Global Classroom: Expanding Educational Access to Forcibly Displaced Students

International Speaker Series:

Expanding Educational Access to Forcibly Displaced Students

How can institutional infrastructures of universities be leveraged to expand college education to forcibly displaced students?

Conflict-and-climate-induced disasters around the world affect millions of people every year, forcing many to leave their homes. These devastating events generally result in children and college-age youths being driven out of schools and campuses to refugee camps, forcing many of them into engaging in questionable activities, such as joining a rebel organization.

College campuses around the world are presented with a daunting responsibility to create educational opportunities to address the plight of the forcibly displaced college-age youths languishing in places where educational opportunities are already limited. This presentation, led by Prakash Adhikari, describes implementation of a student-led educational exchange program called Global Classroom that is designed to provide college education to refugees living in the Dzaleka Refugee camp in Malawi, Africa.

Prakash Adhikari is a professor of political science at Central Michigan University. His areas of research and teaching lie at the intersection of International Relations and Comparative Politics with a specific focus on forced migration and transitional justice. His work has received several awards, prizes, and funding, including a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Adhikari has published several articles and book chapters in places such as the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, and Oxford University Press, among others. His ongoing research looks at integration of resettled refugees into American society and the implications of forced migration on international security.