Joint Pledge by INEE and the Alliance (GRF blog 3/3)
This blog is part of a short series produced by INEE and the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action about how the two networks are engaging with the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.
- Blog 1 - Introducing the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (20 Nov 2023)
- Blog 2 - Progress Since the 2019 Global Refugee Forum (6 Dec 2023)
- Blog 3 - Joint Pledge by INEE and the Alliance (this blog)
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It’s in! INEE and the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (The Alliance) have submitted a Joint Pledge at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, committing the two networks to continue supporting integrated approaches to child protection and education in refugee and displacement situations. This Joint Pledge is the first of its kind and reflects our recommitment to work initiated in 2018 to promote integration and collaboration across Education in Emergencies (EiE) and Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA).
Our two networks envision a world where all children and young people access their rights to protection and quality and inclusive education in refugee and displacement situations. Representing two sectors focused on children and young people, and driven by the energy and experiences of diverse members from around the globe, INEE and the Alliance are in a unique position to support humanitarian actors, across sectors, to contribute to holistic, positive outcomes for children and young people's protection, education, and wellbeing.
This entails working with teachers and other education personnel, the social service workforce, the relevant national and local authorities, civil society organizations, and humanitarian decision-makers and funders, to ensure that comprehensive education and child protection needs are considered at all ages and stages, from early childhood to young adulthood. It means that those responsible for children and young people’s wellbeing - families, teachers and other education personnel, the social service workforce, and communities - are appropriately involved and supported. Approaches promoted by the Alliance and INEE emphasize working with other humanitarian sectors, including health, WASH, and nutrition, and with cross-cutting issues such as mental health and psychosocial support, with a gender, age, and disability lens.
Through our Joint Pledge, we aim to support holistic, integrated approaches to child protection and education delivery in refugee and displacement situations, centered on children and young people and fully aligned to national education and child protection systems, to ensure they can enjoy their rights to ongoing and sustainable protection services and education. We will do this by reinforcing our partnership to work even more closely with our members and partners, enabling a global community of child protection and education practitioners and advocates.
Specifically, we pledge the following:
- Capacity and knowledge sharing amongst Child Protection and Education practitioners
Description: The Alliance and INEE commit to facilitating capacity and knowledge sharing opportunities for child protection and education practitioners working with and supporting refugee and displaced populations at all levels, within local, national, and international organizations. This includes support for the roll-out, uptake, and contextualization of standards and accompanying tools and guidance.
- The promotion of evidence-based approaches to Education and Child Protection integration
Description: The Alliance and the INEE commit to promoting evidence-based approaches to support enhanced integration of child protection and education in refugee and displacement contexts. We will work with our members and partners to better understand the impact of refugee and displacement situations on the protection and education of children and young people, and use this evidence to improve our technical standards and guidance, capacity sharing efforts, and advocacy.
- Collective action for collective impact: Joint advocacy on child protection and education integration
Description: The Alliance and INEE commit to scaling up our collective advocacy efforts to enhance the prioritization of integrated approaches to education and child protection in refugee and displacement responses. We will elevate the voices of our members, and of children and young people affected by refugee and displacement situations, to ensure all children and young people are central to the response, and have the opportunity to participate meaningfully in decisions that impact their lives. We will advocate with key stakeholders to prioritize and resource education and child protection integration, joining efforts to strengthen national education and child protection systems and the inclusion of refugee children.
Our joint pledge on Supporting Integrated Approaches to Child Protection and Education in Refugee and Displacement Situations is in the official GRF 2023 Pledges Dashboard (search under Multistakeholder pledges for “Inter-agency…”), and is available in English, français, español, português, and العربية.
Pledge alignment
This pledge supports the implementation of the EiE multi-stakeholder pledge - Education in Emergencies: Short-term action for long-term benefit. It also contributes to the realisation of the following multi-stakeholder GRF 2023 pledges (click on the titles for details):
- Child Rights
- Securing Sustainable Futures - Towards a Shared Responsibility to Uphold the Right to Education and Include Refugee Children in National Education Systems
- Expanding Connected Education for Refugees through the Refugee Connected Education Challenge
- Achieving 15% Enrolment by 2030 to Expanding Refugee Access to Higher Education and Self-Reliance
- Fostering Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing
- Gender Equality and Protection from Gender-Based Violence
If you have any comments or questions, please email alison.joyner@inee.org and elspeth.chapman@alliancecpha.org. If your organization is making a pledge relevant to child protection and/or education in emergencies, please contact us so we can make the connections between the pledges.