Summary
As of mid-2023, UNHCR reports that 110 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced, representing the highest recorded number of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people in history. In response, many countries across the world continue to open their borders to refugees and migrants, incorporating these new populations into existing social and economic systems.
With a population of 49 million, Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees (57% of whom are children), providing access to opportunities in the education system and labor markets. Refugee children study the Ugandan curriculum and earn formal school-leaving certificates. While the formal curriculum focuses on traditional subjects (e.g. math, science, social studies, English, etc.), for children whose lives have been disrupted by armed conflict, war, and natural disasters, engagement in the arts is essential to further strengthen individual and communal resilience and to help mitigate trauma.
The arts awaken children’s creativity and imagination (Greene, 1981). They have the ability to reveal young people’s “beliefs about themselves, their roles in society, and social locations” (Albers, 1999).
The goal of the Ubumwe 2.0: Integrating Arts Education and Psychosocial Support with Children and Youth Affected Affected by Displacement in Uganda project is to integrate culturally and contextually relevant arts education in schools for children and youth affected by displacement, and to support teachers in the uptake of arts-based practices that meaningfully support children. The Ubumwe project, based on a Kinyabwisha term meaning “togetherness,” builds on an initial pilot that developed and tested an integrated arts-focused curriculum in a community school in the Kyangwali refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda, home to over 135,000 refugees coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
For Ubumwe 2.0, researchers, educators and artists from the U.S. and Uganda, will work together to further develop and expand the arts curriculum for children in 3-4 primary schools in the Kyangwali settlement, collaborating closely with national Ugandan authorities responsible for curriculum development. Teachers and school leaders will participate in teacher professional development on arts education and psychosocial support, led by local teaching artists and mental health practitioners. The project will contribute to understanding the impact of the arts and to advocate for broader integration of the arts into school programming for refugee children as well as learners across Uganda through alignment with the national curriculum.
The project will result in improved education outcomes and mental health well-being, socialization skills, coping strategies, resilience and connectedness to community among learners, and improved pedagogical content knowledge and resilience among teachers. In addition, the project will contribute to the field of education in humanitarian settings, increasing understanding of the contributions that arts can make to the well-being of children and youth affected by displacement.
In partnership with:
Footnotes:
United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), “Uganda-Population Dashboard: Overview of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Uganda,” January 31, 2024, https://reporting.unhcr.org/uganda-population-dashboard.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Mid-Year Trends 2023” (2023), https://www.unhcr.org/mid-year-trends-report-2023.
United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), “Uganda-Population Dashboard: Overview of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Uganda,” January 31, 2024, https://reporting.unhcr.org/uganda-population-dashboard.
Sally Adnams Jones, Art-Making with Refugees and Survivors: Creative and Transformative Responses to Trauma after Natural Disasters, War and Other Crises (Jessica Kingsley Publishers., 2018).
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Sabrina Hermosilla
Project LeadRead Full Bio arrow_right_altSabrina Hermosilla is an assistant professor in the Department of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. She has almost two...
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Mary Mendenhall
Project LeadRead Full Bio arrow_right_altMary Mendenhall, Ed.D., is an associate professor in the International and Comparative Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research is...
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Max Frieder
ArtolutionProject TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altMax Frieder, Ed.D., is the Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of the international community-based public arts education organization Artolution. He is a public...
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Lindsay Roberts Greene
Arts IgniteProject TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altLindsay Roberts Greene (she/her) is a performing arts professional and the exemplification of her motto, "artistry onstage and off!" Hailed as a "combination of vocal power and...
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Kemigisha Richardson
Teachers College, Columbia UniversityProject TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altKemigisha Richardson, Kemigisha is a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is passionate about understanding and strengthening the role of social and...
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Ochaka Richard Okot
HAF UgandaProject TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altOchaka Richard Okot is a Clinical Psychologist and the Executive Director of HAF Uganda. Okot has been investing his time and resources in promoting a peaceful future, the right to...
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Clare Bangirana
Project TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altClare Bangirana is the Director of Research & Knowledge Development at the Africhild Centre. Clare has over 17 years of experience in development research and evaluation. She...
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Yana Mayevskaya
Project TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altYana Mayevskaya joined the CPC Learning Network as a senior program officer in 2020 and is now the associate director. For over 10 years, Yana has worked with national,...
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Issa Rooney
Project TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altIssa is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at Teachers College, Columbia University. With experience as a former teacher, she is committed to helping educators gain...
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Alexandra Harakas
Project TeamRead Full Bio arrow_right_altAlexandra Harakas is pursuing a masters degree in International Educational Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is passionate about self-sustaining...