World Vision, Microsoft, others bring tech experts together to showcase, innovate education solutions for Syrian children

Highlights

  • According to the United Nations, millions of Syrian children are not in school.
  • Tech summit will bring together ideas to help bridge the education gap for children who cannot attend school because of the Syrian crisis.
  • The best ideas presented at the summit will win $50,000 seed funding grants.
12-year-old Jamaa misses reading and writing. Now that his family has fled from Syria to the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon he is no longer able to go to school. It has been two years and he says he worries he is forgetting what he had learned.

AMMAN, Jordan (February 23, 2017) — As Syria’s devastating civil war enters its seventh year next month, millions of Syrian children will lose yet another year of schooling as a result of the crisis. In response, World Vision, Microsoft, NetHope and others will host a summit next week to bring together some of the world’s best tech minds to create educational solutions for these students.

Organized as part of the #NoLostGeneration initiative, the 2017 NLG Ed Tech summit, held March 1-2 at Ras al Ein Hangar in Amman, Jordan, will bring together tech developers, investors and experts in international development to showcase and brainstorm technology-based solutions to address the education and skills challenges caused by the crisis.

“Every child has the right to an education, and we know that without education, societies become more violent, more divided, less prosperous and less equal,” said Mark Chapple, who leads the #NoLostGeneration initiative. “We can’t rebuild classrooms overnight, but technology has an increasing role to play in bridging that educational gap and getting children back on track with their schooling.”

Ideas proposed at the summit will be judged and each winning idea will be granted $50,000 in seed funding. Innovations on display will include mobile apps, video learning, tablet based literacy tools, online courses, educational games, remote teacher-training, online assessments and teacher monitoring tools.

“We’re looking forward to getting the best brains in the room to thrash out technological solutions to improve education for children affected by the Syria Crisis,” said Chapple.

“Syrian children deserve to be able to access quality education wherever they are so that they can be the driving force behind the rebuilding of a peaceful Syria. There are some great thinkers with great ideas out there and we need to harness this talent for the sake of students who want to learn, but can’t,” he said.

The #NoLostGeneration initiative, launched in 2013, draws attention to the plight of children affected by the Syrian crisis by coordinating response efforts focused on education, child protection and youth engagement.

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About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.