Tripoli, Lebanon, 24 March 2016 – A new IDB initiative, ‘No Syrian Child Left Behind’, will offer an estimated two million children and orphans electronic access to the Syrian education curriculum, no matter where the children are located.

The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, announced the groundbreaking initiative in Tripoli on March 24.
The launch came during a two-day joint visit to Lebanon by a high-profile delegation comprised of Dr. Ali, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim. The objective of the joint visit was to rally global support for the shared responsibility of promoting peace and development in the Middle East and North Africa region.

An e-learning initiative for Syrian youth
“This e-learning initiative is expected to reach nearly two million Syrian students wherever they are, either in regular classrooms or displaced with no access to teachers and text books,” said Dr. Ali. “This is our way to reach these large numbers of young people.”
The initiative is funded by IDB in collaboration with Qatar Charity and the Syrian Scientific Society. The educational materials meet the highest professional and educational standards.

Educating Syrian children ‘a top priority
“IDB is committed to its development obligations,” said Dr. Ali. “We are working to help achieve the Global Sustainable Development Agenda by addressing the effects of conflicts on children and mitigating the impacts that serious conflicts leave on development.”
He emphasized that the education of Syrian children is a top priority for Islamic institutions, the international humanitarian system, and the development community as a whole.
“There is no way to share the desired prosperity, equality and respect for the rights of everyone as long as millions of Syrian refugee children are deprived of education,” he said.
IDB, the Qatar Foundation and the Syrian Education Commission worked together to publish and distribute approximately 10 million Syrian curriculum-based textbooks and will continue to reach out to Syrian students. IDB is also rehabilitating and reconstructing schools and is focusing on boosting educational support at all levels.
Dr. Ali called on all development finance institutions, Islamic volunteer organizations and education advocates to help Syrian students obtain locally and internationally accredited secondary school certificates.
“We also envisage students being able to choose vocational training to prepare for market requirements,” he said.

Building skills for Syrians in the field of science
Dr. Ali called on all states and institutions to consider new opportunities to build skills in the field of science for displaced and war-afflicted Syrians.