Reflection on INEE’s 20th Anniversary

The 1990s was a time when getting attention or support for education services for refugees, IDPs and in war-affected nations was a mighty uphill battle. Emergency educators and their agencies also were performing their important work without a shared community to which they all
belonged.

Most fortunately, Peter Buckland, Chris Talbot, Eldrid Midttun, and others helped to change all that. That was leadership: they worked for different agencies that sometimes competed.

You’ll get the heroic details from the fabulous INEE founders. But I do recall, from first-hand experience over many years, the shared drive, quiet determination, professional respect, and friendship between Eldrid, Chris, and Peter. These qualities provided a wonderful foundation for INEE (together with contributions from other founders and early members): a gathering of people and institutions sharing commitment, complementary expertise, and a willingness to learn from others, all working collaboratively to advance access to quality education for the war-affected.

INEE set the stage for a magnificent and hugely important community to flourish. I salute INEE’s founders and look forward to still-more progress over the coming decades.

The views expressed in this blog are the author's own