30 years of DAFI: Scholarship program for refugees celebrates anniversary
The "Deutsche Akademische Flüchtlingsinitiative Albert Einstein", or DAFI for short, has been in existence for 30 years. The Volkswagen Group supports the program, which enables talented refugees to study at a university or college. The 30th anniversary was now celebrated in Berlin with guests from business and politics. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UN Refugee Aid and the German Federal Foreign Office invited guests.
DAFI students and graduates also traveled to the capital for the anniversary celebration. They shared their experiences at Google headquarters. For the following day, Volkswagen had organized a visit for the students to the "DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum" for the students.
Here, the focus was not only on the brands and models of the Volkswagen Group, but above all on the students and their personal stories. There was also an exchange between dual students from the Volkswagen Group Academy and their fellow refugees.
Oliver Braun, Project Manager Group Refugee Aid, welcomed the guests to the DRIVE. He says: "Not only in terms of refugee aid is education one of the core factors. People who have a good education integrate more easily into the labor market and, especially in the case of DAFI students, to a very high degree additionally in the reconstruction of their countries of origin. Thus, the program initiated by UNHCR and the German Foreign Office actively contributes to a sustainable economy. In addition to the diversity of the prospective academics, this is elementary for us."
Since its inception, the Refugee Scholarship Program has helped more than 22,500 young refugee women and men in 55 countries with their studies. Without this support, the chances of studying would be slim for many: according to UNHCR, around 40 percent of young people worldwide have access to higher education - but the proportion among refugees was only six percent in 2021.