© UNHCR
Why are refugees fleeing their countries? How do refugees sometimes end up far away when they seek safety? And what is the one most important thing that you would bring with you, if you were forced to flee your home because of war, violence, or persecution?
In today’s world, future generations need to understand and embrace the world around them – with all its complexity and challenges. In order to bring refugee issues into the classroom in a balanced and inclusive manner, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and UN Association Iceland have launched today a comprehensive teaching material in Icelandic about global forced displacement.
The aim is to provide schools and teachers in Iceland with the tools, guidance, and inspiration to educate children and youth in Iceland about people forced to flee around the world. This will give them a strong foundation to better comprehend and navigate these important questions, that are regularly the focus of politicized debates and even divisive and xenophobic discussions.
The material not only offers key facts and explanations around forced displacement but also sheds light on the human faces, destinies, and consequences behind the refugee numbers. This will help create an understanding of the people who have been forced to flee their homes – a number that is, unfortunately, growing year by year and has now surpassed the tragic marker of 110 million people displaced worldwide.
“Refugees and refugee issues are being discussed continuously, in the news, on social media, and over the dinner tables, but unfortunately these issues are surrounded by many myths and misunderstandings. Our children are inheriting a messy world, so we owe it to them to ensure they have correct facts, figures and knowledge to help them understand the global displacement situation. We are delighted to be able to launch this material in Icelandic together with the UN Association of Iceland,” says Annika Sandlund, UNHCR’s Representative in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
“We’ve heard from teachers in Iceland that material like this is desperately needed, and we are very happy that we could help. The growing worldwide number of forced displacement is something we see clearly here in Iceland as well, so the translated material could not have come at a better time. It has been great working with UNHCR on this and we are pleased to be finally launching it today, as the school year starts again”, says Vala Karen Viðarsdóttir, Secretary-General of the UN Association of Iceland.
The Icelandic material is available online and free of charge. It targets different age groups and provides animations, short videos, and suggestions for classroom discussions, group work, and tasks, while it also includes concrete teacher guidance and lesson plans.
The education material has been developed by UNHCR and is already translated into several other languages. The Icelandic version has been translated and tailored by the UN Association of Iceland.
The material can be accessed here.
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