2025 Concordia Annual Summit

Closing the Refugee Education Gap: Women Leading the Way

  • Advancing Human Rights & Social Progress
Mary Maker, Ann Curry, Jessica de Rothschild, Suzanne Ehlers

Session Summary

Important
Quotations

"I remember walking down the aisle to receive my diploma at Ola, and the crowd of community members cheering, ‘We graduated!’ I thought, ‘Who’s we?’ But then I realized, you’re never the only one going to school. You’re carrying the hopes of so many others back home."
Mary Maker
"So what you’re really saying, and it’s interesting to dig into this a bit, is that it highlights what the United States is losing by not allowing these students in, and what other nations around the world stand to gain."
Ann Curry
"We decided this was a cause we could truly get behind, one where we could share our resources with other women, who could then go on to empower themselves and their own communities."
Jessica de Rothschild
"Go to dinner with five friends and decide that, together, for $15,000, you’re going to fund a four-year scholarship for a refugee student, someone who could go on to change the world. And you’ll have played a part in that."
Suzanne Ehlers

Key
Takeaways

  • Education as a Path to Empowerment and Reconstruction: Education breaks cycles of poverty, offering refugee women alternatives to early marriage and economic stagnation. Students choose majors that meet community needs—finance, political science, education, health, and agriculture—while maintaining strong connections to their home countries as a means to eventually return and rebuild.
  • The Multiplier Effect of Investing in Women: Educating refugee women creates ripple effects that benefit entire communities. Graduates often launch initiatives that empower others, such as programs serving hundreds of girls, cultivating the next generation of women leaders who multiply their impact locally.
  • Addressing Stigma Through Storytelling: Storytelling helps break down single narratives, fostering understanding and empathy. Creating spaces for mutual exchange allows both refugees and host communities to connect through universal themes of home, safety, and belonging.
  • Economic and Social Returns on Investment: Programs like UNHCR’s scholarships, funding over 27,000 students in 59 countries, demonstrate that educated refugees contribute economically and socially, supporting GDP growth while gaining dignity, hope, and agency in their communities.

Action
Items

  • For Individual Philanthropists and Community Members: Support refugee women’s education through collective giving, storytelling initiatives, and active engagement with programs like Building Better Futures.
  • For Educational Institutions: Open doors to refugee students, provide mentorship, and create partnerships to facilitate academic and community success.
  • For Corporate and Institutional Investors: Invest in refugee-led initiatives, mobilize private sector resources, and leverage networks to amplify impact.
  • For Advocacy and Policy Organizations: Reframe public narratives, promote cultural diplomacy, and support youth refugee leadership to drive social change.
  • For Media and Communications: Share refugee success stories, highlight practical solutions, and amplify refugee voices to foster awareness and understanding.

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