York University’s Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) Project, Faculty of Education and Centre for Refugee Studies present a monthly virtual colloquium series on the intersections of refugee education, anti-Black racism and COVID-19 in Canada and East Africa.
Through a series of talks, film, and an open-mic event, experts will consider the unique challenges that the twinned pandemics pose to refugee communities and educators in Canada and/or East Africa; highlight the unique knowledge that refugee communities and the educators who work with them bring to learning in situations of constraint; and offer new lenses to make meaning of our current moment.
This colloquium is the first of its kind to feature experts from York University and from institutions that are comprised of or work with refugees in equal measure. Together, this series aims to deepen connections among refugee communities, educational leaders, and scholars within and across institutions; foster a sense of reciprocity in learning; recognize and validate the unique expertise that refugee communities bring to time- or resource-constrained situations; and educate all attendees on a range of topics relevant to refugee education, COVID-19, and anti-Black racism.
The next installment of this colloquium series, titled “Navigating COVID-19 and Education in the Dadaab Refugee Camp,” will be held Nov. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. online via Zoom.
While COVID-19 has posed unprecedented challenges to education around the globe, teachers and educational leaders in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps face unique constraints as they navigate school closures. Since March, they have worked to adapt with limited resources, minimal access to digital technologies, and supporting students who faced significant barriers to schooling before the pandemic hit. Yet these educators bring significant expertise to teaching and learning under difficult conditions.
This panel draws on the diverse experiences of educational leaders in Dadaab who, from different institutional vantage points, have shaped the response to COVID-19 for the nearly 70,000 students enrolled in camp schools.
Join the Zoom session at:
https://yorku.zoom.us/j/92694835883?pwd=T0w0cloyN1U1ZFVvZGplRjl4MWJ1Zz09.
Click here to visit the event series website and to view a schedule of all upcoming talks.