LONDON -- Students in Syria have been discussing their education with their counterparts over in the UK on Skype, and both groups have learnt a great deal about their foreign peers.
Schoolchildren from Palestine School in the Syrian capital of Damascus and east London's Oaklands School have taken part in a series of three "virtual classroom exchanges" across January that aimed to see both groups discuss ideas for the international response to education amid the global refugee crisis.
The #MyVoiceMySchool initiative was a joint project between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which helps Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, education advocates Digital Explorer and Skype in the Classroom. It has been running for the past three months.
It saw students in both countries work together as global advocates for universal quality education through video conversations and collaborative work.
Some of the exchanges were heartbreaking. “What do students need in Syria?” the Londoners asked during one call.
“We need love,” Alaa Al Nabulsi, a 13-year-old from the Damascus school, replied.
The groups worked together to produce press releases focussing on what the international community can do to help provide young people in Syria with education, highlighting poverty as a significant cause of school dropout rates. They also discussed the exodus of qualified and experienced teachers from the country.
A number of students found the sessions beneficial. “My Voice My School helped me become a courageous person and I overcame my fears and met new people from another place,” student Jihan from Palestine School said. “I liked this project because it gave me a chance to deliver my voice to people.”
The exchange also provided insight for the London students too, who realised that Oaklands lacked a counselling service similar to that in Damascus.
“We had three sessions of Skype calls to the children in Damascus, Syria where they informed us of their problems and how they overcome them," London student Hafsa said. "This stimulated us to try and develop our school too, hence why we have introduced the idea of having an onsite school counsellor.”