Each year, the Center for Global Studies helps coordinate the selection of UW student award recipients of the Marcy Migdal Fund for Educational Equality. In most years, two Migdal Fund Fellows are selected to receive awards of approximately $1,500 each. Students are selected based on proposed projects meant to advance educational equality locally or throughout the world. This past year, awards were given to two UW undergraduate students, Suwayda Said and Afifah Kashif.
Promoting digital literacy for refugee women
Pursuing a B.S. degree in Computer Science and minor in Law, Societies and Justice, Afifah Kashif submitted a proposed project that would promote digital literacy among recently resettled refugee women, particularly women from Afghanistan. Many of these women face a digital literacy gap driven by limited access to technology, language hurdles, childcare responsibilities, and cultural isolation. Afifah’s project seeks to close the gap by providing small group sessions providing hands-on learning, interpretation services, and culturally affirming mentorship to ensure an inclusive and accessible learning environment. Working with local partners, Afifah hopes to make this project sustainable.
Improving digital literacy for high school students in Kenya
Our second 2025 Migdal Fellowship recipient, Suwayda Said, also submitted a proposed project on improving digital literacy. Suwayda’s project would promote digital literacy for high school students studying at a rural high school in Kenya. The proposed six-month project is intended to give approximately sixty students the opportunity to connect with people and opportunities outside of their small rural community. Suwayda is hoping that it will give young women, in particular, the opportunity to learn more about their rights, particularly as regards bodily autonomy and female genital mutilation (FGM). This is an issue that Suwayda has worked on previously, and one in which she hopes to empower and educate girls and young women through digital access.
The quality of the projects submitted by Afifah and Suwayda is a testament to the commitment of UW students to learning, communities, and educational access and equality. The range and quality of applications to the Migdal Fund always impresses, and we are pleased to confirm that this wonderful opportunity for UW students will continue to be offered by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.