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Education Above All Foundation announces 589 higher education scholarships for Syrian and Palestinian youth in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine

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16 December 2017, Doha – Education Above All (EAA), through its programme Al Fakhoora announces the awarding of higher education scholarships to Syrian and Palestinians students. 489 scholarships are co-funded and implemented by SPARK in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, while the remaining 100 scholarships are implemented in the Gaza Strip by UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People.

These scholarships fall under Dynamic Futures Scholarship and Empowerment Programme which is an initiative of Al Fakhoora, that aims at helping Syrian and Palestinian youth impacted by conflicts and displacements to build a better future for themselves and their families, and lead their communities towards a more peaceful future.

The Dynamic Futures programme offers scholarships to talented young students to undertake Vocational diploma and Undergraduate education. The programme targets the most marginalised youth and offers additional support to help them attain economic independence through education. It aims to build a cadre of educated and trained leaders who are civic-minded, intellectually able and professionally skilled to become community, business and national leaders of the future.

For this academic year 2017-2018, the programme awarded 589 students with life-changing educational opportunities. The scholarships have been awarded on 13 and 15 December in four countries. The ceremonies held for that, were attended by over 2000 people, including students, their families, academics, representatives of international organizations and community leaders.

“Al Fakhoora is proud to be supporting these young students in pursuing their dreams,” said Mr Farooq Burney, Executive Director of Al Fakhoora programme. “By investing in their future, these young people will be able to play a key role in rebuilding their communities and be able to realise their full potential”.

Building on the success of Dynamic Futures programme that was initially launched in 2009 in Gaza, Al Fakhoora in partnership with SPARK launched in 2016 the Global Dynamic Futures Scholarship and Empowerment Programme, which covers six new regions and provides Palestinians in East Jerusalem and West Bank, and Syrian IDPs and refugees in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq with access to quality higher education.

Mr Yannick Dupont, SPARK Director, said “Rebuilding the future of refugees starts with giving them a meaningful and good education. They can use this to give back to the community they now live in and prepare for the rebuilding of Syria when it is possible to return”.

Mr Basil Nasser, Head of UNDP office in Gaza said “Education is a fundamental and enabling human right that is critical to the future of the Palestinian State and the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals”.

To date, Al Fakhoora’s Dynamic Futures programme has awarded over 4,500 scholarships to Palestinians and Syrian students in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and State of Palestine.

Notes to Editors:

About Education Above All Foundation

The Education Above All Foundation (EAA) is a global education foundation established in 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. The Foundation envisions bringing hope and real opportunity to the lives of impoverished and marginalized children, youth and women, especially in the developing world and in difficult circumstances such as conflict situations and natural disasters. It believes that education is the single most effective means of reducing poverty, generating economic growth and creating peaceful and just societies, as well as a fundamental right for all children and an essential condition to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The EAA Foundation aims to enable human development through the provision of inclusive quality education. To date, it has committed to providing education opportunities to 7.3 million children worldwide, with a goal of reaching 10 million. The Foundation is a current member of the UNESCO SDG-Education 2030 Steering Committee, which – in keeping with EAA Foundation’s core and founding principle – makes recommendations on how to achieve quality education for all. For more information, visit educationaboveall.org, follow us on Twitter (@EAA_Foundation), Facebook and Instagram (@educationaboveall_eaa).

About Al Fakhoora

Al Fakhoora, a programme of EAA Foundation, works to promote the right to education in conflict and post-conflict states, by unlocking a new generation of marginalised youth to become educated, professionally skilled and inspirational leaders of the future who can guide their families and communities towards cohesion and prosperity.

About SPARK

SPARK develops higher education and entrepreneurship so that young ambitious people are empowered to lead their post-conflict societies into prosperity. Learn more about our activities, how we do it, and what inspires us.

About UNDP

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. For more information on UNDP’s work in the West bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, visit www.ps.undp.org.

Contact information

Joelle Eid, Portland Communications

Email: joelle.eid@portland-communications.com

Phone: +44 (0) 78948 14008

United Nations Development Programme: Dania Darwish, Communications Specialist, Tel. +972-2-6268229 – e-mail: dania.darwish@undp.org or Shahd El-Swerki in Gaza at Tel. +972-8-2822167 – e-mail: shahd.el-swerki@undp.org