in the Iraqi education system, taking advantage of existing funds
or designing projects which compensate existing gaps
• Build upon existing programme for quality education (not parachuted in)
• Perfect timing: breaking ground on the schools, teachers need to be hired
and trained, content to be developed …
• Pilot with short-term strategy, plug into long-term strategy
• If successful can be scaled to millions of other Syrian refugees in the area,
and replicated in other PCPD contexts

14. Join us for impact
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Funding
Content development
Mobile network operators
Mobile device manufacturers

15. Copyright: Brian Sokol