Education is a Right for all: Highlights from Webinar on Education for the Displaced and Refugees

On June 20, 2025, a powerful regional webinar brought together over 100 participants from across Africa to mark World Refugee Day under the theme “Solidarity with Refugees: Advancing Education and Inclusion for Refugee and Displaced Learners.” The event was convened through the GPE-KIX ‘Tuseme’ innovation strategies for achieving gender equality and social inclusion in refugee and internally displaced communities project, implemented by FAWE Africa, HERS-EA, and ACER-UK, to share evidence, amplify voices, and drive urgent action for the education of displaced children. 

Opening the session, Ms. Teresa Omondi Adeitan, Deputy Executive Director and Head of Programmes at FAWE Africa, delivered a compelling message: 

“The theme Solidarity with Refugees is not just a message for today but a reality every partner should face. Girls must carry school bags on their backs—not their baby siblings or their own babies due to early pregnancies. This is the reality in the refugee settlement we work in, and we must take action.” 

Findings from a baseline study in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia were presented by HERS-EA, highlighting systemic barriers to education for displaced learners. 

Panelists from the Jesuit Refugee Service, Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister, Mastercard Foundation, Ethiopia’s Refugee and Returnee Services, and the refugee community called for stronger partnerships and urgent reforms. 

Pascasia Ishimwe, a refugee student and law student at Kenyatta University, shared her lived experience: 

“It’s hard to struggle between two identities—a Rwandan and a Kenyan, my host. But education gives me the strength to navigate both.” 

The event reinforced that education is not only a right—it is a pathway to protection and dignity. With funding gaps widening, refugee learners must remain central to national education agendas. 

The webinar ended with a call for coordinated action. Solidarity must be backed by investment, inclusion, and policy change—because refugee learners cannot wait.