INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards 2005-2009

In February 2005, INEE sent out a Call for Membership for the Working Group on Minimum Standards.  This call included the Terms of Reference, and the Criteria and Responsibilities of members, and invited organizations to submit applications. INEE received an enthusiastic response, including over 40 applications. Based on the applications submitted, a Selection Committee made up of Working Group on Minimum Standards Transition Team members, the INEE Network Coordinator, an INEE Steering Group representative, and the INEE Focal Point on Minimum Standards made recommendations to the INEE Steering Group. The INEE Steering Group deliberated on the Selection Committee’s recommendations and made final decisions on the WGMSEE make-up. It was very difficult to narrow down the list given the extremely qualified group of nominees.

The 2005-2009 INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards) was made up of 13 NGOs, 3 UN agencies and 3 government representatives and had members based in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America and Europe:

Operations Group:

• Catholic Relief Services – Eric Eversmann (Maryland, USA) Working Group Chair
• International Rescue Committee – Jennifer Sklar (New York, USA)
• UNICEF – Pilar Aguilar (New York, USA)

Capacity Building Group:

• BEFARe – Shakir Ishaq (Peshawar, Pakistan)
• International Save the Children Alliance – Bente Sandal-Aasen (Oslo, Norway) 
• Norwegian Refugee Council – Helge Brochmann (Oslo, Norway)
• UNHCR - Eva Ahlen (Geneva, Switzerland)
• World Vision International - Micael Olsson (Washington, USA)

Applications and Analysis Group:

• Academy for Educational Development – Ken Rhodes (Washington, DC, USA)
• CARE – Anita Anastacio (Kabul, Afghanistan)
• Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust (RET) – Benoit d’Ansembourg (Nairobi, Kenya)
• Fundación dos Mundos – Fernando Jiovani Arias and Amalia Eraso (Bogotá, Colombia)
• GTZ – Dr. Rüdiger Blumör (Eschborn, Germany)
• UNESCO - Eli Rognerud (Paris, France)
• USAID – Mitch Kirby (Nairobi, Kenya)
• World Education – Fred Ligon (Tak Province, Thailand)

The overall goal of the Working Group was to utilize the Minimum Standards to improve education quality and access in emergency, chronic crises and early reconstruction situations. As such, during 2005 - 2009, these organizations and their designated representatives facilitated the dissemination, promotion, training, piloting, monitoring and evaluation of the Minimum Standards. The objectives were to:

1. Promote and institutionalize the Minimum Standards through a process of widespread dissemination and sustained advocacy to key stakeholders
2. Facilitate the development of training materials on the Minimum Standards and produce, translate and widely distribute them for use around the world
3. Implement an effective standardized process for training on the minimum standards, building upon the regional networks created during the development of the minimum standards
4. Oversee a research plan to assess the awareness, implementation, and impact of the Minimum Standards.

These objectives will be carried out in an integrated manner that allows for a dynamic, consultative and transparent process.

The INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards hosts bi-annual meetings during which the group, in conjunction with Secretariat staff, assesses progress towards the Minimum Standards’ promotion and implementation, and establishes consensus around next steps to move the implementation process forward. The INEE Secretariat staff is componsed of Allison Anderson, the INEE Director, who is based at the International Rescue Committee in New York, Marian Hodgkin, the INEE Coordinator for Network Services who is based at UNHCP in Geneva, Jennifer Hofmann, the INEE Coordinator for Minimum Standards, who is based at UNICEF in New York, and Kerstin Tebbe, the INEE Coordinator for Education and Fragility who is based at UNESCO in Paris.

You can read more about the INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards by going to the links below. 

Documents about the 2005-2009 INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards

• Meeting report from the third INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards meeting on implementation, September 2006
• Meeting report from the fourth INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards meeting on implementation, May 2007
• Meeting report from the fifth INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards meeting on implementation, November 2007
• Meeting report from the sixth INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards on implementation, June 2008