Migrants of Circumstance- Redesigning the Idea of Refugee Engagement

Migrants of Circumstance- a continuous, open sharing platform of social, cultural, and academic knowledge exchange- is a live project inside Syrian refugee settlements in Lebanon, a press release said on Monday.

Studies show that only 20% of Syrian children are enrolled in school in Lebanon; in response, Goldsmiths Design student Daniel Nasr is developing a sustainable method of providing accessible education to both children and young adults in refugee communities who do not have access to traditional education, the release added.

“After visiting some of the settlements in 2014, I began thinking of a design rooted response that would provide aid, but in a way that allows migrants to thrive and self sustain, not rely on one off donations,” says Nasr.

After numerous visits to the camps highlighting the worsening circumstances, the open source project began to tackle the education crisis as to begin a trend towards offering sustainable aid in humanitarian responses.

After months of researching and continuing his thesis, which developed into a photographic investigation into refugee culture inside Lebanon, Nasr began designing frameworks to allow refugees to develop their own educational practices. He has so far secured the cooperation of a settlement in Northern Lebanon, in a beach resort turned refugee hub; and in it, 109 children and five teachers covering subjects like Arabic, sculpture, and gold leafing.

On top of providing an open source design for the migrants, Nasr plans to jump-start a micro economy in the settlement, pushing its self sustainability to the limits. He suggests every settlement needs a certain amount of money to jump-start its system, and through public workshops and events, slowly begin to gain income and the system will grow and sustain on its own.

“As a student, it’s difficult to be able to afford the system jump-start on my own, and so it’s necessary that what began as a community based project, becomes an international community based project, with Kickstarter.com as the platform to do so,” Nasr concludes.

He plans to raise £1,300 by May 30, 2015 and will begin classes as soon as funding is reached.

Kickstarter campaigns operate under an “all-or-nothing” funding model so if the Migrants of Circumstance project doesn’t reach its goal at the end of May, then it might be another few months of delay until the system goes into effect.

Everyday, Syrians lose an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to grow; funding this project will, at least, change that reality for the lives of a small group of them in Lebanon, the press release stated.

To follow this project, be sure to find it on Twitter (@mocproject) and spread the word to your social media networks. Consider donating as little as £5 to help the project come to life.

If you’d like more information about the Migrants of Circumstance Project, or if you’d like to schedule an interview with Daniel, please send him an email at migrantsofcircumstance@gmail.com or danielnasr101@gmail.com or send him a tweet at @mocproject.