The RWAN Initiative has organized workshops to support women with migrant and refugee backgrounds in Belgium. We invited representatives from several Belgian universities to attend, especially universities with a refugee support office. We aimed to provide necessary information for women who face difficulties applying for programs through the application platforms of the universities.

 

We explained specializations offered by the university, the conditions for applying, and the support available to them to pursue continuing their studies. 

 

Various universities that offer special programs to support refugees and immigrants in Belgium, such as VUB and ULB Antwerp University, joined us. 

 

In addition, we welcomed Kiron as an alternative solution. “Open Higher Education for Refugees Kiron” enables access to higher education and successful learning for refugees through digital solutions. Kiron is an amazing solution for those who have been prevented from beginning University. Only two of the women had the experience of studying online through the COURSERA platform. We believe it was very useful that KIRON shared their project in our workshop, especially as E-learning is essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Through our workshops, we discovered that women needed support to access information. The language barrier, lack of digital skills, and lack of contact with the local community have increased the obstacles to conducting their studies or expressing their needs.

 

The following university representatives are those who have joined us.

 

1. Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

2. Antwerp University – Linguapolis 

3. Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

4. Gent University

5. Antwerp University – Study options and the THEA project

6. Kiron Open Higher Education for Refugees