The structures were designed by renowned Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid, who passed away in 2016.
Education Above All Foundation inaugurated the ‘Katara Village’ in northern Syria on Saturday, providing displaced families with sustainable shelter and educational facilities, the Qatar-based entity announced.
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), the project came to life under EAA’s collaboration with the Qatar Red Crescent Society in Qabasin, northeast of Al-Bab in northern Syria.
The area is where the majority of internally displaced Syrians have been sheltering since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011 under the Bashar Al Assad regime. There are more than 12 million displaced Syrians across the region, according to figures from the United Nations.
“At Education Above All, we believe in education as a catalyst for change and sustainable development. Katara Village exemplifies this belief, providing children and youth in need with an opportunity to learn and grow in safe and stimulating environments,” Mohammed Al Kubaisi from EAA said.
The Katara Village is made up of 30 Zaha Hadid innovative tents that are fire-resistant and provide insulation during different weather conditions. The village includes four school units, health facilities, and shelters
The structures were designed by renowned Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid, who passed away in 2016.
Since 2015, EAA and Zaha Hadid’s company have partnered to establish similar structures, some which can be found in Turkiye, Yemen, and Pakistan.
“Equipped with essential educational resources and designed to foster a safe, engaging, and stimulating atmosphere, the classrooms symbolise resilience and underscore the transformative power of education in rebuilding lives,” EAA said in a press release.
In May last year, EAA and ZHA were nominated for the distinguished AJ100 Collaboration Of The Year 2023.
EAA’s pavilion at Expo 2023 Doha has also been designed by the late Zaha Hadid, also the most famous woman architect.
“Visitors at the pavilion will gain a deeper understanding of the Foundation’s guiding principles, impact, and initiatives by watching a documentary that provides an in-depth look at the inspiration, design, and prospective use of the pavilion,” Expo 2023 Doha said last October.
Established in 2012, EAA, in collaboration with other Qatari entities, has been providing a vital lifeline for students worldwide who have been displaced from their classrooms due to crises and conflict.
The organisation managed to grant at least 9,800 scholarships and trained nearly 400,000 teachers.
The number of out-of-school children and youth increased by six million between 2021 and 2023, reaching a total of 250 million, according to UNESCO.
There are nearly 15 million out-of-school children aged between five-to-14 in the MENA region, according to UNICEF. At least 10 million others in the region are at risk of dropping out of school, primarily due to conflict.
Since 2015, the increase of children completing primary education has increased by less than three percentage points. The percentage of youths completing secondary education increased by less than five percentage points.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza has disrupted education, leaving hundreds of thousands of students out of school for five months.
The war affected more than 625,000 students and nearly 23,000 teachers in the Gaza Strip, disrupting an entire academic year, according to the UN.
Approximately 92 percent of Gaza’s schools have been converted into shelters for internally displaced Palestinians, and 138 schools sustained significant damage.
The deadly Israeli war entered its sixth month, with at least 30,960 Palestinians killed and 72,524 injured.
