Digital participation for the entire family

Creating prospects to counter fears of the future

"This is the opportunity that I and my family have been waiting for for a long time," says Malika (17) while beaming. She is in a community centre of the "Collateral Repair Project" in Amman and happily talks about the IT courses she and her family have been attending for a few weeks. "Finally, I can pursue my own educational and professional goals again and so, in the long run, can support my family." Malika and her family had to flee Syria a few years ago because of the war. At the time, it was her big dream to become a graphic designer. However, the many challenges and uncertainties that stood in the way of her and her family after having to flee put an end to the dream for the time being. Then, through acquaintances, she heard about the IT courses for people young and old. In the meantime, Malika's parents also regularly come to the courses and can now all look forward to the future with more self-confidence.

Background

Through this good deed, young people and their families who have fled from war zones to Jordan gain basic and advanced IT skills. The twice-weekly courses for children and young people are offered by qualified teachers and run for a total of 3 months. Different levels are offered – from basic use of common PC software to advanced courses that build on this, e.g. programming or graphic design. Various degrees can be obtained within the framework of an internationally recognised computer science certificate (ICDL). In addition, monthly workshops are offered for parents in which they are familiarised with topics such as IT security and the protection of privacy on the Internet, thus promoting their digital literacy.

The good deed

Jordan borders Syria and Iraq and is considered "relatively safe" among the countries in the Middle East for people seeking refuge. Due to the wars in neighbouring countries, around 760,000 recognised refugees live in Jordan today. Only Lebanon has a higher percentage of refugees as a proportion of the total population (UNHCR, 2022). Initial conditions for the arriving people are catastrophic: About 80% of the refugees live below the poverty line of about 96 US dollars per month. Almost half of those seeking refuge are minors and have little or only limited access to education. This has been further exacerbated by the Covid pandemic (Human Rights Watch, 2020). Together with its local partner organisation "Collateral Repair Project", the foundation "Schüler Helfen Leben" offers IT courses for refugee families in Amman to facilitate their medium- to long-term integration into the labour market. This includes simple skills such as the use of text and image processing software as well as advanced skills such as programming or graphic design (Sahin-Mencutek & Nashwan, 2020). Furthermore, many refugees lack even basic digital skills related to online safety, privacy or even online banking (UNHCR, Empowering Refugees). The good deed opens up prospects for a self-determined future and successful vocational training for young refugees and their families, and also improves the social inclusion of refugee families into Jordanian society.