What is the name of your organization?
Alsama Project
What is the name of your solution?
G12++
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
The G12++ is the first tailor-made 'GED for refugees', enabling informally educated youth worldwide to access higher education and skilled jobs.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Beirut, Lebanon
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Lebanon
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Refugee youth across the world face significant and persistent systematic challenges to accessing higher education - a critical pathway out of poverty.
1) The lack of a formal certification suited to the refugee context is preventing a vast number of talented refugee youth from accessing university.
- Today, over 500,000 skilled, informally educated refugee youth are excluded from higher education- a figure projected to reach 1.1 million by 2040 (UNHCR, 2023). Assessing non-traditional applicants takes universities 20 times longer than for those with standard credentials, causing many to overlook a vast talent pool.
2) University-entrance certifications are financially inaccessible & do not adequately account for the contextual challenges of life for displaced youth.
- Conventional qualifications do not cater to the refugee context (whether that be through cost, content or resource-dependence), and fail to consider the critical life skills that are amassed outside of the confines of the traditional classroom.
3) Solutions thus far have been ineffective.
- National education systems are weak, overburdened, and non-inclusive. International funding has stagnated, government provisions are limited, and other NGO programmes tend to be poorly attended and yield modest outcomes. Only 7% of the world’s 4.4 million refugee youth attend university- compared to 42% globally.
What is your solution?
The G12++ is the missing link that provides informally educated displaced young people with the opportunity to access higher education and vocational specialization. The G12++ will be the first internationally-recognized, accredited high-school certificate equivalent qualification that can be delivered to refugee populations globally. By 2040, we believe that the G12++ could certify 50,000 refugees per year, equipping whole generations of informally educated students with both the skills and qualifications needed to contribute to future economic recovery and growth in their home countries.
The G12++ is uniquely tailored to the refugee context in 3 ways:
1) Curriculum-agnostic and skills-based 5-hour assessment, consisting of:
- Academic skills (up to Grade 12 level - ‘G12’), covering four essential subjects: Maths, Science, English as a Second Language & Regionally-tailored First Language).
- Life skills (‘++’) that are not assessed by conventional examination methods, yet highly sought after by employers (such as critical thinking and effective communication).
2)Digitized & resource-independent, making it easily administered in refugee camp environments, and ensuring easy and secure access to the certification in all contexts.
3)Low-cost, affordable and accessible, at USD 20 per programme.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The G12++ will primarily benefit refugee and displaced youth aged 17–23 across seven countries, including Lebanon, Sudan, Bangladesh, and Yemen. By 2030, we aim to certify approximately 21,520 students, with a strong emphasis on gender equity - targeting 50% female participation. The G12++ will offer displaced youth access to higher education and skilled employment, helping them avoid harmful pathways such as child labor and early marriage.
We calculate that by enabling refugee youth to attend university, we will multiply the earning potential of an average informally educated student fourfold, adding an estimated $240,000 in lifetime income compared to informally educated peers (Alsama Economic Value Add Exercise, 2025). This has a powerful ripple effect - lifting individuals out of poverty, building skilled workforces in home countries, and establishing a generational cycle of education and opportunity. In this way, the G12++ benefits both communities in displacement and the long-term development of their countries of origin.
As the G12++ develops, we will explore expanding the programme to include non-refugee youth. By broadening the eligibility criteria, we can foster inclusivity and reduce the sense of "otherness" between refugee and non-refugee populations, and instead promote shared educational experiences that strengthen community cohesion.
