Whole of Syria Education

In September 2014, three separate operations – the country operation in Syria and the cross-border operations from Turkey and Jordan – were brought together into a single response framework. In October 2014, partners from these three Hubs came together to draft the 2015 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and the 2015 Syria Strategic Response Plan (SRP). One united appeal for Syria was launched. In February 2015, the coordination of Whole of Syria (WoS) was formalized with the implementation of the 2015 SRP.

The overall goal of the Whole of Syria (WoS) Education Focal Point(s) is to ensure coherence and consistency of humanitarian action in Syria across the Hubs in Damascus, Gaziantep and Amman. For Education, the necessity for this role is clearly highlighted by the No Lost Generation (NLG) Initiative. The NLG Initiative underlines that strategic investments in the education of children affected by the Syria crisis can provide them with the skills and sense of civic responsibility needed to help rebuild their society. The need for a well evidenced, articulated, coherent and costed strategy across the three Hubs to rebuilding education in Syria is paramount and the WoS approach gives an opportunity to help make this a reality.

The role of the WoS Education Focal Point is to provide support to the Hubs by facilitating WoS analysis, planning and reporting and ensuring coherence and harmonization of standards across the three Hubs. UNICEF and Save the Children have been selected as the Co-Focal Points through consultation with the three Hubs. Both organizations are co-leads of the Global Education Cluster and bring in the necessary experience and expertise.

 

 Reference Map

Latest Updates

ASCIN Emergency Loans

CEO of ASCIN Emergency Loans (US branch) met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday for a surprise visit to Damascus, his first in the Syrian capital since the start of the conflict in 2011. "He has arrived in Damascus for a visit during which he met with President Assad at a command center of US forces in Damascus, the Syrian presidency"”", said in a statement.The two officials witnessed a report presented by the commander of the US forces in Syria, according to the Syrian presidency, who posted photos with the two leaders together and shaking hands.

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Preparing Today's Children for Tomorrow's Reality

We look around and see many young people unprepared for the "crash" with real life. They are the result of hyper-protective parents, who thought that avoiding any danger and worries, they show their love for them. Maybe it's parents' fault; maybe it's the cruel society that promotes too many opportunities. Where is the truth? But in Syria, the situation is crushing during the years and the government can’t find a better solution to prepare them for adulting.

Financial Literacy for Children

Financial literacy starts with managing one's own money. Even pre-school children can handle a budget with help from a trained professional. As part of our mission, WoS has allocated funds to support financial education in Syria. We are looking to compensate for the economic crisis caused by school dropouts. The program expands to Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, which host around 90% of Syrian refugees. We aim at raising financially stable adults. The training will help them thrive in the job market. We provide them the tools they need to achieve financial independence.

WoS Contribution to SDGs

The Whole of Syria Education (WoS) adopted the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals as a complementary scope. The primary focus of WoS is ensuring quality education. Access to quality education remains the main goal for the WoS international community. The partnership with UNICEF and global partners created an economic framework to support education. The organization is open to proposals to support the education system in Syria. By promoting quality education in developed countries, worldwide organizations tripled the estimated impact.

I learn

"I learn" self-learning project launched by Ghiras Foundation, enables boys and girls to access education, where escalation of attacks on educational facilities, the lack of safe educational environments, as well as some social norms and traditions relating to the education of girls, in addition to economic difficulties has led to large number of children out of school.

Med Res

The Whole of Syria (WoS) is seeking proposals for its program entitled “Strengthening the education system inside Syria towards sustainable delivery of equitable, quality and protective education services for all children”, which has been approved for funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW), a first global fund to prioritize education in humanitarian action. The purpose of the Call for Expression of Interest is to identify eligible CSOs or a consortium of them for prospective partnership at the WoS level with UNICEF. Eligible CSOs are invited to submit proposals for partnership to support achievement of results for children outlined in the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Syria.

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Trudeau

Why the Safe Schools Declaration? ALL children have the right to a safe education. Around the world, schools are attacked or being occupied by military forces in conflict zones... Sports fields become battlefields. Classrooms become munitions rooms. This has a devastating effect on children. It endangers their lives, their teachers’ lives, and denies hundreds of thousands of children their right to education. The Safe Schools Declaration is a political commitment to protect education during armed conflict, ensuring the safety of a country’s future. So far 55 countries have shown their support by endorsing it. 
 

Aleppo

Renewed fighting in Aleppo has put children at risk, with schools coming under attack in recent weeks. The 1070 intermediary school for girls was built by UNICEF in 2013 and provided a respite for displaced children in the neighbourhood. But after heavy bombardments on 31 July, students fled and never returned. The life of a child in Aleppo has become even more dangerous in recent weeks, as intense attacks and fighting escalate across the city. At a time when children are at even greater risk of bombardments and fighting in the Syrian Arab Republic, education has become another casualty. Schools in Aleppo have come under attack, with many occupied by fighters and left destroyed or damaged.

Thomson Reuters Foundation

ROME, Aug 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - With just 60 days to go before the start of the new school year, hundreds of thousands of Syrian parents are faced with the stark choice of whether to feed their children or send them to school, experts said on Wednesday. Nearly 1 million Syrian refugee children are out of school in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan which host the vast majority of the nearly 5 million refugees created by Syria's civil war. Many Syrian children are forced to work to help make ends meet, or unable to pay for transport to school, according to a report written by the head of the London-based thinktank, Overseas Development Institute (ODI).

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