Blog

Hard copy textbooks are still an essential learning tool in the hands of the pupils and school staff in developing nations, especially those in rural and remote areas. This is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future in spite of all the technological advances that are showcased at events such as USAID mEducation Symposium in Washington and the UNESCO Mobile Learning Week in Paris.

The UN now estimates that the average time people are displaced is close to 17 years, with many children missing their entire education. With a growing desire to address this learning crisis, researchers at Save the Children UK have reviewed over 130 academic papers in an attempt to evaluate ‘what works’ with EdTech in displacement or ‘emergency’ settings.

At the end of November 2017, Finn Church Aid (FCA) Myanmar and Plan International Myanmar organised a training on the INEE Minimum Standards (MS) and other tools for 40 participants in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.

In October 2017, I was invited to participate in the INEE Round Table on Psychosocial Support and Social and Emotional Learning in Florence, Italy, in order to share my work with Morning Star, a trauma awareness program being implemented in South Sudan. 

A peculiar discord exists in the field of Education in Emergencies (EiE). We recognize the importance of history—we reference historical events in our needs assessments and strategies, and substantial attention has been paid to the importance of teaching and learning history—yet we tend to know little about the history of the EiE sector itself.

World leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York this past week. At the 72nd General Assembly, renewed calls were made for our universal values that laid the foundation for the United Nations. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was at the forefront, such as ending poverty and hunger, achieving gender-equality, and ensuring justice and peace. But how do we get there?

In May 2017, I began working with INEE to build the capacity of education actors to integrate conflict sensitive education (CSE) strategies into their work. Since then, I have thought back to my conversation with Lilia and Fatima, reflecting on how beneficial CSE strategies could be in that and many other contexts.

Comprehensive School Safety was recently highlighted during the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2017 at a side event entitled "Worldwide Initiative for Safe Schools: Promoting Disaster Resilience in the Education Sector".

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Journal on Education in Emergencies, Volume 3, Number 1.

On May 24, JRS hosted a panel discussion on “A Crisis Unfolding: Access to Education for Refugees and the Forcibly Displaced.” Partnering with the Global Campaign for Education, JRS welcomed over 50 people to the event at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington D.C