Meet The Cartoon Character Challenging Stereotypes of Refugees

An interview with Multi-Aid Programs (MAPs), a refugee-led humanitarian organization. Based in Lebanon, MAPs is revolutionizing what refugee education and livelihood looks like through its internationally acclaimed robotics team, innovative education programs, capacity building, and economic empowerment opportunities. Providing education for more than 3,000 children and livelihood programs for youth and adults, MAPs mission as an organisation is to empower refugees to maximise their potential and lead dignified lives.

Meet Robogee, a new robot cartoon hero challenging harmful narrative surrounding refugees - inspired by real life stories of refugee youth. Fueled by Multi-Aid Programs (MAPs), Robogee adresses stigmas, shares educational content, and amplifies the lived experiences of refugee children. You can support Robogee and learn more about this initiative by following @RobogeeTheRobot on Instagram!

Who is Robogee? How does her story connect to the refugee experience?

Robogee, whose name stands for robot-refugee, is the world’s first ever refugee cartoon hero. Her story is based on the real lives and experiences of young Syrian refugee engineers living in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. These young engineers are part of our award winning and internationally acclaimed robotics team called, Team Hope. Through Robogee’s comic we are educating the public on the refugee experience, and inspiring other refugee communities to conquer their fears and to maintain hope for a better future.

How did Team Hope first begin and what was the inspiration?

We created Team Hope in 2016 as an innovative approach to providing psychosocial support to young refugees. With conventional ways of providing psychosocial support to refugees relatively ineffective, we had the vision of teaching high level STEM education to build self-confidence and strong interpersonal skills. The majority of the students were learning robotics for the first time and did not have access to formal education. But, Team Hope went on to win First Place in its very first robotics competition at the American University of Beirut. Everyone was shocked! No one thought it was possible for the only refugee team to win— and so Team Hope quickly became local heros. Since then, Team Hope has won over 60 international and national awards, including the First Place in the world’s largest robotics competition in Dubai: the First Global Challenge.

What led to the creation of Robogee the cartoon?

Throughout competitions, we support our students to use their platform to advocate for refugee education. This goal is what inspired the original Robogee, a real robot that was programmed to answer questions about the refugee crisis. The team brought Robogee with them to advocacy meetings, international competitions, and even to the White House and Senate to meet politicians! It became a really powerful new and engaging way to talk about the refugee education crisis and to highlight the intellectual capabilities of refugees.
When we saw how well people responded to Robogee the programmed robot— both as a tool for educating people and as a source of inspiration for the refugee community— we knew we were on to something. So we decided to channel this new approach to advocacy into a storytelling platform that could reach an even bigger audience.

What challenges/stigmas do refugees face in the world currently?

Refugees face endless challenges. Accessing quality education and dignified employment is extremely difficult. Globally, less than 50% of refugee children attend school and only 3% of refugees have access to university. In many refugee contexts, there is constant uncertainty of a forced deportation back to the country from which we fled, which makes planning our futures even more impossible. One of the most harmful stigmas around refugees is our inability to solve our problems on our own and our burden on host communities. These stereotypes play out in real life and refugees around the world endure constant discrimination. We also have to work really hard to erase harmful narratives of victimization and need which the media reinforces.

How is Robogee helping to challenge those stigmas?

Robogee is designed to help us change these harmful narratives from within the refugee community, as well as globally. Our students have so much untapped potential and with Robogee we are guiding young refugees to realize their potential and to have the confidence that they can change the world! MAPs is structured around achieving genuine refugee self-reliance and about activating the refugee community to begin realizing their true capabilities. Robogee also highlights how refugees can use technology to improve their host communities. We want the world to see how refugees are capable of and eager to tackle global challenges and achieve real social impact through technological innovation!

How can our readers help combat these challenges?

Now, more than ever, a new refugee narrative of capability is needed. The international community is conditioned to thinking that when we talk about refugee stories, we are talking about something inherently sad. It’s easy to then disengage from those conversations because it seems too difficult to discuss. Robogee is changing this narrative entirely by showing the world that we can actually talk about refugees in a positive way, and that refugees can actually be sources of inspiration.
Engaging with Robogee’s account on Instagram and adapting our narrative of self-worth and capability really has the power to start changing perceptions of refugees on the individual level. This is a good step forward and helps us strengthen our advocacy mission around improving access to quality education for refugees globally.

How can others get involved with/support Robogee?

The best way to get involved and support Robogee is to follow our Instagram account @robogeetherobot. On it we share Robogee’s journey, but we also post educational information about refugee narratives and share content from members of Team Hope. It’s a great way to learn from and engage with the refugee community directly.
We will also soon be launching a crochet Robogee toy, handcrafted by our Crochet Community Collective, an artisan group of refugee and Lebanese women. 100% of profits from every purchase will directly support our science and technology educational programs, as well as the women who handcraft each Robogee toy. People can stay tuned for the launch on our Instagram, and also our website: www.robogee.org.

As we ask all our interviewees, how does Team Hope ‘dare to defy’? How is the team defying barriers, boundaries, and limitations through your project?

Humanitarian aid is shaped around donor interests— not around refugee interests. This system often forces refugees into cycles of dependency, which prevents us from ever sustaining our livelihoods on our own. MAPs is creating a new standard and approach to this humanitarian crisis. Our mission to achieve self-reliance and to fund our unique education model is defying the humanitarian framework entirely. The reaction is mixed when we tell donors or humanitarian stakeholders of our refugee self-reliance vision. Some defend the current system, some feel threatened and others are incredibly supportive. Robogee is just one more method we’ve created for actualizing this vision. Together, we are showing the world that being a refugee is not a limitation and that we really can achieve anything we put our mind to.