[Open-education] How can Open Education help children in Syria?

Mon Mar 17 14:09:52 UTC 2014

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Hello,

a few days ago I've read this blog article:
http://www.24-7prayer.com/blog/2219
(yeah, I'm a Christian …)

Especially these lines could be interesting for us:

“I had top grades - I wanted to study communications at university. I
was in my last two years of school [when the conflict broke out], but
now I have no chance to finish my education,” he told us. “To get
registered  in school here, they told me I must bring my school papers
from Syria.  How  is  this  possible  when  my  school and house were
completely destroyed? I told them I could sit an exam to show them,
but they said they have  too many students already. I’ve tried to
study by myself at home, but I  have  no access to books; I can’t
learn anything. I had such hopes for a good future, but now they’ve
been destroyed.”

So the problem is the lack of books. As far as I understand OER
they're mostly virtual commodities. So I wonder, what is needed to
enable kids in Syria to use it?

- From reading/developing around the Firefox OS ecosystem I know, that
people in Africa usually use mobile web and less laptops/desktop as we
in Western Europe/U.S. are used to. I think, we should take this into
consideration.

I could try about the tragedy happening there and don't be able to do
anything ;_;
But I'm getting off-topic.

So what do you think? Is there are chance for OE/OKF to help out?

André Jaenisch
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