Conflict sensitivity in ICT for education in crisis and conflict programming

Session Submission Type: Group Panel

Description of Session

Given the humanitarian imperative and increasing demand to provide children and youth access to quality education in crisis and conflict-affected contexts (United Nations General Assembly, 2008; United Nations Children’s Fund, 2016), many organizations have been or are currently answering the call. It is widely accepted that education and conflict have a complex relationship (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000; Davies, 2004; Davies & Talbot, 2008; Davies, 2011), that can result in the provision of education addressing, neglecting, and/or exacerbating issues of (in)equality. In order to address negative ramifications that may arise without critical reflection, the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) (2013) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2013) suggests planning, implementing, and evaluating education with a ‘conflict sensitive’ lens.

According to the INEE, conflict sensitive education is the process of:

1. Understanding the context in which education takes place;
2. Analysing the two-way interaction between the context and education programmes and policies (development, planning, and delivery); and
3. Acting to minimize negative impacts and maximize positive impacts of education policies and programming on conflict, within an organization’s given priorities.

Incorporating these principles is essential for effective programming in crisis and conflict settings. This is especially true when using technological tools for education as they can both support inclusion and exacerbate exclusion (Dayha, 2016). As access to technology increases worldwide, education programs operating in crisis and conflict settings and using ICT in their programming should consider issues like privacy, creating conflict sensitive curricula, scaling ICT programming in a way that doesn’t introduce further risk to students and communities and ensuring that technology use doesn’t further marginalize certain groups, to name just a few examples.

This panel will feature lessons learned and best practice recommendations from Souktel, Mercy Corps, EDC, Creative Associates International and Build Up programs on implementing conflict sensitive ICT solutions for education programming in crisis and conflict settings.

References
Bush, K. and Saltarelli, D. (Eds.). (2000). The two faces of education in ethnic conflict: Towards a peacebuilding education for children. Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Center.
Davies, L. (2004). Education and conflict: Complexity and chaos. London, UK: Routledge.
Davies, L. (2011). Can education interrupt fragility? In K. Mundy & S. Dryden-Peterson (Eds.), Educating children in conflict zones: Research, policy, and practice for systemic change, a tribute to Jackie Kirk. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Davies, L., & Talbot, C. (2008). Learning in conflict and postconflict contexts. Comparative Education Review, 52(4), 509-518.
Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. (2013). INEE guidance note on conflict sensitive education. New York, NY: Author.
Dayha, N. (2016). Education in conflict and crisis: How can technology make a difference? A landscape
review. Bonn and Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2016). Education Cannot Wait: A fund for education in emergencies. New York, NY: Author.
United Nations General Assembly. (2008, May 20). Promotion and the protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development: Right to education in emergency situations. Retrieved from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/inee-assets/resources/doc_1_Special_Rap_Report_2008.pdf.
United States Agency for International Development. (2013). Checklist for conflict sensitivity in education programs. Washington, DC: Author.

Sub Unit

• SIG: Education Conflict and Emergencies

Organizer

• Amy Deal, Education Development Center (EDC)

Chair

• Lisa Deters, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Individual Presentations

• Implementing the human-centered design approach in times of conflict - Ben Donahue, Souktel Digital Solutions

• Navigating the complexity of scaling: Creating approaches to reach out-of-school Syrians in Turkey - Stephen Richardson, Independent Consultant; Karen Scriven, Mercy Corps

• Paperless teacher and system support: use of ICT to pay teachers, track books, provide coaching and engage parents in Northern Nigeria - Anthony Udeh, Education Development Center (EDC); Daniel Fwanshishak, Creative Associates International

Discussant

• Lisa Hartenberger Toby, Education Development Center (EDC)