Investigating Integration: The Geographies of the WUSC Student Refugee Program at the University of British Columbia

This paper examines the geographies of resettlement and integration with respect to the Student Refugee Program(SRP) of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).As Canada’s only program to link resettlement with post-secondary education, the SRP makes manifest intriguing geographies that intersect international, national, and local scales. Th is study carried out the first qualitative research of the WUSC SRP at the University of British Columbia (UBC). It draws from good settlement practices,refugees’ existing skill sets, and refugees’ perspectives to examine how refugee students’ human capital can best contribute to Canadian integration.Cet article examine les géographies de la réinstallation et de l’intégration à l’ égard du Programme d’étudiants réfugiés (PÉR) de l’Entraide universitaire mondiale du Canada (EUMC). Seul programme au Canada liant la réinstallation et l’ éducation postsecondaire, le PÉR rend manifeste des géographies intéressantes qui croisent des échelles internationales, nationales et locales. Cette étude propose la première analyse qualitative du PÉR de l’EUMC à l’université de la Colombie-Britannique (UBC). Elle est guidée par de bonnes pratiques d’établissement, les compétences existantes des réfugiés et les perspectives de ceux-ci afin d’examiner comment le capital humain des réfugiés peut mieux contribuer à l’intégration

Citizens of Nowhere: From Refugee Camp to Canadian Campus

Book Revie

Beyond Basic Education: Exploring Opportunities for Higher Learning in Kenyan Refugee Camps

This paper seeks to elucidate the socio-cultural and economic benefits of higher education in refugee contexts. NGO and UNHCR initiatives in Dadaab and Kakuma camps are used as a reference point for discussing the challenges, best practices, and potential of higher and adult learning in contexts of protracted exile. This small-scale, qualitative study seeks to understand what opportunities for higher education exist for those living in Kenyan refugee camps, and do existing opportunities yield “social benefits” beyond those accrued by the refugees themselves? Drawing upon interviews with practitioners, observation in schools and learning centres, and data from refugee-service providers, our findings are primarily descriptive in nature and explore the myriad ways in which opportunities for higher learning can strengthen refugee communities in countries of asylum. We contend that although Kenya’s encampment policies limit the potential economic and social benefits of refugee education on a national level, opportunities for refugees to pursue higher education are still immensely valuable in that they bolster refugee service provision in the camps and provide refugees with the skills and knowledge needed to increase the effectiveness of durable solutions at both an individual and societal level, be they repatriation, local integration, or third-country resettlement.Cet article cherche à déterminer les avantages socioculturels et économiques d’une éducation supérieure pour les réfugiés. Des initiatives d’ONG et du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (UNHCR) dans les camps de Dadaab et de Kakuma servent de points de référence pour une discussion des défis, des pratiques exemplaires et des possibilités d’une éducation supérieure et d’un enseignement aux adultes dans des contextes d’exil prolongé. Cette étude qualitative à petite échelle cherche à déterminer les possibilités d’offrir une éducation supérieure aux habitants des camps de réfugiés au Kenya et à établir si les occasions existantes donnent lieu à des « avantages sociaux » autres que ceux qui sont acquis par les réfugiés eux-mêmes. Fondées sur des entrevues avec des praticiens, des observations dans les écoles et les centres d’apprentis-sage ainsi que des données obtenues de fournisseurs de services aux réfugiés, nos constatations sont essentiellement descriptives et explorent les multiples façons dont les possibilités d’une éducation supérieure peuvent renforcer les communautés de réfugiés dans les pays d’asile. Nous soutenons qu’en dépit des politiques du Kenya sur le regroupement des réfugiés qui limitent les avantages économiques et sociaux potentiels de l’éducation des réfugiés à l’échelle nationale, les possibilités qu’ont les réfugiés de poursuivre des études supérieures demeurent précieuses en ce qu’elles renforcent la prestation de services dans les camps et fournissent aux réfugiés les compétences et les connaissances qui sont nécessaires à l’établissement de solutions durables plus efficaces, tant au niveau individuel que sociétal, qu’il s’agisse de rapatriement, d’intégration locale ou de réinstallation dans un tiers pays

Investigating Integration: The Geographies of the WUSC Student Refugee Program at the University of British Columbia

This paper examines the geographies of resettlement and integration with respect to the Student Refugee Program(SRP) of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).As Canada’s only program to link resettlement with post-secondary education, the SRP makes manifest intriguing geographies that intersect international, national, and local scales. Th is study carried out the first qualitative research of the WUSC SRP at the University of British Columbia (UBC). It draws from good settlement practices,refugees’ existing skill sets, and refugees’ perspectives to examine how refugee students’ human capital can best contribute to Canadian integration.</jats:p

Citizens of Nowhere: From Refugee Camp to Canadian Campus

Book Review</jats:p

Beyond Basic Education: Exploring Opportunities for Higher Learning in Kenyan Refugee Camps

This paper seeks to elucidate the socio-cultural and economic benefits of higher education in refugee contexts. NGO and UNHCR initiatives in Dadaab and Kakuma camps are used as a reference point for discussing the challenges, best practices, and potential of higher and adult learning in contexts of protracted exile. This small-scale, qualitative study seeks to understand what opportunities for higher education exist for those living in Kenyan refugee camps, and do existing opportunities yield “social benefits” beyond those accrued by the refugees themselves? Drawing upon interviews with practitioners, observation in schools and learning centres, and data from refugee-service providers, our findings are primarily descriptive in nature and explore the myriad ways in which opportunities for higher learning can strengthen refugee communities in countries of asylum. We contend that although Kenya’s encampment policies limit the potential economic and social benefits of refugee education on a national level, opportunities for refugees to pursue higher education are still immensely valuable in that they bolster refugee service provision in the camps and provide refugees with the skills and knowledge needed to increase the effectiveness of durable solutions at both an individual and societal level, be they repatriation, local integration, or third-country resettlement.</jats:p