We made a Promise: Ensuring Learning Pathways and Protection for Syrian Children and Youth

At the London Conference in 2016, the international community made a commitment to secure learning pathways and protection for Syrian children and youth, whose educational future was jeopardized by the ongoing crisis.

It committed to reach all out-of-school children inside Syria, all school-age Syrian refugee children in the five host countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt)1 as well as affected host-community children, with learning opportunities through a total funding ask of US$1.4 billion per year. One year after the London Conference, during the Brussels Conference in 2017, the Education Report called for more effective education response architecture inside Syria,2 supporting public education systems in the five host countries, mainstreaming refugee response plans and policies, and strengthening child protection mechanisms.

In 2018, as the Syria crisis enters its eighth year, the need to honour that commitment is as pressing as ever. Yet many of the most vulnerable children inside Syria and in the host countries are still denied access to inclusive, equitable and quality learning opportunities. This puts the entire next generation at jeopardy.