Session Overview: Education Cluster Capacity

Opportunities and Challenges in Building Capacity in the Education Cluster


Global Consultation 2009, Istanbul

Thursday 2 April 9:00-13:00, Concurrent Working Session Block 5

Abstract

This session will allow a wider audience to engage in an overview and debate regarding the challenges and opportunities to increase capacity and create synergies among the agencies involved in the IASC Education Cluster.

The central aim of the session is to explore the capacity required and outline planned steps toward achieving adequate capacity in education in emergencies preparedness and response. The session will explore how best, through the Cluster, agencies can complement each other’s efforts and build on each other’s strengths. Participants will have an opportunity to hear current plans, participate in sample exercises and contribute their ideas to the way forward.

Current plans for capacity building through the Education Cluster are focused on three different target audiences. These include: (1) Current and future Education Cluster Coordinators; (2) Ministries of Education and other education authorities; and (3) Country level cluster members and other education in emergencies actors.

The first initiative will develop the capacity of current and future Education Cluster Coordinators to effectively coordinate Education Clusters at national and local levels in the field, and is being organised by UNICEF and Save the Children. The second is meant to target high-level Ministry of Education decision-makers and includes a consultation by UNESCO IIEP in March and plans for roll out in Anglophone Africa and Latin America later in 2009. The third area, involving technical level cluster members and Ministry of Education counterparts who are the ‘frontline responders’ during emergencies, will be developed and rolled-out through a cascade approach by UNICEF and Save the Children first in eastern and southern Africa and later in other regions.

A number of partners are actively engaged in the Education Cluster Capacity Building Task Team. These currently include UNICEF, UNESCO, Save the Children, INEE and the Refugee Education Trust.

Session Objectives

  • Objective 1: To build cluster leadership by training a minimum of 60 potential cluster coordinators to become certified Cluster Coordinators by 2010.
  • Objective 2: To build long-term, sustainable emergency response capacity of education stakeholders (e.g. MOE, agency staff, community education actors) in (tbc) countries by 2010 at Regional, National and Sub-national levels, through training and other capacity building initiatives.
  • Objective 3: To describe opportunities and challenges in building the capacity of the Education Cluster


Expected Outcomes

  • Outcome 1: Enhanced understanding of agencies challenges and opportunities to improve their capacities vis- a- vis preparedness and response in crisis and post-crisis settings.
  • Outcome 2: Identified opportunities for complementarity among agencies.
  • Outcome 3: Key strategies to develop tools and/or resources to build capacity in the cluster and strengthen coordination.


Panel

Chair: Roger Wright, UNICEF

Presenters:


For further information on this session please contact the Session Coordinators Deborah Haines at {encode="d.haines@savethechildren.org.uk" title="d.haines@savethechildren.org.uk"} or Pilar Aguilar at {encode="paguilar@unicef.org" title="paguilar@unicef.org"}.

Click here to return to the clickable programme.