On the 3rd and 4th of May, SIRIUS was invited to moderate the Education International seminar ‘Education of Ukrainian Refugees: an initial policy dialogue amongst refugee receiving jurisdictions’. The event, held in Warsaw, was attended by local education authorities, municipalities, teacher trade unions in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova and importantly, the Ministry of Education of Ukraine. The event was also attended by the OECD, UNESCO-IIEP and UNHCR.
The first day focused on listening to the needs and strategy of the Ministry of Ukraine, and also the realities on the ground from the border countries present with a second day dedicated to offering a space for reflection and questions and answers after a round or presentations by the international organisations and the SIRIUS Policy Network on Migrant Education functioning as technical experts in the field of Refugee Education.
It was an emotionally charged and technically intense 2 days. Hopefully, the first of a series of discussions designed to support these border jurisdictions. We look forward to continuing this work with the passionate team(s) we encountered.