Global Task Force on Third Country Education Pathways

Overview

Under the leadership of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Global Task Force for Third Country Education Pathways was established in 2020 to promote and support the expansion of tertiary education as a complementary pathway for refugee students. The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, called for an expansion of third-country solutions for refugees. The Task Force supports this objective by working with States, the international higher education community and other stakeholders to ease the burden on countries that are hosting large populations of displaced people by providing safe pathways to thid countries through education.

JICUF is one of the founding members of the Task Force along with the governments of Portugal, Canada and Germany; the World University Service of Canada (WUSC); European Commission; Open Society University Network (OSUN); Agence Universitaire de Francophonie (AUF) among others.

Working Group on Technical Advice (2023~present)

JICUF joined the Working Group on Technical Advice in 2023 and is working to provide practical advice to stakeholders who are already implementing or in the planning stage of a education pathways program, and seek information. Now, members of the Task Force's Community of Practice can request technical advice online.

Asia Pacific Region Community of Practice Meeting (February 2024)

On February 12 and 13, 2024, JICUF co-organized an Asia-Pacific Region Complementary Education Pathways Community of Practice Meeting in Manila with the Embassy of Canada to the Philippines, De La Salle University (the Philippines), the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG) (Australia), and Pathways Japan. This was in response to an interest among participants from the Asia Pacific region in the Tokyo meeting (see below) to hold a separate regional meeting. The main objective was to further discuss ways to expand third-country educational opportunities for refugee students, with a particular focus on the commitments made and unique challenges faced by stakeholders in the region; the benefits of creating national university consortia; and the need for evaluation and research.

The meeting was attended in person by over 40 representatives of governments, UNHCR, higher education institutions, NGOs and students from Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. All six universities in the Philippines committed to admitting refugee students (De La Salle University Araneta, De La Salle University Bacolod, Tarlac State University, Columban College, San Beda University and St. Louis University) were represented, along with 14 students. In the Philippines, the Department of Justice actively works with UNHCR to facilitate the recruitment of Rohingya students in Malaysia.

The team from De La Salle University

Community of Practice Meeting in Tokyo (May 2023)

On May 17 and 18, 2023, JICUF co-hosted a conference titled “Expanding Refugee Education Pathways” at Sophia University with the Global Task Force, Pathways Japan (PJ), and Sophia University. The overarching goal of the conference was to help build new education pathways programs and expand existing programs. Around 60 people representing governments, international organizations, educational institutions and networks, NGOs and refugee organizations participated from 20 countries. JICUF and PJ volunteered to co-host this conference based on the growing interest in education pathways among several Asian countries, most notably the Philippines and South Korea, and the Japanese Government’s decision to co-convene the second Global Refugee Forum with five other states.

Photo by Daiki Murakoshi

Online Discussion Series on Higher Education Initiatives in Asia and the Pacific (2020)

At the first Global Refugee Forum in December 2019, JICUF pledged to co-host with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) a regional conference in Asia and the Pacific on higher education opportunities for refugees. However, with the onset of the global pandemic, most complementary pathways programs were temporarily suspended, and educational institutions scrambled to adjust to new pedagogical tools and mitigate the crisis’ financial and educational impact.

With this backdrop, JICUF decided to host a series of online discussions instead of an in-person conference.

JICUF formed a steering committee with representatives of UNHCR, Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG), Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies to plan and host four 90-minute discussion sessions between July and October 2020.

Around 80 representatives of higher education institutions, NGOs, governments and students from 20 countries across the region and beyond joined for a lively discussion in Zoom breakout groups. The following topics were covered in each session.

Session 1 (July 2, 2020): Overview (Global and regional context for higher education for refugees)
Session 2 (July 23, 2020): Education Pathways: Providing Educational Opportunities and Protection to Refugees
Session 3 (September 30, 2020): Connected Higher Education for Refugees
Session 4 (October 16, 2020): Successful Education Pathways Programs Outside the Region