Strengthening Global Partnerships: Tuseme Consortium at ESC Conference 2025
In October 2025, the GPE KIX Tuseme consortium traveled to the historic Roanoke Hotel & Conference Centre in Virginia, USA, to participate in the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) International conference hosted by Virginia Tech. This event brought together scholars, practitioners, and advocates dedicated to promoting educational equity and community engagement globally.
During the conference, the consortium presented mid-project findings through an interactive workshop that engaged participants in discussions on gender-based challenges facing learners in mainstream, refugee, and displaced settings across East Africa. The session highlighted the strengths of the Tuseme model as a powerful approach to empower learners and equip them with the agency and skills needed to claim their educational and social rights. The consortium was represented by Alexander Towne from ACER-UK, along with Prof. Margaret Khaitsa and Dr Naomi Lumutenga from HERS-East Africa.
One of the conference's most inspiring moments came during a keynote address by Mary Maker, a South Sudanese scholar, poet, and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Her powerful reflections on refugee education resonated deeply with the Consortium's ongoing Tuseme innovation strategies for achieving gender equality and social inclusion in refugee and internally displaced communities project, particularly the need to acknowledge diverse educational backgrounds within refugee communities, address trauma-informed learning needs, and strengthen multilingual and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Mary shared her journey, which began in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where she resided before relocating to Rwanda to complete her high school education under a Mastercard Foundation Scholarship. She later attended university in Minnesota and has since co-founded the Centre for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies at Virginia Tech, where she is currently based. Additionally, Mary also founded Elimisha Kakuma, a non-profit organisation that provides opportunities for higher education for refugees in Kakuma Refugee Settlement. Through partnerships with over 30 universities in the USA, UK, and Canada, Elimisha Kakuma has provided over US$8 million worth of scholarships to refugees. Central to Mary's message was the recognition that many educated refugees are eager to contribute to community development and should be engaged as active partners rather than passive recipients.
Overall, the conference provided valuable opportunities for networking and collaboration while offering a platform for sharing experiences, building partnerships, and identifying strategies to enhance inclusive education and women's leadership across Africa.
