Members of the Research Consortium on Education and Peacebuilding travelled to World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC to present and discuss the preliminary findings from our research programme in conflict affected countries. Over 100 organisations and 600 participants gathered over three days in early March to focus on the challenge of pushing forward the sustainable development agenda in a world affected by fragility conflict and violence.
Consortium researchers, Simone Datzberger (Ulster University), Mieke Lopes Cardozo (University of Amsterdam) and Yusuf Sayed (University of Sussex) presented during a session addressing, ‘The Role of Education in Conflict Affected Contexts’.
Conflict and violence across the world threatens development and can reverse previously attained socio economic gains. In conflict contexts, education has a role to play in the processes of stabilisation, peacebuilding and reconciliation – at the macro and micro levels. This deep dive conference looked at relevant education responses in conflict and post-conflict settings, with a dialogue on education demands and responses between practitioners involved in programming and evaluation at the World Bank, UNICEF, USAID and other institutions. The latest findings from the Research Consortium on Education and Peacebuilding were explored, on
- the integration of education into peace building processes and peace building into education policy and reform,
- the roles of teachers and teacher governance in peace building, and
- the roles played by formal and non-formal education for youth agency for peace building.
The consortium’s presentations focused on the most recent findings outlined in three forthcoming Synthesis reports on the integration of education into peacebuilding, the role of teachers in peacebuilding and the role of increasing agency of youth in peacebuilding through education. Each presentation highlighted the transformative potential of education in conflict affected environments and discussed the theoretical framework under which the consortium carried out its research. The ‘4Rs Framework’ analyses education systems through their interaction with and response to issues of,
- Redistribution (addressing inequalities)
- Recognition (respecting difference)
- Representation (encouraging participation)
- Reconciliation (dealing with injustices and the legacies of conflict)
The consortium research teams applied this framework to their work in 4 country contexts – Myanmar, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda, and combined a desk review of existing literature, research studies, government and donor education policies, education policies, curricula and textbooks, alongside 2-3 month in country data collection research stays to draw conclusions and make recommendations which will be published ahead of a 3 day research seminar in Amsterdam on 20-22 April 2016.
The presentations were followed by a short but lively Q&A addressing issues such as the importance of education for refugees and how to increase peacebuilding agency of teachers and youth.
The presentation of the Research Consortium was followed by a round-table discussion, involving a wide range of different actors / experts from organisations, including the World Bank, UNICEF, USAID and the Global Partnership for Education. The round table arrived at the conclusion that there is a strong need to bridge the divide between the humanitarian and education response. It was also noted that interventions are more difficult to achieve in crisis situations, and safety is a major concern. A major element is equity—not only in terms of gender, but also language, ethnicity, and between rural and urban areas.
Further Information:
The World Bank Group Fragility, Conflict and Violence Forum 2016