Gulfsands funds STEM Spark education initiative in Northeast Syria

Gulfsands Petroleum is supporting a new education initiative aimed at expanding access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics for children and young people in Northeast Syria.

The initiative, STEM Spark, is being launched in partnership with Phoenix Space and Syrian Forum. It will provide practical, hands-on learning opportunities in areas including programming and machine learning.

Gulfsands’ funding – all of which will go directly towards supporting young Syrians – comes as part of a longstanding commitment to supporting Syria’s recovery and investing in the next generation. Years of conflict and displacement have caused profound disruption to education across Syria, with millions of children losing access to consistent schooling and many growing up without exposure to practical education.

Gulfsands believes that rebuilding Syria is not only about restoring infrastructure and economic activity, but also about investing in people, knowledge and opportunity. The company has previously supported educational initiatives for children and young people in Zaatari Camp in Jordan, in Amman, and in Aleppo. STEM Spark builds on that experience and extends Gulfsands’ commitment to creating practical educational opportunities for young people affected by conflict and displacement.

The programme has been developed by Phoenix Space and is designed to encourage children to experiment, solve problems, ask questions and build confidence through practical learning.

John Bell, Managing Director of Gulfsands Petroleum, said:

“Gulfsands holds a long-term commitment to Syria, and we have always believed that commitment extends beyond our core business activities. Syria’s future will ultimately be shaped by the generation growing up today. Many of those young people have already lost years of educational opportunity through circumstances entirely beyond their control. We want to play whatever role we can in helping restore some of that opportunity.

“Every dollar committed to this initiative will be directed towards supporting children and young people in Syria with access to STEM education. If this programme can help even a small number of young people discover an interest in science, engineering or technology — and give them the confidence to pursue that interest — then it will have achieved something very worthwhile.”

The children entering classrooms today will become the engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers and leaders who shape Syria’s future. Supporting them is an investment in that future.

Alevtina Nepomniachtchikh, CEO of Phoenix Space, said:

“Reconstruction is ultimately about people. We can rebuild schools and infrastructure, but Syria’s long-term future will depend on the knowledge, confidence and capabilities of the generation growing up today. STEM Spark starts with something very simple: giving a child the opportunity to experiment, ask questions and discover what they are capable of.

Our ambition is to connect children in Northeast Syria to science and technology from an early age and, over time, help create pathways into the skills, universities and industries that will shape the economies of the future.”

Through this partnership, Gulfsands, Syrian Forum and Phoenix Space aim to ensure that children who have already lost years of educational opportunity to conflict are not also excluded from the technological and economic transformation taking place around them. Rebuilding Syria is not only about rebuilding what was lost. It is about giving the next generation the tools to build what comes next.”

Ghassan Hitto, CEO, Syria Forum, said:

“Syria’s recovery is not only about rebuilding what was lost, but about creating opportunities for the next generation. Through this partnership, we are helping children in Northeast Syria access the skills, technologies and confidence they need to imagine and shape their own future. Investing in their potential today is an investment in Syria’s future.”