WUSC

Every year, a new cohort of students walks onto campuses across Canada, bringing with them a wave of energy and ambition. Among them is a remarkable group of young people whose path to postsecondary education represents a profound testament to overcoming adversity and forced displacement.

Antonia Mitchell always knew she wanted a future in agriculture. She excelled in the subject  in high school and had the ambition to build something of her own. But like many young aspiring farmers, she faced a major barrier: no land and no equipment. Everything began to shift when a friend invited her to a community meeting for aspiring farmers. She went out of curiosity—but left with a new sense of purpose. Across the Caribbean, women are central to agriculture.

For more than 75 years, WUSC’s International Seminar has connected Canada to the world—and the world to Canada. This program brings together young people from around the world to collaborate on research addressing some of today’s most urgent global challenges. To date, more than 2,300 Canadians have taken part. Launched in 1948, in Ploen, Germany, the first Seminar brought together 130 students from 16 countries.

Across Northern Sri Lanka, many women continue to face social and economic barriers that limit their participation in entrepreneurship. From limited access to finance and skills training to deeply rooted gender norms, these challenges affect how women start and grow businesses. This International Women’s Day, we celebrate a woman who refused to accept those limits. Lakshmy did not set out to become an entrepreneur—she became one out of necessity.

Deko doesn’t remember having room for dreams or goals as a child. In the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, survival and safety consumed everything. Her family had fled Somalia when she was very small to escape the war, and like over 400,000 others in the camp, survival took priority over aspirations. “When you’re a refugee, you have no status,” Deko reflects. “You cannot travel, you really cannot leave. So, what kind of dreams can you have?

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in late October 2025 as the strongest hurricane ever recorded to hit Jamaica. The storm brought strong winds and heavy rainfall, devastating the island’s vital agriculture and fisheries sector. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining estimates losses of more than J$30 billion, impacting over 70,000 farmers and damaging 41,390 hectares of farmland.

Around the world, WUSC is working hand-in-hand with partners, youth leaders, and refugee-led organizations to advance durable solutions for refugees. Two years ago, at the Global Refugee Forum—the largest global gathering on refugee issues—we made ambitious pledges to expand access to education and economic opportunities, champion complementary pathways globally and promote refugee-led solutions and participation. At the halfway mark, we are seeing real momentum.

On November 12 in Markham, WUSC and partners celebrated the launch of the GRIT Bootcamp, a groundbreaking initiative designed to strengthen the capacity of women entrepreneurs from the North of Sri Lanka with the mentorship, digital tools, and global networks they need to grow their businesses and thrive.

Agriculture is the backbone of Ghana’s economy, contributing 23% of GDP and employing more than half the workforce. But for many young people, agriculture has long been seen as a last resort rather than a path to opportunity. That’s changing. Across Africa, youth are reimagining agriculture as a space for innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth. Yet challenges like limited access to land, capital, and training still hold them back.

In South Sudan, millions of girls face extraordinary challenges to accessing education. Financial hardship, forced marriage, and the ongoing effects of violence and conflict mean that many never have the chance to enter a classroom. Only one in ten girls in South Sudan successfully completes primary school, and even fewer make it to secondary education.