2018 No Lost Generation Tech Summit: Technology-enabled solutions supporting the needs of Syrian youth

Syria Crisis humanitarian experts will join forces with tech companies, donors, investors, and youth to host the “No Lost Generation Tech Summit” in Jordan, aiming to connect private sector knowledge, expertise, innovations, and products to boost life chances for refugees and young people across the region.

The event, February 21-22 in Amman, will build on the success of last year’s pioneering Summit which brought together 200 innovators from technology giants Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Cisco, along with embassy representatives, aid agencies, and private companies.

Last year’s Summit resulted in almost US$250,000 of seed funding for new ventures, including mobile phone apps to improve spoken and written Arabic, sharing digital curricula, and funding to equip 100 Syrian refugee girls in Jordan with computer coding skills.

This was followed up with a sister event in Silicon Valley, USA, where 50+ representatives from private sector and humanitarian organizations convened to discuss how technology, and private sector resources and expertise could support young people in the region. Companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Pluralsight, and Salesforce are now working with humanitarian agencies in the region to turn these ideas into viable programs that will help transform the lives of vulnerable youth. These projects, and the learning from them will be introduced at the Tech Summit.

This year’s event will tackle even more challenges, highlighted by young people, including the use of digital solutions to address gender and representation issues facing young people across the region.

Mark Chapple, title for World Vision, Co-Lead of the No Lost Generation initiative which is behind the event, said: “Seven years into the Syria Crisis, we’re faced with a generation of young people forced from their homes who yearn for a better education and a decent job.

“The scale of the challenge is so vast that innovative tech solutions, such as online learning courses, digital job opportunities, resources and apps, can help equip more people with the training and skills they’ll need – and that’s where the Tech Summit comes in.

“The event is all about harnessing the talent of technology companies, securing private investment, and – most crucially – hearing from young people themselves about the challenges they’re facing, to bring everyone together in the room to hammer out solutions. 

“While technology isn’t a panacea to these myriad challenges, it’s an underused and powerful tool which can make a transformational difference to hundreds of thousands of young people who have access to mobile phones which are capable of running apps.”

The 2018 event is sponsored by World Vision, Microsoft, NetHope, and The EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, and led by a steering committee including World Vision, NetHope, Mercy Corps, NRC and Unicef. It will be held at the King Hussein Business Park Auditorium and Conference Centre in Amman on 21-22 February.

“The refugee crisis is especially devastating to young people, who not only lose their homes but also have their schooling disrupted,” said Jane Meseck, Senior Director, Global Programs and Partnerships, Microsoft Philanthropies. "We helped NetHope and No Lost Generation initiative launch the NLG Tech Task Force to support the work of the international development sector to provide education, employment, participation and protection to displaced youth and children, and it’s encouraging to see the level of support it has received from the private sector and from NGOs around the world.”

“The No Lost Generation Tech Task Force is a model for collective impact. The Task Force demonstrates first-hand that we can have much greater scale and impact by working together with NGOs, the tech sector, and the academic community. This exemplifies how we can use the power of technology to empower vulnerable youth.” said Frank Schott, Vice President, Global Programs for NetHope.

Jordan-based tech training center – ReBoot Kamp – is the technology partner for the event and has supported refugee graduates to develop an app for participants to navigate the Summit.

For more information, including the chance to support the event, visit www.nlgedtech.com and follow the twitter handle #nolostgeneration.

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