Dubai Cares and UNHCR: Voices of Refugee Youth

Voices of Refugee Youth initiative ran from 2018-2022. The initiative was a partnership between Jigsaw, Refugee Education UK (REUK) and UNHCR, and was funded by Dubai Cares as part of the e-cubed funding envelope.

The research study at the centre of the Voices of Refugee Youth initiative explored the educational experiences and aspirations of secondary school and higher education refugee students living in Pakistan and Rwanda. This was achieved through a longitudinal panel study of 1126 refugee students in secondary and higher education. This consisted of three data collection points, as well as additional qualitative data collection. The full range of research publications are available here.

In addition to addressing current gaps in the evidence base for post-primary education for refugees, the initiative aimed to address the marginalisation of refugee youth from research. A team of 31 refugee Youth Researchers were recruited in 2018 to take part in each stage of the research study, and were equipped through the provision of a university-accredited training programme in applied research.

The initiative thus aimed to inform good practice around refugee participation in research and facilitate pathways to employment for the Youth Researcher team. It forms the first study of Global Evidence for Refugee Education (GERE) - a new applied research initiative with young refugee researchers at the centre. More about this initiative can be found here.