{"id":482,"date":"2014-09-25T09:58:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T09:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unhcr.php.caravan.coop\/?p=482"},"modified":"2017-06-29T10:15:07","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T10:15:07","slug":"linking-education-and-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/linking-education-and-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Linking education and innovation in humanitarian settings\u2026are they connected?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Education is repeatedly mentioned as a priority by refugees often as their only hope for a better future. Today, the number of refugees worldwide is at an all time high; more than half of them children, spending years seeking asylum. Ideally, refugee children should be in schools learning, gaining skills and knowledge that will help prepare them for when they return home to find jobs and rebuild their communities.\u00a0 As a result, it is critical to consider how such education programs prepare refugees to be problem solvers and seek innovative approaches in very difficult environments where they live. \u00a0Is it possible then, to utilize potential time in school to help shift the notion of refugees from being a burden to their host communities, towards being a benefit, contributing innovative solutions to the challenges where they live?\u00a0 Bringing innovation into the education sector has the potential to play a vital role in changing this paradigm.<\/p>\n

Globally, there is a shift within humanitarian organizations to be more innovative.\u00a0\u00a0 Typically, this has been interpreted as the integration of the private sector as a means in which to grow innovation.\u00a0\u00a0 While this has shown potential, I would add that to make refugees more a part of the process, especially in areas of leading towards more self-sufficiency, education plays a critical role.\u00a0 Furthermore, the integration of ICT and social media can be strong factors in seeking innovative solutions to the ongoing challenges faced by refugees.<\/p>\n

Innovation and education are intertwined.\u00a0 In order to innovate, one has to be able to identify a challenge, look for a solution and learn from the solution and adjust the approach.\u00a0 This requires knowledge, critical analytical skills, and creative thinking, in which education (as well as experience) can help develop.\u00a0 While one can be innovative based on their own experiences and prior knowledge, why not use schools as a place to identify solutions and to support refugees in becoming part of the answer to challenges as part of the innovative process?<\/p>\n

Schools are an integral part of the community and invariably interlinked with multiple facets of society, but most critically the lives of students and their families.\u00a0 This inter-connectedness is a key reason why I believe that the use of schools is critical in examining how to support more innovative approaches in the humanitarian sector. \u00a0The methods in which refugees are educated, supported, and involved in decision-making, will continue to change.\u00a0 While there has always been the argument to be more participatory and innovative in the approach and design of humanitarian work, new technologies is making this more possible and plausible.<\/p>\n

Technology is playing an ever-more important role in innovation and education.\u00a0 This is due to technology\u2019s role in globalization, through connecting people and space and resources. Through access to technology, refugees can further their ability to be innovative and exchange ideas. While putting computers in schools is not new in development contexts, such projects have faced challenges in being successful, especially in poor areas and hostile environments, and are rarely used in emergency situations. Yet, such failures should not obstruct seeking more appropriate innovations and solutions in order to generate access to technology in refugee settings.<\/p>\n

There are numerous challenges to bring innovative solutions and technology into traditional humanitarian settings. Such challenges include:<\/p>\n