On the occasion of the International Migrants day, the Global Platform for Higher Education in Emergencies (former Global Platform for Syrian Students) is keen on extending warm greetings to all its students, alumna and alumni across the world.
We renew our firm commitment to provide academic support to young people from conflict-affected societies, students at risk, on forced mobility or caught up in humanitarian crises. Expanding our scholarship programmes is our top priority as we see a dramatic rise in numbers of young people in need of protection. In 2020 approximately 281 million people were international migrants. Among them, nearly 82.4 million people are forcibly displaced - people fleeing wars, violence, persecution, and human rights violations.
In emergency situations such as armed conflicts and natural disasters, education matters. Education is a right, but it also contributes to self-reliance and acts as a powerful drive for change. Providing higher education opportunities to the vital 18-30 age group in crises settings remains a huge challenge though investing in skills pays off from both a humanitarian and development perspective.
We would also like to seize this opportunity to ask candidates to the Call for Applications we launched in July to be patient. We apologize very sincerely for not having been able to deliver results on the ground so far. But we are working hard to answer to all candidates soon with a view to
organizing a new intake for the upcoming academic year. In the meantime a Portuguese language on-line course will also be proposed to all potential candidates.
As according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) the 2021 theme is "Harnessing the potential of human mobility" , the Global Platform for Higher Education in Emergencies would like to underline that education is a fundamental right and that every migrant and refugee in every country is entitled to it. As a contribution to the 2021 theme, the Global Platform suggests to discuss further and work together with like-minded partners the topical issue of harnessing the transformative power of education which remains a challenge precisely for those people and communities who would benefit the most.
On the occasion of the International Migrants Day, we are pleased to invite you all to watch a documentary untitled "No Chão Que Eles Pisam" on Syrian students and Afghan refugees in Portugal, made by Candida Pinto and Daniel Mota, to be displayed on the 20 and 21st December at 9 pm (Portuguese time) at RTP channel 1. Get a sense of this amazing documentary, watch the trailers below:
Trailer 2
On behalf of our students, alumna and alumni, let us express heartfelt thanks to all our partners and donors. Your support makes a real difference.
