Discussant: Dr Lyndsay Bird (consultant)
Conflict and displacement reach ever large numbers, disrupting education access and quality for[F1] millions of children. Education must be protected from conflict, continue even in times of crisis and contribute to peacebuilding, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7. The symposium asks whether the international community is doing all it can in this regard[F2] .
Conflict, law, education and the SDGs
Mubarak Al Thani, Education Above All Foundation
Prof. Maleiha Malik, Education Above All Foundation
This paper examines education access and safety during conflict in terms of international norms. The 17 SDGs and 169 SDG targets did not emerge from, and were not inserted into, a normative vacuum. A cluster of SDGs, numbers 4, 5, 16 and 17, reflect a common vision of global governance, respect for the rule of law and legal accountability for grave violations of international law. Yet the present academic and policy literature regarding SDG 4 (quality education) typically ignores the significance of the rule of law and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). Insecurity and conflict cause massive disruption of education systems, including attacks on schools, teachers and students. The paper will use an inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach to avoid silos such as the separation of protection for education from provision and post-conflict recovery. This integrated approach has normative advantages because it allows the development of proposals for improvement and reform of existing policy.
Providing education in contexts of crisis, conflict and disaster -experience from the ground
Mary Pigozzi, Education Above All Foundation
This paper will be based on recent experience in the provision of primary education in approximately 20 countries that are either in or post conflict. Under the umbrella of the criticality of education for peaceful, prosperous societies that provide opportunities for meaning lives for their citizens, it will address the topic from the perspectives of diverse contexts, pedagogy for peaceful societies, and practical results. The projects selected for analysis will be a selective sample based on the support [F3] of Education A Child (EAC), a programme of the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation. In total, since 2012, EAC support of over $200 million is reaching over 3.5 million formerly out of school children and providing them with opportunities to change their lives and the future of their communities.
Addressing SDG Target 4.7 in low-resource and fragile settings
Dr. Margaret Sinclair, Consultant
Quick fire presentations on curriculum and textbook reform in South Sudan and Bangladesh: Narrinder Gill (Curriculum Foundation); Andy Smart (education and publishing consultant)
SDG Target 4.7 sets out themes that are central to ‘positive peace’: education for culture of peace, global citizenship, human rights, culture of peace, gender equality and respect for cultural diversity, as well as sustainable life styles. The paper asks how such highly relevant behaviour change themes can be addressed in fragile and conflict-affected settings, given the constraints of over-crowded classes, under-trained teachers, examination-focus and difficult logistics. The author poses the challenge of whether education materials can become a channel for wider outreach for SDG Target 4.7 themes?
