Current trends in Education in Emergencies: Strategic directions for improving quality education for learners affected by conflict and crisis.
Time: 9am-12pm, March 10th Room: Elmwood
Description of Session Edit Description of Session
Current trends in Education in Emergencies: Strategic directions for improving quality education for learners affected by conflict and crisis.
In 2000, it was recognized that without a specific focus on ensuring children and youth in emergency contexts had access to quality education, the Education for All goals would not be reached. Since then,the number of out-of-school primary-school-aged children has decreased, although it is estimated that half of the 61 million still out of school children are in crisis- or crisis-prone situations. Millions more youth do not have access to education, TVET or other life-skills programs.
Education in emergencies has gained traction in other areas. Members of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) developed theINEE Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery; the Minimum Standards is a Companion Standard to Sphere, the international standards for humanitarian intervention. Within the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an Education Cluster has been formed. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on the right to education in emergencies, and the UN Secretary-General has included education in emergencies in his new Education First strategy.
Even with these changes, the disjuncture between policy/program gains and the reality on the ground still exists. There are emergency responders who still demand that education be lifesaving to be included in humanitarian interventions; education is in many but not all humanitarian responses. Education in emergencies still receives only 2 percent of humanitarian funding. The gap between humanitarian and development funding, and the problem of short-term humanitarian funding interferes with education continuity.
Additionally, the international context is changing. Emergencies are complex; the drought and conflict in the Horn of Africa is one example. It is estimated that over 170 million children's education will be affected by climate change (extreme weather events, sea-level rise, drought) in the next decade; education-disrupting violence in some countries, by gangs and drug traffickers, claim more lives than current declared wars; the average length of conflict in least-developed countries is 12 years, during that time, the conflict may wane and then reemerge. Each of these, and more, lead to disruption in education. A change in the definition of emergency is needed, as well as creating appropriate interventions; educators will need to adapt to a new "normal" It may not be very optimistic, but it is the current and upcoming reality.
Because of these changes, programming and policies around education in emergencies are having to adapt and change. This workshop will begin with background information on the following trends and will ask participants to work together to develop forward-looking strategies:
education and resilience;
education and peace building;
disaster and conflict risk reduction;
conflict-sensitive education planning;
the role of non-state actors in education provision;
the humanitarian-development divide.
Strategies developed should answer the following questions:
What these trends mean for the coordination and funding of education in emergencies; and
How the trends, governance and funding of education in emergencies work towards equitable access and improved quality.
Presenters:
Lori Heninger, INEE; Joel Reyes, World Bank; Brenda Haiplik, UNICEF; Yolande Miller Grandvaux, USAID; Maria Lucia Uribe, INEE.
Workshop objectives:
Unpack current global trends in the field of EiE to better understand how these influence the governance and financing of education in emergency contexts and to explore how these interrelationships can increase access and improve quality of education services.
Target audience:
Researchers, policy makers and education activists
Instructional goals:
Identify and unpack current global trends in EiE.
Greater understanding of interrelationships between different global actors and agendas in EiE.
Increased awareness of possibilities for maximizing the quality imperative and reducing the equity differential in accessing education services in emergency contexts.
Identification of areas for academic inquiry and action research.
Planned workshop activities:
Framing inputs by presenters on each topic
Small group work
Presentation of strategies and ways forward |
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