Session Overview: Access to Education in Conflict

Programmatic Responses to Ensuring Access to Education in Armed Conflict


Global Consultation 2009, Istanbul

Wednesday 1 April 14:15-18:15, Concurrent Learning Session Block 4

Abstract

In armed conflicts, children are often denied access to education, many for months and even years. There is often a deliberate use of force in ways that disrupt and deter the provision of and access to education. This violence, targeted against students, teachers, and schools for political, military or ideological reasons can have severe and long term affects on children and education. This violence has included destroying schools, abducting teachers and students, voluntary and forced recruitment of child soldiers, extortion of teachers, occupation of schools as military bases, prevention of attendance, and attacks on students, teachers and other educational personnel. Among the worst affected countries and territories in the past five years are Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Columbia, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Iraq, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Under the most challenging conditions, a number of innovative programmatic responses have been created to ensure access to education for children and education systems both as victims and targets of war. These include armed protection, community defense, promotion of education resilience, schools as safe sanctuaries and a number of education programmatic responses to help children make up lost months and years out of school. In Nepal, a program in Schools as Zones of Peace was initiated involving negotiations among community stakeholders, including the army and Maoist insurgents, to reach agreement on schools as safe sanctuaries. In Afghanistan, school protection committees are being formed to defend schools against attack and religious and community leaders are advocating for access to education. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a number of innovative approaches in psychosocial support, education access, and catch up education have been implemented to respond to chronic lack of access to education. In the Sudan, innovative methods have also been designed to reach a generation of children denied education and targeted by the conflict.

This session will provide a global perspective on this issue and present case studies of programmatic responses in OPT, Sudan, Nepal and Afghanistan. Participants will engage in an interactive discussion of best practices and challenges to ensuring access to education under conditions of targeted violence and chronic conflict that denies access to education.

The session will be dedicated to the work and memory of Jackie Kirk and her colleagues. Jackie was one of the original organizers of the topic.

Session Objectives

  • Objective 1: Explore the nature of chronic conflict and targeted violence on schools, students and educational systems and its impact on access
  • Objective 2: Describe case studies of innovative programmatic responses to ensuring access under these extreme conditions through case studies from selected countries
  • Objective 3: Identify challenges and opportunities
  • Objective 4: Share information about some methods of collecting data about the scope, motivations behind, and impact of violence at the country level, which can be vital to devising appropriate solutions
  • Objective 5: Generate a list of recommendations and best practices to post on the INEE web site to share with other practitioners


Expected Outcomes

  • Outcome 1: Increased understanding of nature of targeted violence against education in armed conflict
  • Outcome 2: Enhanced knowledge of specific programmatic responses in selected countries
  • Outcome 3: List of recommendations and best practices to share on INEE web site and other venues


Panel

Chairs:

  • Melinda Smith, UNICEF ESARO
  • Sharon Wright, Independent Consultant


Presenters:


For further information on this session please contact the Session Coordinator Melinda Smith at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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