European Union Shows Support for the Futures of Young Palestine Refugees in Lebanon

On 15 December 2016, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) opened the fifth annual Academic Fair to support young Palestine refugees in their pursuit of future educational and professional opportunities.

The Fair was funded by the European Union’s Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), which provides education, training and employment support for young Palestine refugees in Lebanon, and also supported by the Lebanese Universities League in order to expand the exposure and connections of young Palestine refugees to academic opportunities and to help them make decisions about their future careers.

Through the Fair, more than 650 Palestine refugee twelfth-grade students were provided with information and assistance to help them plan for their future careers, including advice on educational programmes at Lebanese and foreign universities – by both public and private institutes at the undergraduate and postgraduate level – as well as their admission processes and available majors and scholarships. In total, 26 Lebanese and foreign universities, academic institutes and scholarship providers participated in the event.

EU-UNRWA: Together for Palestine Refugees

Since 1971, the European Union and UNRWA have maintained a strategic partnership governed by the shared objective to support the human development, humanitarian and protection needs of Palestine refugees and promote stability in the Middle East. Today, the European Union is the largest multilateral provider of international assistance to Palestine refugees. This reliable and predictable support from the European Union enables UNRWA to provide core services to more than 5 million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, including quality education for roughly half a million children and primary health care for more than 3.5 million patients. Collectively, the EU and its Member States are also among the largest contributors to the Agency’s humanitarian emergency appeals and projects in response to various crises and specific needs across the region. The partnership between the European Union and UNRWA has allowed millions of Palestine refugees to be better educated, live healthier lives, access employment opportunities and improve their living conditions, thus contributing to the development of the entire region.