Working with local actors and authorities in and on conflict: Lessons from a 4-years Education in Emergencies programme in Niger.

• In Event: Advancing Locally-Led and Collaborative Education Approaches in Conflict Settings

Proposal

Niger is facing profound political and security changes. Attacks by non-state armed groups are having major impacts on children's schooling. Education is targeted with significant damage constantly recorded, teachers and pupils are threatened or abducted and school infrastructure is damaged or burnt. In 2025, the number of closed schools has continued to increase with about 1,100 schools closed depriving over 93,500 students of access to education (94% of those are in the Tillabéri region, where Concern operates).
Over the past 4 years (2021-2025), Concern has implemented the “Learning Together” programme and engaged children, schools, teachers and communities holistically in 250 conflict-affected villages to improve children’s wellbeing, learning and social cohesion with a conflict sensitive approach. Based on data from a Conflict Sensitive Education Analysis carried out to start the intervention (consulting 804 people, including 369 children through 184 focus groups in 18 communities) the programme was designed to be community-based, ensuring accessing education did not put participants at risk and maximizing where possible social cohesion through the Education intervention.
This presentation will explore Concern’s Education in Emergencies (EiE) programme in Niger as a case study of how locally-led, partnership-driven education responses can foster social cohesion and give children more stability in conflict settings. It will look into:
1) The modalities of operation (working in conflict) and how the programme was delivered in a conflict sensitive way. This includes the various mitigation measures identified and taken with the communities and schools and the collaboration with local education authorities and the Ministry of Education at both regional and national levels to ensure contextual relevance, build local ownership and support the long-term integration of conflict-sensitive approaches into formal education systems.
2) The interventions (working on conflict) and how those were adapted to respond to the needs. This will include the tools used to train teachers and build their social and emotional skills to promote a peaceful environment in the classrooms using transformative training approaches. It will also present the activities carried out to foster social cohesion in schools where tensions were identified between children from displaced and host communities to avoid social fragmentation.
Results from the participative mid-term and final evaluations will demonstrate how the ‘Learning Together’ intervention was adjusted to respond to changing needs and led to improved learning, even in an environment shaped by violence and conflict.
In an era where global aid is shrinking and crises are intensifying, this case study will illustrate that even in conflict settings, education can still be a bridge rather than a barrier, when it is delivered through inclusive, locally-led, and conflict-sensitive approaches. As part of the broader Alliance2015 panel, this contribution will reinforce the argument that collaboration across levels, from communities to national ministries to international alliances, is essential for transforming education into a tool for stability and peace.

Authors

• Aissata Boukar Abatcha, Concern Worldwide

• Agathe Freal, Concern Worldwide

• Monica Kassouf, Concern Worldwide