Integrative Report Project: Exploring Opportunities for the Use of Digital Technologies to Foster Educational Inclusion for Refugees, Migrants, and Displaced Children in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

This report explores how digital and technology-based education strategies can promote the inclusion and educational continuity of refugee, migrant, and displaced children and youth (RMDCY) across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In a region increasingly affected by forced displacement due to violence, political instability, environmental crises, and socioeconomic inequality, national education systems face mounting pressure to ensure equitable access and sustained learning opportunities for highly mobile populations. Grounded in an intersectional and rights-based framework, the report offers a comprehensive analysis of the structural, administrative, and sociocultural barriers that RMDCY face in accessing quality education. It draws attention to the disconnect between formal education systems and the lived realities of learners in transit, settlement, or return. Many of these children and youth lack documentation, have disrupted educational trajectories, and encounter discrimination or exclusion in host communities. Standardized education policies and rigid schooling structures often fail to account for this diversity of experience, leaving the most vulnerable behind. At the same time, the report identifies innovative practices and digital initiatives that are making a difference across the region. The Andrés Bello Agreement’s Tabla de Equivalencias platform facilitates the recognition of prior learning across borders, helping migrant students reintegrate into formal education without delay. Ruta Educativa, spearheaded by Save the Children, provides RMDCY in transit through Central America with access to tailored learning materials and psychoeducational resources via online and offline platforms. The latter example illustrates how digital tools, when adapted to context and rooted in equity, can overcome barriers to access and foster educational inclusion. The report emphasizes that digital and technology-based strategies must not be implemented in isolation. They should be embedded within broader educational frameworks that address structural inequalities, recognize cultural and linguistic diversity, and prioritize psychosocial well-being. Schools must be safe, inclusive spaces where all learners—regardless of their migration status— feel supported and valued. Teachers need access to ongoing professional development that equips them to respond to diverse classroom realities using inclusive, flexible, and digital pedagogies. Central to this vision is the alignment of national and regional policies that facilitate cross-border cooperation, mutual recognition of academic credentials, and ethical safeguards in digital education. Regional mechanisms for data protection, educational portability, and funding must ensure that RMDCY can continue their education without disruption or harm.