The Open Society University Network Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives (Hubs) are co-led by Bard College and BRAC University’s Center for Peace and Justice, with Arizona State University, Bard College Berlin, and Princeton’s Global History Lab as key partners. The Hubs deliver learner-centered, contextualized programming that is innovative in its use of technology to support participants in low-resource settings and builds local capacity to support implementation. The Hubs currently operate in Eastern Africa, the MENA region, and South Asia.
What We Do
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The OSUN Hubs Capacity Building works to develop programs such as Facilitator Training, a program that empowers Refugees into educational leaders; Researcher Training, a collaboration project with the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) that prepares Refugees with research skills; and Refugee-led Organizations (RLO's) Capacity Building, a training process in which the OSUN Hubs works with those running the RLO's in all of its facets of program implementation,
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Higher education offerings in the form of a university preparatory program and interdisciplinary course clusters that result in transferable credits accumulation, official transcripts, and OSUN certificates of completion for students who have been unable to access a bachelor’s degree.
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A refugee- and host community-led research hub to support local training in qualitative and quantitative approaches and to develop locally-situated research. Research supports the Hubs’ wider advocacy efforts by raising awareness of the barriers and challenges that refugees face.
Current Events
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Panel
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Ad-Hoc Governance and Education: the Case of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
3 PM New York l 7 PM Vienna
The OSUN Working Group on Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Host Community Education presents a panel discussion series on "Geographies and Temporalities of Higher Education for Displaced Students."
The next event in the series is a panel discussion on "Ad-Hoc Governance and Education: the Case of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh."
September 2023 marked the sixth year of the Rohingya refugee crisis, and throughout the preceding years, a steady and calculated securitization of the response has threatened and shrunk the space for refugee civic engagement and advocacy. Against the backdrop of informal structures and ad-hoc governance mechanisms, the future prospects for Rohingya refugees confined within the fenced camps in Cox’s Bazar remain uncertain--their access to education hanging in the shrewd balance of tactical bureaucracy and deliberate repression.
The education sector has invariably faced the scourge of makeshift policy-making, ranging from the indisputable ban on using the Bangladeshi native language, Bangla, in the learning centres to the complete shutdown of Rohingya-led education initiatives within the camps. To the community, a proper education is highly revered, making the educated the most celebrated among them--a glimpse into why despite such pushback, the Rohingya community remains firm on their demand for better education for their young and future generations. Further, refugees have expressed their discontent with learning opportunities provided by humanitarians, adamant that education spaces should not only be safe, but also engaging, fruitful and cognizant of community morals and identities.
This panel explains the regulatory context of advancing education in the refugee camps from the past to present, aiming to shed light on the reactionary strategies adopted by stakeholders. Focusing on the understanding that education can be a pathway to a meaningful life, the panel explores the impact of restrictive policies on refugee aspirations, their coping mechanisms and shifting relationship with humanitarians and extended trust networks. Insights are gathered from a desk review of existing literature, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with humanitarians, journalists, researchers and refugees themselves, conducted to prepare a forthcoming report on ad-hoc governance by CPJ and the Asia Foundation.
Moderator
M Sanjeeb Hossain, Director, Research, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University
Presenters
Samira Manzur, Research Development Fellow, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC U
Tasnia Khandaker Prova, Research Associate, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC U
Azizul Hoque, Research Associate, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University
Join via Zoom
October 26, 20233:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4