Our collaboration with\u00a0Biblioth\u00e8ques Sans Fronti\u00e8res yielded the Ideas Box, a new way to educate and inspire refugee children.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UNHCR Innovation and Biblioth\u00e8ques Sans Fronti\u00e8res are working together to provide quality educational and cultural experiences to those displaced by humanitarian crises across the globe.<\/p>\n
In 2007, the French migration historian Patrick Weil founded Biblioth\u00e8ques Sans Fronti\u00e8res (BSF, or Libraries Without Borders) to help ensure universal access to libraries around the world. The organization realized that very flexible approach would be needed to serve especially inaccessible settlements, including many refugee camps in central Africa. In collaboration with the renowned designer Philippe Starck, BSF arrived at an entirely original solution to the problem- the Ideas Box. The Ideas Box consists of several large, colorful wooden trunks, packed full of books, art supplies, games, and computers. The boxes allow refugee children to continue their education, and gives them an opportunity to play, explore and create even in a crisis situation.\u00a0 With a satellite internet connection and dozens of wifi-enabled tablets, the Ideas Box allows refugees of all ages to communicate with the larger world and help coordinate assistance efforts.<\/p>\n
After prototyping the Ideas Box, BSF approached UNHCR Innovation in order to implement the concept in refugee settlements. The UNHCR Innovation Learn Lab connected BSF to operational partners inside UNHCR and in the private sector, and offered technical advice on refining the concept for the refugee context. UNHCR Innovation coordinated the logistics for bringing a pilot program to the field in Burundi. Learn Lab worked closely with BSF, UNHCR personnel in Burundi and refugees themselves to establish procedures for pilot testing, and continues to monitor outcomes and reactions on the ground. In October of 2014, UNHCR Innovation will convene a workshop in Copenhagen to evaluate the results of the initial tests and recommend modifications before scaling the program to UNHCR operations around the globe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our collaboration with\u00a0Biblioth\u00e8ques Sans Fronti\u00e8res yielded the Ideas Box, a new way to educate and inspire refugee children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[113],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-un"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"\n