Blog – Page 22

[Webinar] Building inclusive education systems for refugees

Date: 6 December 2023.

Time: 2pm UTC.

UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, and INEE invite you to a webinar on building inclusive education systems for refugees.

As global displacement rises, there is an urgent need for inclusive education systems that also address the needs of these displaced learners. However, refugees are often overlooked in educational policies and remain unrepresented in data systems, limiting their access to quality education in their host countries.

The webinar will explore effective strategies for the inclusion of refugees in national education systems.

On the sidelines of the upcoming 2023 Global Refugee Forum, this webinar will also launch a joint inter-agency brief, two publications by UNESCO-UNHCR, and a forthcoming UNICEF publication on refugee inclusion that will build evidence and inform discussions on fostering greater inclusion for refugees in national education systems.

[Webinar] The role of civil society in emergencies: Lebanon, and Occupied Palestine

Date: Thursday 30 November 2023.
Time: 2:00pm Beirut/Jerusalem time / 12pm UK time.

The Centre for Lebanese Studies invites you to attend the webinar ‘The role of civil society in emergencies: Lebanon, and Occupied Palestine’.

We are witnessing a high level of disengagement of civil society in our region from the genocide that is taking place in Palestine. This silence and disengagement pause questions around our work ethics, responsibilities, ethos and roles as institutions and individuals in these spaces.

Through this webinar, we will have a conversation and open the space to critically engage with key institutions in the region to discuss the roles of civil society institutions, especially those in the field of education, and their responsibilities and how we can ethically move forward tackling issues of funding, solidarity, and impact.

Discussant:
Prof. Maha Shuayb, Centre for Lebanese Studies Director

Chair:
Dr. Mai Abu Moghli, Senior Researcher at the Centre for Lebanese Studies

Speakers:
Dr. Ghassan Slaiby, Researcher in sociology and sociology of work
Dr. Nader Wahbe, Education specialist and researcher
Ayman Qwaider, Enabling Education Network/ MENA Network Manager

The webinar is followed by a Q&A session with the speakers.
(Simultaneous interpretation will be provided at the webinar).

Deadline expired Senior Education Advisor, Mission Alliance, Liberia

Location: Monrovia, Liberia.

Duration: 4 years+.

Application deadline: Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

Mission Alliance’s Liberia Country Office is responsible for community development work focusing on literacy programmes combined with financial inclusion efforts. The organisation wishes to expand its portfolio and impact in Liberia over the coming years, funded by private donors in Norway and Norad. The Senior Education Advisor will be experienced in development and education programming.

Read the full job description.

Bande de Gaza : l’enseignement est attaqué

Cet article du blog a été écrit par Ayman Qwaider (EENET’s Arabic/MENA Network Manager), le 7 novembre 2023.

Traduit par Siham Touil.

Les enfants pris pour cible

La moitié des plus de deux millions d’habitants de la bande de Gaza sont des enfants, et actuellement, l’un d’entre eux est tué toutes les 10 minutes. Depuis le 7 octobre 2023[1], les statistiques du Ministère de la Santé à Gaza montrent qu’au moins 4 100 enfants palestiniens ont été tués dans les bombardements incessants de l’armée israélienne. Plus de 1 000 autres enfants sont portés disparus, probablement enterrés sous des bâtiments détruits. Prendre pour cible des civils, en particulier des enfants, constitue une violation grave des Conventions de Genève et est considéré comme un crime de guerre. Les enfants ne devraient jamais être la cible d’un conflit, de part et d’autre. Les enfants de Gaza sont les plus touchés par l’agression israélienne en cours, qui les prive de leurs droits fondamentaux, notamment l’accès à la nourriture, à l’eau, à un abri, à l’éducation, aux soins de santé et à la sécurité.

Une enfance en cage

Aujourd’hui dans la bande de Gaza, aucun enfant n’a jamais connu la liberté. Depuis 2005, le territoire est soumis à de sévères restrictions imposées par Israël, et le blocus s’est renforcé lorsque le Hamas est arrivé au pouvoir en 2006. L’ONU considère Israël comme une « puissance occupante » au sein des territoires palestiniens et le blocus viole le droit international. L’enclave est l’une des zones les plus densément peuplées de la planète (5 850 habitants au kilomètre carré), souvent décrite comme la plus grande prison à ciel ouvert du monde. Depuis 16 ans, l’économie, les infrastructures, l’emploi, les communications, l’éducation et le système de santé suffoquent et les déplacements de la population sont presque entièrement limités. La plupart des enfants n’ont jamais bénéficié de 24 heures d’électricité en continu dans leur vie. Tandis que la catastrophe humanitaire actuelle, extrêmement meurtrière, attire l’attention du monde entier, l’ONU et les agences humanitaires parlent depuis de nombreuses années de la crise humanitaire croissante dans la bande de Gaza et mettent en garde contre les violations flagrantes des droits de l’Homme.

L’enseignement perturbé

Les Gazaouis sont des personnes dynamiques et instruites, rêvant d’un avenir meilleur. Les aspirations de plusieurs générations sont aujourd’hui plus que jamais attaquées. Plus de 625 000 étudiants et 22 564 enseignants de la bande de Gaza ont été touchés par les attaques contre l’enseignement ce mois passé. Les enfants n’ont pas accès à la scolarité et n’ont pas d’endroit sûr où se réfugier. Le Ministère de l’Éducation a annulé l’année scolaire, et 214 écoles ont jusqu’à présent été endommagées par les bombardements, parmi lesquelles 45 sont entièrement hors service. Des enseignants ont été tués dans les bombardements.

Alaa Qwaider, une mère aimante, a été tuée dans sa propre maison, détruite lors d’une frappe aérienne israélienne. Cette attaque dévastatrice a également coûté la vie à ses trois jeunes enfants : Eman, tragiquement tuée le jour de son cinquième anniversaire, Faiz, quatre ans et la petite Sarah, âgée de sept mois seulement. Quatorze autres membres de sa famille ont été tués dans la même frappe aérienne, ne laissant en vie que le mari d’Alaa.

Alaa n’était pas seulement une mère. C’était aussi une professeure de mathématiques très respectée dans son lycée à Gaza City. Elle était très fière de sa carrière et de sa mission importante consistant à enseigner auprès des jeunes. Elle partageait souvent avec moi (Ayman Qwaider, auteur de l’article, est son frère) des photos de ses réalisations. Son dévouement à l’enseignement était évident dans ses interactions avec ses étudiants qui la tenaient en haute estime pour son implication dans leur scolarité. Alaa connaissait le contexte de vie de ses élèves – vivre sous blocus pendant 16 ans au sein d’un régime d’apartheid[2] et être témoin d’opérations militaires régulières – et l’impact sur leur apprentissage et leurs besoins émotionnels. Elle recherchait activement des opportunités de formation et de développement de ses compétences pour mieux soutenir ses étudiants, en particulier ceux qui avaient été exposés à un traumatisme.

Le Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur rapporte que 437 de ses étudiants et 12 membres du personnel universitaire ont été tués au cours des trois premières semaines de cette guerre, dont 85 % à Gaza City. On craint que de nombreux autres étudiants soient ensevelis sous les décombres. La scolarité de près de 90 000 étudiants de l’enseignement supérieur est perturbée, les universités ayant été contraintes de suspendre toutes leurs activités. Une université de Gaza a dû annuler son année universitaire 2023-24 en raison de la perte de tous ses étudiants dans les bombardements israéliens.

Un cinéma pour les enfants de Gaza et une pédagogie adaptée aux traumatismes

Jusqu’au 7 octobre, le projet Gaza Children’s Cinema (GCC) a fonctionné dans les bibliothèques locales à travers la bande de Gaza, en partenariat avec l’Institut Tamer pour l’éducation communautaire. Le GCC avait concentré ses activités sur les communautés marginalisées et frontalières (avec Israël), s’adressant aux enfants les plus isolés. Malheureusement, ces communautés frontalières sont particulièrement vulnérables face aux destructions des forces israéliennes, notamment lors d’incursions terrestres. Les rapports indiquent que dans toute la bande de Gaza, plus de 200 000 logements ont été soit détruits, soit endommagés, et des dizaines d’installations publiques et de services – telles que celles utilisées par le CCG – ont subi des dommages importants. Le GCC a été justement créé pour offrir des alternatives éducatives et des activités récréatives aux enfants profondément touchés par un traumatisme. Cela leur a fourni un répit temporaire face à la réalité difficile à laquelle ils étaient confrontés. Avant cette nouvelle guerre à Gaza, près d’un enfant sur trois recevait déjà un soutien psychologique. Les bombardements dévastateurs actuels, d’une ampleur sans précédent, ont exposé les enfants de Gaza à des traumatismes encore plus graves et plus durables, avec des conséquences qui persisteront probablement tout au long de leur vie. Mais les programmes vitaux destinés à les soutenir, comme le GCC, ont été anéantis et leur reconstruction pourrait prendre de nombreuses années.

L’UNICEF a déclaré qu’au cours des dernières semaines, « Gaza est devenue un cimetière pour des milliers d’enfants ». Il est impossible de comprendre l’impact de cette situation sur les enfants qui survivent. Les programmes éducatifs pour faire face aux traumatismes devront être un point essentiel de la scolarité dans un avenir prochain. Cela signifie approfondir la formation des enseignants, des éducateurs afin de les doter des compétences nécessaires pour soutenir efficacement leurs élèves. Mais les enseignants et les éducateurs, eux-mêmes traumatisés, auront besoin de beaucoup plus de soutien émotionnel et professionnel pour apporter l’accompagnement nécessaire aux élèves également traumatisés. Cependant, rien de tout cela ne pourra se produire tant qu’il n’y aura pas un cessez-le-feu complet entre les forces israéliennes et le Hamas.

Protéger les droits des enfants

La communauté internationale prend note de cette guerre. Adele Khodr, directrice régionale de l’UNICEF pour le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique du Nord, la qualifie de « tâche croissante sur notre conscience collective ». L’UNICEF, aux côtés de centaines d’ONG, a également appelé à un cessez-le-feu immédiat pour protéger les enfants de Gaza. Il est crucial que la communauté internationale prenne des mesures immédiates pour protéger leurs droits et leur bien-être : fournir une aide humanitaire et œuvrer en faveur d’un cessez-le-feu durable. Le monde doit s’unir pour garantir que la sécurité, les soins de santé et l’éducation ne soient pas un luxe mais des droits fondamentaux pour tous.

Les étudiants et les enseignants tués à Gaza

Plusieurs milliers d’enfants innocents, leurs familles et leurs enseignants ont été tués à Gaza, non seulement ces dernières semaines, mais au cours des 75 dernières années.

Osama Abu Safia[3] était étudiant en médecine à l’Université Al Azhar de Gaza. Il avait récemment réussi l’examen de la première étape du USMLE[4] et était un bénévole actif, faisant la promotion de l’éducation sanitaire dans les mosquées et les écoles. Son potentiel pour devenir un médecin talentueux dans le futur et ses contributions à sa communauté ont été tragiquement stoppés par une frappe aérienne israélienne sur Gaza.

Yasmine Khorshid[5] a été diplômée en gestion des bibliothèques il y a à peine trois mois. Elle a été tuée avec sa famille, ses tantes, ses oncles et leurs enfants dans la ville de Gaza. Plus de 30 personnes de la famille Khorshid ont été tués.

Khalil Abu Yahiya[6] a été tué avec toute sa famille à Gaza. Khalil était maître de conférences à l’Université Islamique de Gaza et était largement reconnu pour son génie en tant qu’écrivain, activiste et penseur.

[1] Le 7 October 2023, le Hamas a tué 1400 Israéliens et a pris en otages plus de 200 personnes, incluant des enfants

[2] See: https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution and https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/

[3] https://twitter.com/osaidessermd/status/1719118526168899961?s=46&t=PTHQCFBhd570mEv_M8fiQw

[4] Le United States Medical Licensing Examination est un programme d’examen organisé en trois étapes dont l’objectif est d’obtenir un permis médical aux États-Unis

[5] https://twitter.com/uzisall/status/1719699570010046958?s=46&t=PTHQCFBhd570mEv_M8fiQw

[6] https://twitter.com/fatimazsaid/status/1719165606375641174?s=46&t=PTHQCFBhd570mEv_M8fiQw

[Advocacy] Read the new blog post ‘Education under attack in Gaza’

Written by EENET’s Arabic/MENA Network Manager, Ayman Qwaider, this blog gives an insight into the horrors of daily life in Gaza and the impact it is having on children, teachers, and education.

‘Gazans are vibrant, educated people with dreams of a better future. The aspirations of generations are under attack now more than ever before. More than 625,000 students and 22,564 teachers in the Gaza Strip have been affected by the assault on education for the last month. Children have no access to education and no safe place to hide. The Ministry of Education in Gaza has cancelled the entire academic year, and 214 schools have so far been damaged due to shelling, with 45 schools entirely out of service. Teachers have been killed in the bombardment.’

Read the full blog post in Arabic, English and French.

[Advocacy]: Gaza ~ UNESCO calls for an immediate halt to strikes against schools

UNESCO is gravely concerned about the impact of the hostilities in the Gaza Strip on students and education professionals. The Organization calls for the protection of educational establishments, which often serve as shelters for the population, and recalls that targeting them or using them for military purposes constitute violations of international law.

Following the terrorist attacks committed against Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7 October, the operations of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip have caused a serious humanitarian crisis affecting all aspects of civilian life, including education. Today, more than 625,000 pupils and more than 22,500 teachers in the area are in an extremely vulnerable situation.

Since 7 October, more than 200 schools have been damaged – around 40% of the total number of schools in the Gaza Strip – about forty of them very seriously, according to UNICEF data.

In accordance with its mandate, UNESCO reminds all actors of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law, in particular with Resolution 2601 adopted in 2021 by the United Nations Security Council, which “strongly condemns the continued attacks as well as threats of attacks that are in contravention of international humanitarian law against schools and civilians connected with schools, including children and teachers, and urges all parties to armed conflict to immediately cease such attacks and threats of attacks and to refrain from actions that impede access to education.”

UNESCO points out that this same resolution “condemns the military use of schools in contravention of international law, and recognizes that use by armed forces and armed groups may render schools legitimate targets of attack, thus endangering children’s and teachers’ safety as well as their education”.

Stay updated on the UNESCO website.

Education under attack in Gaza

This blog article was written by Ayman Qwaider (EENET’s Arabic/MENA Network Manager), 07 November 2023.

A French translation and an Arabic translation is also available.

Children as targets

Half of Gaza’s two-million population are children, and right now one of them is being killed every 10 minutes. Since 7 October 2023,[1] Gaza Ministry of Health statistics show that at least 4,100 Palestinian children have been killed in the Israeli army’s relentless bombardment. More than 1,000 more children are missing, likely buried under destroyed buildings.

Targeting civilians, especially children, constitutes a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and is considered a war crime. Children should never be targeted in any conflict by any party. Children in Gaza are the most affected by the ongoing Israeli aggression, which has deprived them of their basic rights, including access to food, water, shelter, education, healthcare, and safety.

A caged childhood

No child in Gaza today has ever known freedom. Since 2005, Gaza has experienced severe restrictions imposed by Israel, and the blockade strengthened when Hamas came to power in 2006. The UN considers Israel to be an ‘occupying power’ within Palestinian territories and the blockade violates international law. Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on earth (5,850 per square kilometre), often described as akin to the largest open-air prison in the world.

For 16 years Gaza’s economy, infrastructure, employment, communications, education, and health systems have been strangled and the movement of its people almost entirely restricted. Most children have not experienced a full 24 hours of uninterrupted electricity supply in their lives. While the recent extremely life-threatening humanitarian catastrophe has attracted global attention, UN and humanitarian agencies have been speaking about the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip for many years and warning of the gross violations of multiple human rights.

Education disrupted

Gazans are vibrant, educated people with dreams of a better future. The aspirations of generations are under attack now more than ever before. More than 625,000 students and 22,564 teachers in the Gaza Strip have been affected by the assault on education for the last month. Children have no access to education and no safe place to hide. The Ministry of Education in Gaza has cancelled the entire academic year, and 214 schools have so far been damaged due to shelling, with 45 schools entirely out of service. Teachers have been killed in the bombardment.

Alaa Qwaider, a loving mother, was killed in her own home during an Israeli airstrike that destroyed her house. This devastating attack also claimed the lives of her three young children: Eman, tragically killed on her fifth birthday, Faiz, aged four, and little Sarah, only seven months old. Fourteen other family members were killed in the same airstrike, leaving only Alaa’s husband alive.

Alaa was not only a mother but a highly respected maths teacher at a high school in Gaza City. She took great pride in her career and the important mission of educating young minds. She often shared photos of her accomplishments with me. Her dedication to teaching was evident in her interactions with her students who held her in high regard for her commitment to their education. Alaa recognised the context of her students’ lives – living under blockade for 16 years within an apartheid regime,[2] and witnessing regular military operations – and how this impacted their learning and emotional needs. She actively sought training and skills development opportunities to better support her students, especially those who had been exposed to trauma.

The Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education reports that 437 higher education students and 12 academic staff were killed in the first three weeks of this latest war, 85% of whom were in Gaza. Many more students are feared buried under the rubble. The education of nearly 90,000 higher education students is disrupted as universities have been forced to suspend all operations. One university in Gaza has had to cancel its 2023-24 academic year due to the loss of all its students in Israeli bombings.

Gaza Children’s Cinema and trauma-responsive education

Until 7 October, the Gaza Children’s Cinema (GCC) project operated within local community libraries across the Gaza Strip with the support of the initiative’s partner, the Tamer Institute for Community Education.

GCC had focused its activities in marginalized and border communities, where it reached out to children who were often hardest to access. Unfortunately, these border communities have been particularly vulnerable to destruction by Israeli forces, especially during ground incursions. Reports indicate that across the Gaza Strip, over 200,000 housing units have been either destroyed or damaged and dozens of public and service facilities – such as those used by GCC – have suffered significant damage.

GCC was purposefully created to offer alternative educational experiences and recreational activities for children deeply affected by trauma. It provided them with temporary respite from the challenging reality they faced. Before the latest aggression in Gaza, nearly one-in-three children in Gaza already received support from trauma response programmes. The current devastating bombardment on an unprecedented scale has exposed the children in Gaza to even more severe and long-lasting trauma, with consequences that will likely persist throughout their lives. But vital programmes to support them, like GCC, have been wiped out and may take many years to rebuild.

UNICEF has stated that in the last few weeks “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children”. It’s impossible to comprehend the impact of this on Gaza’s surviving children. Trauma response education programmes will need to be an essential component of mainstream education in emergency interventions for the foreseeable future. This means scaling up relevant training for teachers and educators, and equipping them with the skills to support their students effectively. But teachers and educators, themselves traumatised, will require much more emotional and professional support to ensure they can provide the necessary assistance to their traumatised learners. However, none of this can happen until there is a complete ceasefire between the Israeli forces and Hamas.

Protecting children’s rights

The international community is taking note of this war. Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, has called it a “growing stain on our collective conscience”. UNICEF, along with hundreds of NGOs, has also called for an immediate ceasefire to protect the children in Gaza.

It is crucial for the international community to take immediate action to protect the rights and well-being of Gaza’s children, provide humanitarian aid, and work towards a sustainable ceasefire. The world must stand together to ensure that safety, healthcare and education are not luxuries but fundamental rights for all.

Gaza’s lost learners and teachers

Many thousands of innocent children, their families and teachers have been killed in Gaza, not just in recent weeks, but over the course of the last 75 years.

Osama Abu Safia[3] was a medical student at Al Azhar University in Gaza. He had recently passed the USMLE[4] Step 1 exam and was an active volunteer, promoting health education in mosques and schools. His potential to become a talented medic in the future and his contributions to his community were tragically cut short by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza.

Yasmine Khorshid[5] graduated just three months ago after specialising in library management. Yasmine was killed with her family, aunts, uncles and their children in Gaza City. More than 30 people from the Khorshid family were killed.

Khalil Abu Yahiya[6] was killed along with his entire family in Gaza. Khalil was a lecturer at the Islamic University of Gaza and was widely recognised for his brilliance as a writer, activist, and thinker.

Footnotes

[1] On 7 October 2023 Hamas killed 1400 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages, including children.

[3] https://twitter.com/osaidessermd/status/1719118526168899961?s=46&t=PTHQCFBhd570mEv_M8fiQw

[4] United States Medical Licensing Examination

[5] https://twitter.com/uzisall/status/1719699570010046958?s=46&t=PTHQCFBhd570mEv_M8fiQw

[6] https://twitter.com/fatimazsaid/status/1719165606375641174?s=46&t=PTHQCFBhd570mEv_M8fiQw

[UK Toolkit] To help college staff create a culture of welcome to young refugees

Training modules for further education colleges in the UK.

Refugee Education UK and City of Sanctuary have collaborated to develop a suite of training modules to help Further Education colleges to grow in their confidence and expertise to support refugee and asylum-seeking students.

These training sessions will help college staff to create a culture of welcome, and to identify and confidently apply practical interventions that promote success for these students.

If your college could benefit from this training then check out their website for information on this new course plus other training opportunities.

[Online community] Join the Inclusive Education Initiative LinkedIn Community of Practice

Join 27,000 other people who have signed up to the Inclusive Education Initiatives’ Community of Practice on LinkedIn. It is free to join and gives you access to contributions, ideas and debates to achieve the goal of ensuring all children have access to quality, inclusive education.

Just go to your LinkedIn page and search for ‘Inclusive Education Initiative’ and click to join the group!

[Toolkit] Do you need tips on designing accessible learning assessments?

Toolkit: Using Principles of Universal Design for Assessment (UDA) to Design Accessible Learning Toolkit Assessments.

The purpose of this toolkit is to generate knowledge on how to develop and adapt assessment tools using principles of universal design that yield reliable and valid data and information to track the learning outcomes of marginalized learners, including learners with disabilities.

Check out the toolkit for lots of tips and advice from the World Bank Group on using the principles of universal design.

Download the Toolkit