Bard College Berlin Makes Two Pledges for the Global Refugee Forum 2023

Bard College Berlin has submitted two substantial pledges in support of the goals of the Global Refugee Forum 2023, to be held by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from December 13-15, 2023 in Geneva.

According to the Forum’s website, it is “the world’s largest international gathering on refugees. It is designed to support the practical implementation of the objectives set out in the Global Compact on Refugees: ease pressures on host countries, enhance refugee self-reliance, increase access to third-country solutions, and improve conditions in countries of origin.”

The two pledges have been made as part of Bard College Berlin’s ongoing commitment to creating pathways to tertiary education for students whose education has been interrupted by displacement or conflict.

BCB’s Pledge for the “15% by 2030: Global Pledge on Refugee Higher Education and Self Reliance” Multi-stakeholder Pledge (co-lead by the Open Society University Network):

Bard College Berlin pledges to further build up and share its academic advising and career counseling practices with the approximately 50 currently enrolled BA students who have a background of displacement or are coming from conflict regions, in order to enhance national inclusion in the further education (MA, PhD) and labor market sectors. The college aims at providing a replicable model for other universities in Europe. 

One key innovation will be a pilot partnership with The Alpine Fellowship, which will offer a Refugee Scholarship Prize in the form of two cash grants of £2,500 to refugees enrolled at Bard College Berlin. This grant will support the winners to attend the annual gathering of the Alpine Fellowship co-organized with OSUN's Hannah Arendt Humanities Network, which is intended as an opportunity for intellectual exploration and career networking. Following the 2024 pilot program, the Alpine Fellowship will explore extending the grant through 2028.

Bard College Berlin will also seek partners to co-fund Bachelors degree scholarships and share best practices in supporting refugee students at university and in the transition from education to labor opportunities with regional universities. This may be done through activities including hosting webinars, panel discussions, or conferences; or the development of toolkits or guidelines.

BCB and Jusoor’s pledge for the “Skills-based Complementary Pathways Multi-Stakeholder Pledge” (co-lead by the Global Taskforce on Third Country Education Pathways, co-chaired by OSUN):

Bard College Berlin and Jusoor pledge to jointly support the expansion of complementary education pathways by offering two new “Jusoor-PIESC” scholarships, the first of which was announced last year. These scholarships are earmarked for Syrian refugees and asylum seekers living in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt or Turkey. They will cover tuition as well as living costs for the four-year BA program at Bard College Berlin. Scholarship applications will open in Fall 2024 for students to start at the university in Academic Year 2025-26.

The pledges have been submitted by Prof. Dr. Kerry Bystrom, Associate Dean Bard College Berlin and Professor of English and Human Rights, and Dr. Jeffrey Champlin, Academic Director of the Open Learning Initiative Academic Support Programs, and Lecturer in the Humanities.

Since 2015, Bard College Berlin has awarded 66 four-year scholarships to students from areas of crisis and conflict through programs such as the Program for International Education and Social Change (PIESC). One of these outstanding students, Aisha Khurram ‘25, will speak at the Forum on the keynote panel “Empowering Minds: Shaping the Future of Refugee Students Worldwide,” as a representative of the Global Student Forum and Tertiary Refugee Student Network. Bystrom is also attending the Forum in person as a BCB and OSUN delegate.

To read the full list of pledges made at this year’s Forum, visit the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Post Date: 12-12-2023