Programme on the Move: Boxes of Wonder promising practices in refugee education case study

During the European Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Serbia, Psychosocial Support (PSS) emerged as an important pillar of response to the refugees and migrants in rapid transit and for those staying longer in Serbia. Save the Children invested in a PSS programme improvement to be able to provide meaningful structured psychosocial activities with children on the move.

One element of Programme on the Move involves an innovative toolkit called ‘Boxes of Wonder’. The boxes are designed as physical boxes (plastic and wooden boxes filled with materials and templates for activities) but also as concepts to work on, re-design and adjust to the needs of children, facilitators and to the physical space where the activities are being held. Boxes of Wonder included learning components as well, and the synergy of PSS and learning components proved to be very successful in overcoming the serious gap in access to educational opportunities for children on the move. Therefore, we have developed ways to use the content of the boxes to create structured educational activities.

This case study briefly describes the methodology for “Programme on the Move: Boxes of Wonder development and implementation”, and explains its innovation as an example of a promising practice in refugee education. The programme was recognised as a Promising Practice in Refugee Education in 2017, in a partnership initiative that includes Save the Children, UNHCR and Pearson. This case study was featured in the synthesis report and presented at the event during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York in September 2017.

The Manual “Boxes of Wonder: Creation of the Programme with Children on the Move” was compiled as well, describing the methodology and presenting activities developed within the framework of the Boxes of Wonder. The Manual is available here.