Each January, IIE-SRF looks back with a “year in review” edition of The Beacon. 2021 was a year of enormous challenges, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact communities worldwide and political instability increasing in many nations. In August, Afghanistan rapidly became one of the world’s most urgent higher education emergencies, with thousands of university professors, students, and public intellectuals facing persecution in the wake of the country’s takeover by the Taliban. Globally, more scholars than ever before experienced threats or displacement, as academics facing new or escalating crises in Ethiopia and Myanmar joined those experiencing protracted conflicts and higher education emergencies in Cameroon, Turkey, Venezuela, and Yemen, among other countries. For the fifth year in a row, IIE-SRF received in 2021 a record-breaking number of requests for support.
As the number of scholars facing dire threats to their safety and work continues to rise, IIE-SRF and our partners – nearly 100 of whom joined the IIE-SRF Alliance this past year – have stepped up to respond. With the crucial support of our partners and donors, IIE-SRF awarded more first-year fellowships than any year since 2008, when the Iraq War was at its peak, and provided emergency assistance and academic opportunities to over 200 total scholars.
IIE’s 2021 study To Rescue Scholars is to Rescue the Future demonstrates that this support has far-reaching implications for scholars’ work and well-being, as well as for communities worldwide. The study, which comprises the survey responses of more than 200 IIE-SRF alumni from 38 countries who completed fellowships from 2002 to 2020, demonstrates the sizeable contributions that these scholars have made in their classrooms, laboratories, and beyond since the completion of their fellowships.
As you peruse the graphics, short video, and links comprising our Year in Review, we invite you to join us in supporting threatened and displaced scholars by joining the IIE-SRF Alliance, making a donation, and/or referring a qualified scholar in need.
