Governments around the world are scrambling to address the biggest refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War. In Europe alone, over one million individuals have requested entry since 2015. France is among the most prominent countries grappling with the challenge.

Education and skills development is key to helping displaced individuals of all ages to reconstruct their lives. Higher-skilled refugees can benefit the local economy. 

But the lack of public systems and policies to integrate refugees, coupled with limited resources and opportunities, put millions, especially children, at risk of becoming part of a ‘lost generation’. According to a new UNICEF report, 65 million children worldwide are on the move in search of a safer and better life. 

How can we leverage existing resources to better assimilate displaced learners in schools and universities? Should national curricula be adapted to better meet their cultural and educational needs? Can learners from host countries play a stronger role in helping these students? How can teachers be supported in developing skills for classroom management? 

These are some of the core questions that has been discussed and debated during a high-level panel entitled “Education et Réfugiés – Pourquoi est-il important d’ouvrir nos écoles et nos universités?” (Education and Displaced People: Why is it important to open our schools and universities to refugees?) in Paris on September 26, 2016. 

The event, organized in partnership with the French education magazine L’Etudiant, under the patronage of UNESCO, has been an opportunity to explore successful creative solutions that are transforming lives through education and skills development.