We are excited to share our 2020-2021 Annual Report!  Despite the challenges and new realities presented by the pandemic, 2020-2021 was full of achievements, milestones, and learnings. Our Annual Report provides an overview of our work and illustrates the progress we have made towards our vision and mission to improve education, economic, and empowerment opportunities…

Women entrepreneurs are critical to a thriving and inclusive economy, yet they face numerous challenges in growing their businesses. These challenges are compounded for women climate entrepreneurs (WCEs), who are critical innovators and catalysts in the response to climate change around the world. WUSC is excited to launch our new knowledge product: Strategies for Incubators…

On March 15, 2020, the Government of Kenya closed schools nationwide in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, millions of children’s education has been severely disrupted, leaving significant gaps in learning. For girls, in particular, being out of school for such a long period of time also increased their vulnerability to sexual and…

Sultan Jaber can tell you a lot about hope. An Iraqi born in Kuwait, Sultan moved to the Basra Province of Iraq in 1991, which you will remember, was a time of war and massive upheaval. He returned, as he says, “to my roots” with hope and a determination to help Iraq rebuild. Today, after…

Increasingly, education systems are challenged to deliver education services in adverse contexts such as natural disasters, political crises, health epidemics, pervasive violence, and armed conflict. The year 2020 was no exception, as health systems around the world struggled to cope with the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Kenya, the first COVID-19 case was…

Roundtable Report Highlights (read full report here). Spanish and Arabic to follow. It is essential to include those who will be impacted (“nothing about us without us”) in developing policies and programs that affect them. Refugees have for too long been left out of processes and decisions that impact their lives and communities. This is…

On November 17, WUSC co-hosted an exciting Roundtable Discussion: State of Play on Refugee Leadership: Young Refugee Leaders in Conversation with Allies. The global virtual event, organized with the Global Refugee Youth Network (GRYN), brought young refugee leaders from around the world, together with international practitioners, including representatives of governments, NGOs, multilateral organizations, academia, and…

To celebrate International Volunteer Day, Canadians around the world will be invited to contribute to the dialogue on the impact of international volunteers. This double virtual event will take place on December 9th and draw attention to important issues that affect the most vulnerable. The core group of 13 volunteer cooperation organizations will come together…

Gender-based violence (GBV) affects nearly 1 in 3 women globally in their lifetime. While both men and women experience GBV to varying degrees, women are disproportionately affected, which both reflects and reinforces deeply rooted inequalities and discriminatory norms and beliefs. In addition, certain groups including girls and women from poor, rural or Indigenous communities; refugees…

Canada lifted its general non-essential travel restriction on October 21, 2021. WUSC is now in a position to resume international departures.