New Models for Education Access: The Rise and SYE Partnership - Migration Summit 2023
MIT OpenCourseWareKey Moments
Rise and SYE partner to offer educational and economic opportunities to conflict-affected youth.
Key Insights
Rise identifies and supports talented youth globally through a unique project-based learning approach, focusing on brilliance, perseverance, integrity, empathy, and a calling to serve others.
Syrian Youth Empowerment (SYE) focuses on college access programming and partnerships, upskilling students from Syria and Iraq to access scholarships and higher education.
The Rise and SYE partnership leverages SYE's on-the-ground expertise to reach and support conflict-affected youth for the Rise program, while Rise provides resources and network access to SYE.
Key challenges for Rise include age restrictions (15-17), English-only program offerings, technology access, communication of its innovative concept, time commitment for projects, and high selectivity.
SYE addresses barriers like application fees and provides mentorship, while the partnership helps bridge gaps, advocate for students, and increase opportunities for those who don't win Rise awards but become finalists.
Both organizations aim to scale their impact by fostering collaboration with other grassroots organizations and exploring new contexts and partnerships to broaden access to education and opportunity.
INTRODUCTION TO THE MIGRATION SUMMIT AND PRESENTERS
The session at the Migration Summit 2023, organized by MIT ReACT, Na'amal, and Karam Foundation, focused on creating pathways for learning, livelihoods, and dignity for displaced learners. Lorraine Charles of Na'amal introduced Elysa Bryen from Syrian Youth Empowerment (SYE) and Greg Manne from Rise. The summit aimed to build bridges between diverse communities involved in supporting refugee and migrant populations. The discussion highlighted the innovative collaboration between Rise and SYE in generating educational and economic opportunities for conflict-affected youth.
RISE: EMPOWERING GLOBAL TALENT THROUGH INNOVATIVE ASSESSMENT
Rise is an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, dedicated to bringing opportunity to talented young people worldwide, based on the philosophy that talent is equitably distributed but opportunity is not. It stands apart from traditional scholarship programs by utilizing a free, project-based learning experience called the Rise Challenge. This approach assesses applicants on five traits: brilliance, perseverance, integrity, empathy, and a calling to serve others, rather than traditional metrics like test scores and grades. The program is global, accessible from over 170 countries, and supports youth through a residential experience, fully funded scholarships, mentorship, and a strong community network.
SYRIAN YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: FOSTERING EDUCATIONAL ACCESS
Syrian Youth Empowerment (SYE) was founded by Syrians who received scholarships, aiming to create opportunities for students within Syria and the diaspora. Their model focuses on upskilling students to access existing scholarships and higher education, rather than solely fundraising for tuition. SYE provides mentorship, waivers for testing and application fees, and prepares students for competitive university applications worldwide. They run programs for bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as a prep program for younger students focusing on English, project-based learning, and extracurriculars. SYE students typically receive significant scholarship aid, with many universities offering full scholarships.
THE RISE AND SYE PARTNERSHIP MODEL
The collaboration between Rise and SYE is built on leveraging each organization's strengths to reach and support conflict-affected youth more effectively. Rise's SEED Award program seeks grassroots partners like SYE to source diverse talent and pilot new ideas. SYE utilizes its existing networks, including a Telegram channel and Facebook group, to recruit Syrian students for Rise. They also provide crucial on-the-ground support, helping students navigate technological issues and advocating on their behalf with Rise when challenges arise. This partnership ensures that even youth who don't become Rise winners can benefit, with Rise finalists from SYE securing full scholarships to prestigious universities.
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN GLOBAL TALENT IDENTIFICATION
Both Rise and SYE acknowledged several challenges. Rise faces limitations with its strict 15-17 age requirement, reliance on English-only programming, varying technology access among participants, the complexity of explaining its innovative concept, a significant time commitment for projects, and high selectivity. SYE also navigates the need for immediate scholarship outcomes and the novelty of social impact concepts in their communities. The partnership aims to mitigate these by sharing resources, like Duolingo waivers, and fostering open communication to adapt the model and address barriers faced by students.
FOSTERING FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES AND SCALING IMPACT
The partnership between Rise and SYE exemplifies a win-win scenario, extending opportunities to youth while strengthening both organizations and their networks. Rise benefits from SYE's ability to reach underrepresented talent and provide contextual feedback, while SYE gains access to a global community and resources for its students. Both organizations are committed to expanding their reach by identifying new partners, exploring different contexts, and potentially building a network of organizations that can support each other. The goal is to create a sustainable ecosystem that continuously identifies and empowers talented youth worldwide, preparing them not just for education but for lifelong impact.
Mentioned in This Episode
●Software & Apps
●Organizations
●Concepts
●People Referenced
Common Questions
Rise is a global initiative that identifies and supports talented young people by providing opportunities, focusing on a project-based learning experience instead of traditional metrics like SAT scores or grades. It assesses participants on brilliance, perseverance, integrity, empathy, and a calling to serve others.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
The main program of Rise, involving a project-based learning experience that assesses participants on specific traits.
A Rise winner and refugee from Burundi who started a sexual health education initiative in the Kakuma Refugee Camp.
A country where Camila Massa launched a hub for MIT ReACT.
An organization associated with Oxford University, co-sponsoring Rise and managing the Rhodes Scholarship.
An initiative focused on bringing opportunity to talented young people globally through a project-based learning experience.
A program by Rise focused on collaborating with grassroots organizations to find new partners and pilot new ideas.
An organization offering opportunities to Rise winners, including scholarships.
A network mentioned in relation to supporting entrepreneurs from marginalized communities.
A prestigious scholarship program managed by the Rhodes Trust.
Syrian Youth Empowerment Initiative, an organization that works with Syrian and Iraqi youth to provide college access programming and partnerships.
A Rise winner who started a program to support Kurdish minorities and Syrian refugees in Eastern Turkey.
An organization offering outreach and opportunities to Rise winners and network members, including scholarships for research projects.
Camila Massa's organization, which provides education-to-employment pathways for underserved communities, with an age range of 18+.
A philanthropy co-sponsoring Rise, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
Co-founder of Schmidt Futures.
A Rise winner who escaped Afghanistan and is working on providing educational opportunities for the Afghan diaspora.
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