Backpacker, Go! 2:2 2024 is Live
The official newsletter of the UC Davis Article 26 Backpack is shared with over 5000 worldwide
Quick Summary
- Article 26 Backpack has reached over 5,000 Backpackers from around the globe. We are excited to continue expanding our reach to new regions and student communities - with each edition, the Guide leadership voices concern about the digital divide
The Spring/Summer edition of the official newsletter of the UC Davis Article 26 Backpack, Backpacker, Go! has hit the stands. Last night, our team shared information about our new Backpack Guide Badge Micro-credential, scholarship and support opportunities, a user survey, and a short bio of a Backpack Guide with over 5000 displaced and refugee young people, educators and allies in the Backpacker community. To the best of our knowledge, Backpacker, Go! is the only publication that has such a global reach - and is a modest demonstration of the way we work to break down the barriers of exclusion that confront the world's refugee young people.
As we watch the increasing digital divide in higher education access grow and exclude more and more humans in at-risk and vulnerable situations, at Backpack we work to reaffirm the fact that higher education is a common good and a human right. Refugee young people are not consumers to be exploited, nor is education a commodity. We learn through the response to Backpacker, Go! how not just the cost of education, but the path to getting back in is littered with costly and exploitative barriers, from application fees, pricey credential evaluation and transcript services, to language proficiency exams that can be the equivalent of a month's salary.
As we watch the increasing digital divide in higher education access grow and exclude more and more humans in at-risk and vulnerable situations, at Backpack we work to reaffirm the fact that higher education is a common good and a human right. Refugee young people are not consumers to be exploited, nor is education a commodity. We learn through the response to Backpacker, Go! how not just the cost of education, but the path to getting back in is littered with costly and exploitative barriers, from application fees, pricey credential evaluation and transcript services, to language proficiency exams that can be the equivalent of a month's salary.
Read a .pdf version of Backpacker, Go! here
Watch the director's welcome message here.
From the newsletter:
Article 26 Backpack has reached over 5,000 Backpackers from around the globe. We are excited to continue expanding our reach to new regions and student communities.
The Backpack team at UC Davis is administering a survey to identify what resources we can add to the Backpack platform. Please consider adding your response: responses help us identify the utility of our platform in relation to accessing higher education. You can find the survey here.
We are also excited to share that the Backpack Badge, a training module instructing students in how to navigate the platform and enroll themselves and their peers, has been completed! You can read more about the rollout of the Badging program below.
Finally, Article 26 Backpack would like to reiterate that it stands in full solidarity and support with all students who have been displaced by conflict, including those in the Congo, in Gaza and across Palestine, and in Sudan.