By centering the participation of young refugees in its research, GERE aligns with the 2021 UN Common Agenda, which advocates for the promotion of solidarity with young people through providing avenues for participation, quality education and stable employment. It supports the call of the Transforming Education Summit’s Youth Declaration, which demands the meaningful engagement of young people as fully-fledged partners in education policy and decision-making. It also aligns with leading voices within the education sector who envision a future in which local education researchers are equipped to conduct quality education research and promote its uptake.
The above is achieved through GERE’s holistic model of refugee participation. Refugee researchers engage in all aspects of the research cycle, taking ownership of data collection and contributing to the design, the analysis, writing and advocacy components. In addition to their engagement in the research cycle, refugee researchers also receive a graduate-level professional training in Applied Research which is accredited by an international institution.