With the prospect of returns to Syria appearing remote, significant numbers of Syrian refugees will likely remain in Jordan for the foreseeable future. As durable solutions are currently out of reach for most refugees, it becomes vital to support pathways towards solutions so that displaced people are able to take a voluntary and informed decision once solutions become available to them. Enabling Syrian refugee, vulnerable Jordanian, and refugee youth of other nationalities to live full and productive lives, through investments in and the building of linkages between education and livelihoods will not only allow them to fulfill their potential and achieve self-reliance – the latter being a prerequisite for enabling pathways towards solutions - but it also promises wider benefits to Jordan’s economy and society. There is a continuous need to identify the available options to support access to quality education and livelihoods services over the medium-term.
This policy brief highlights youth’s voices of their experience and aspirations on education and livelihoods pathways in Jordan and is part of a larger research project by the Durable Solutions Platform (DSP), Jordan River Foundation (JRF), and Danish Refugee Council (DRC) entitled “Aspirations Versus Reality” (AVR), which aims to assess youth’ pathways towards empowerment and self-reliance in Jordan. The overarching objective of this research is to explore displacement-affected young people’s aspirations for their current and future education and livelihoods options, and the reality of the choices they are faced with in Jordan today. The AVR research project aligns with the Global Compact on Refugees’ (GCR) Program of Action to meet the needs and support communities in education and livelihoods, with the focus on supporting the empowerment of refugee and host community youth.
