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We open Schools to make space for hope

Our History

We started to help the forgotten children of Europe.
We expanded to bring about change around the world.
We keep on fighting to build a better future for everyone.

  1. 2018

    Still I Rise was founded

    In May 2018, in response to the most serious migration crisis of our time, that of Syria, we founded Still I Rise. We are independent, transparent and efficient. We offer the best to the children we care for by exposing and fighting corruption and injustice in the system.

  2. Mazì opens in Greece

    In August 2018, on the island of Samos, Greece, we opened Mazì, our first Emergency and Rehabilitation School. It is the first free educational space designed for minors imprisoned in the island's first reception center, the hotspot.

  3. 2019

    The complaint against the hotspot

    In June 2019, after a year spent denouncing, unheeded, the abuses of the hotspot authorities, we decided to take matters into our own hands and file the first criminal complaint for child abuse and crimes against humanity, naming those responsible.

  4. Victory at the European Court

    In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights upheld our request by issuing an interim measure to transfer the unaccompanied minors involved in the complaint to a suitable facility, thus recognizing the criminal reality of the hotspot. This is the first that this has happened.

  5. 2020

    Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

    In January 2020, "for dedicating his life to supporting and protecting the rights of children," the Republic of San Marino nominates Nicolò Govoni, President of Still I Rise, for the Nobel Peace Prize.

  6. International expansion

    Strengthened by the success achieved in Greece, not only institutional but especially educational,we decide to take the Still I Rise Method wherever it is needed: to the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia. A School of Excellence for all the children of the world!

  7. Opening Ma'an, in Syria

    In August 2020, in the city of Al Dana in northwestern Syria, we opened Ma'an, our second Emergency and Rehabilitation School, to give the children of war a chance at a future and restore their inalienable right to hope.

  8. 2021

    Opening Still I Rise International School - Nairobi

    In January 2021, in Nairobi, Kenya, we opened Still I Rise International School - Nairobi, the first International School in the world to democratize elite education by offering it, free of charge, to refugee and vulnerable children. It is a real Revolution!

  9. Closing the Samos hotspot

    After years of legal, media and political efforts, we succeeded in achieving the final closure of the original hotspot in Samos, Greece.

  10. The International Baccalaureate

    After years of work, Still I Rise International School - Nairobi is included in the International Baccalaureate (IB) circuit, becoming a Candidate School and the first International School in the world to offer a curriculum of excellence to refugee and vulnerable minors.

  11. 2022

    Opening Pamoja, DR Congo

    In February 2022 we opened Pamoja in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo, our third Emergency and Rehabilitation School to offer children victims of child labor in the mines freedom from a life in semi-slavery.

  12. Closing Mazì in Greece

    In May 2022, almost four years after its inauguration, we had the privilege of doing what very few other organizations can or will do: declaring there was no longer a need for our school and closing Mazì, our first Emergency School.

  13. 2023

    Another Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

    This time it is the entire Still I Rise to receive, again from the Republic of San Marino, a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, "for ensuring free education and protection for vulnerable and refugee children."

  14. Opening a SIR Academy in Yemen

    In November 2023 we opened in Aden, Yemen, our fourth Emergency and Rehabilitation School to ensure a better future for the children of the planet's worst conflict.

  15. 2024

    Opening Still I Rise International School - Bogotà

    In January 2024 we opened Still I Rise International School - Bogotà in Colombia, the first free International School for refugee and vulnerable children in South America. Our Revolution continues!

  16. Our first IB World School

    After years of hard work, Still I Rise International School - Nairobi, in Kenya, successfully passes the final International Baccalaureate inspection, becoming an "IB World School" and officially one of the top 0.1% best Schools in the world.