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My Voice – My School Student Advocates Present Their Ideas To Achieve ‘Quality Education’ In Their Schools

14 June 2017

My Voice-My School is an education project that empowers youth by giving them a voice and the opportunity to communicate across borders on issues that matter to them. It puts children at the heart of the conversation about what Sustainable Development Goal 4, ‘Quality Education’, should look like. It appeals to the international community to continue prioritizing education funding, particularly in the context of the Gaza and Syria crises.

Supported by the European Union and contributors to the Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal, My Voice-My School links schools globally to collaborate in a joint class project. Over a 12-week period, students from schools in Europe, the United States, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria explore what constitutes quality education, develop a classroom project on how to improve their own education and share their respective conclusions with their peers abroad via three online exchanges.

The turmoil faced by people in Gaza, Syria and the broader region makes education all the more precious for the half a million Palestine refugee students enrolled in over 700 UNRWA schools. Education builds resilience and generates hope, especially during conflict and protracted crises. This innovative project allows students to break the isolation brought on by war and occupation and gives them a sense of solidarity across borders as they learn to advocate for their education and future. 

In Gaza, Nadine and her classmates became strong advocates of ‘values-based education’, through which they decided to promote awareness about cultural diversity and global citizenship. At school, they established themselves as ambassadors for respect, tolerance and acceptance and organized a school festival celebrating other countries’ costumes and traditions. © 2017 UNRWA PhotoLike for many students in Gaza, it was the first time Nadine met students from abroad. “The excitement was too much to keep inside,” she says. “I wanted to tell the world how excited I was for this life-changing chance. I jumped so high like eagles soaring high in the sky!” Thanks to the online exchanges, she was able to meet with students from Amsterdam. © 2017 UNRWA Photographer Unknown.Paired with students in Gaza, pupils at the Berlage Lyceum School in Amsterdam presented six different topics for improving education, including: recycling at school, cooking as a life skill, creating shareable scholarship listings on social media platforms, researching whether e-books are good tools to ensure the most updated classroom resources, and incorporating student feedback into teacher training. © 2017 UNRWA Photo by Riccardo Guido.In Latakia, Syria, Qamar and her classmates from the UNRWA El Khairieh School worked on ways to improve their school environment with the school’s administration. They planted new trees and plants in their schoolyard, decorated classroom walls and hallways, and set up a school orchestra. © 2017 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.“It was good talking to people in Syria, face to face. It was good to actually hear from them, rather than about them in the news, and hear about what it’s like in Syria and what it’s like going to school there,” says Julius, a student at the Nelson Mandela School in Berlin. © 2017 UNRWA Photo by Mariuca Morariu. “My Voice-My School helped me become an advocate as I told people overseas about how I want to solve some of the education issues I face,” says Assile (middle in second row) at the UNRWA Jalloud Preparatory School for Girls in Burj Barajneh camp in Lebanon. With her classmates, she has been advocating for more psychological support and physical improvements to their school. They would like a bigger playground with trees and a theatre to perform plays. © 2016 UNRWA Photo by Akram Ismail Afara.In the third and final Skype call, students from the George Mason High School in Washington, DC, presented their advocacy projects to their peers in Lebanon. The class decided to raise awareness among the teachers about students’ stress and to lobby the school administration to update building utilities. The project ideas were well received by the school principal: “He liked our ideas and encouraged us to work on them more,” one of the students told UNRWA. © 2017 UNRWA Photo by Doug Thomas.After presenting their ideas to their peers in Plymouth, UK, students from the UNRWA Al-Shajara/Al-Ramleh School in Homs, Syria, met with their school principal to discuss the idea of adding more psychosocial support sessions at school. They also advocated for longer breaks. © 2017 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammed.Students at the Devonport High School for Boys in Plymouth, UK, created a website for students to access information about their options after high school. They also asked for a meeting with their school’s Leadership Group to discuss the teaching of citizenship and created Twitter accounts to share information about their projects. © 2016 UNRWA Photo by Riccardo Guido.“I would definitely run the My Voice-My School project again” says Joanne Yates, a teacher at Consett Academy in Durham, UK. “Anything that gets students to be more aware of the world around them is a really good thing. It challenges their perceptions and challenges them in a positive way.” © 2016 UNRWA Photo by Riccardo Guido.Students in Damascus met with Samir Abdelrahim, the UNRWA Education Chief in Syria to discuss the impact of crowded classrooms and the role education plays in accessing employment opportunities. Participating in the meeting, Anas said, “If you want to change something, you have to be able to speak frankly about difficult subjects.” UNRWA Palestine Institute for Boys, Damascus. © 2017 UNRWA PhotoRunning for the third year, My Voice-My School was developed in collaboration with Digital Explorer. It has been made possible with the support of generous donors, including the European Union and contributors to the Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal. Latakia, Syria. © 2017 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad

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