2018/2019 Annual Report

Last year was a very exciting one for WUSC. From the completion of two initiatives on women and youth economic empowerment, to the implementation of new programming on improving girls’ access to education, we have many successes and accomplishments to celebrate, presented in our Annual Report.

Here are just a few of the highlights from 2018/2019:

1. Fatuma Omar Ismail, a WUSC Alum, was a strong voice on the global stage for girls’ education as part of the #MyG7campaign, leading to a historic investment in education for women and girls. Read more about Fatuma and the youth delegation that addressed global leaders here.
2. We began a new phase of remedial education programming for at-risk refugee and host community girls, including girls with disabilities, in Kenya, in partnership with the US State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migrants.
3. We explored opportunities for impact investing in the education sector in East Africa to provide inclusive and quality education for all. Read the report which explores the current gaps and the role impact investors can play in closing the education gap in the region.
4. Our 40th cohort of 128 refugees were resettled to Canada through our Student Refugee Program. Last year, through a student levy, hundreds of thousands of Canadian students at 98 campuses across Canada, contributed over $3 million to the program. This contribution enabled us to expand recruitment for the program to a new country of asylum, Uganda.
5. Amelie Fabian, a WUSC Alum, addressed the United Nations’ General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Action for Refugee Education, sharing her story and calling on leaders to take action. WUSC joined other members of the international community at this event in committing to improve education for all.
6. The 72nd International Seminar took place in Ghana, focusing on women in entrepreneurship. The seminar brought together 20 Canadian and Ghanaian women entrepreneurs to develop knowledge and skills, exchange best practices and build an international network of young women seeking to affect positive social change through business.
7. We hosted our 3rd annual roundtable discussion on the topic of social enterprise and higher education institutions. Canadian  and international experts from the post-secondary, government and private sector shared successes and challenges, and explored the potential of social enterprises in low-resource contexts. Read the full report.
8. Through a new partnership with a British Columbia-based social enterprise, Brighter Investment (BI), and with funding from DMK Foundation, we will be supporting BI to increase access to higher education financing for marginalized young women in Ghana.
9. Our 8th Annual WUSC and CECI International Forum, saw over 700 students, researchers, development professionals, government and private sector representatives gathered in Ottawa to discuss global solutions in a fragmented world.
10. We received funding from the 60 million girls foundation to build on our success of remedial education programming for refugee and host community girls in Kenya, and adapt and pilot this model in Tanzania for out-of-school girls and young women.

Our efforts and results would not have been possible without the support of the inspiring network of individuals, organizations, institutions, businesses and governments in Canada and overseas. We thank the tens of thousands of alumni, volunteers and supporters across Canada, who share our vision and work with us to achieve a better world for all young people.

Read our full report