Category: Blog

**Deadline extended to 31 October 2024.**

Information and communication technology and other assistive technologies have the potential to impact social and educational inclusion so the theme for Issue 13 of Enabling Education Review will be:

“Inclusive EdTech”

The deadline for submitting first drafts of articles is 30 September 2024. Details of suggested topics and how to submit articles are provided below.

Contact info@eenet.org.uk with any questions.

1. Why have we chosen this topic?

Increasingly, Education Technology or EdTech is used to support the educational inclusion of children with and without disabilities, including those who are neurodiverse or have other learning difficulties. EdTech is used to describe the combination of computer hardware, software (or information and communication technology and assistive technology) with educational theory and practice to facilitate learning for education purposes. As such, EdTech can complement face-to-face inclusive pedagogy and enable inclusive remote teaching and learning, both at the school level and in teacher training.

ICT and assistive technology innovations in distance education grew during the COVID-19 pandemic but were often not made accessible and did not benefit everyone. EENET’s own survey of home learning in 2020 showed that children with disabilities, children in low-income settings and other marginalised groups of learners were more likely to be excluded as digital innovations advanced. Existing inequalities were made worse.

To help meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all learners, we need to reflect on how ICT can be made more affordable, appropriate and accessible. We need to explore the challenges and opportunities of using ICT and other assistive technologies within inclusive education in low- and middle-income contexts. We cannot say that ICT is too expensive and will never be used in poorer contexts. Rather we need to ask: How can it become a viable and valuable tool in the inclusive education toolbox for every country? And, in using the phrase Education technology (EdTech) we recognise that providing the technology on its own is only a partial solution at best, and often a missed opportunity.

2. What could you write about?

This issue of EER will explore how ICT and assistive technologies can be used to support learning and teaching in inclusive settings. There are many aspects of EdTech that you could write about, including but not limited to:

• How have approaches to teaching and learning changed and become more inclusive because of the use of ICT?
• How were ICT and other assistive technologies used to support learners transitioning back into schools after COVID-19 closures? What could this tell us about using ICT and assistive technology to support other educational transitions?
• As a learner, how has the use of EdTech impacted your educational experience?
• As a teacher, how have you reached and supported all your learners using EdTech? What challenges and opportunities have you experienced? Who has helped you?
• What impact does the accessibility or inaccessibility of ICT and the use of assistive technology have on peer-to-peer relationship in classrooms?
• How are teachers trained to use ICT and assistive technologies? How are their trainers trained? What professional development programmes are most effective and what else is needed?
• What has worked well in financing the adaptations and use of ICT and assistive technology in inclusive settings in low- and middle-income contexts? What has worked well in sustaining the use of ICT and assistive technology?
• What policies and regulatory frameworks support the integration of EdTech in inclusive education?
• How have you advocated at the local or national level for better or more inclusive digital approaches to education?
• How have you developed partnerships to coordinate the effective use of EdTech in inclusive education?
• How have you motivated or supported a strong political commitment to using EdTech in inclusive education?
• How have you used EdTech to support learners who learn at home on a regular basis? What innovations or changes emerged from the experiences of widespread home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?
• How has the use of EdTech affected the mental and/or physical well-being of learners, parents, families, and teachers? What has been done to support them?
• How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) help to create more inclusive learning environments? What advancements have already happened and what opportunities are around the corner? What are the benefits, challenges and risks?
• How will the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact inclusion of learners with disabilities in education?
• What lessons have we learned that could improve the use of EdTech in the design and inclusivity of education systems long term?

Enabling Education Review helps people share and learn from each other’s experiences. Therefore, we welcome articles that offer practical insights to help others looking for ideas that they can adapt and try. We like articles that provide a little background to the context, project or programme and then explain the activities that happened (what, where, when, with or by whom, and why). We also like to read about the results, if possible.

3. How can you submit an article?

Please email your article to info@eenet.org.uk or send a hard copy to the address at the end of this document.

Authors can write in English or their preferred language.

Length – 550 words (for a single-page article) or 1,100 words (for a double-page article). We may edit longer articles down to a single page, depending on the quantity and quality of articles received.

Style

• Write an article: please keep the article easy to read and non-academic. We encourage the use of sub-headings, bullet lists, simple diagrams, etc. Have a look at previous editions of the publication if you are not sure what style to use: www.eenet.org.uk/enabling-education-review/
• Write a poem: we encourage you to be creative with your submissions, so if you prefer to write a poem rather than an article, that’s great.
• Present a drawing: if you feel that the story you wish to tell is better told visually, please feel free to submit a picture rather than an article. Please give your drawing a title. You could also write and submit a shorter piece of writing that explains the drawing.

Editing – we are happy to help edit the article, so don’t worry if you are not an experienced writer. We can work with you to improve the structure and content of your article, make it shorter/longer, etc.

Working in audio – if you would like to send us a voice recording of your article or be interviewed as the basis for an article, please contact Su Corcoran at info@eenet.org.uk to discuss options.

Photos – it is great if you can add photos, drawings or diagrams to your article. When selecting photos, please look for the following:

• Active images – e.g., children learning in groups, children playing, teachers/ parents working with learners, and so on;
• Images that are not too dark, blurred, or pixelated.

Please send us high-resolution images by email (these should be at least 1MB in size), or post us an original print/drawing. For every image you want to add to your article, you will probably need to remove about 75-100 words of text – but we can help with this editing.

Permission

Please ensure that the people in any photos have given their permission for the photos to be published, or that parents/guardians have given permission for photos of children or vulnerable adults to be used.

Please fill in and send us the permission form attached to your photo(s).

Deadline – the first deadline for draft submissions is 30 September 2024. We will then review all articles and work with the authors to edit them.

Selection – please note that we might not publish all of the articles we receive. In addition to ensuring that we publish articles that are easy to read and of practical use to a range of education stakeholders, we will also ensure that the final selection includes:

• articles from a variety of countries/regions;
• articles about a range of different issues;
• articles by authors from different backgrounds.

Articles not selected for publication in EER may instead be published on EENET’s website (www.eenet.org.uk).

Queries – if you have any questions, please email info@eenet.org.uk.

Postal address – if you want to send an article in hard copy (e.g., printed or as an audio file on a flashdrive), please send it to:

EENET

PO Box 422

Hyde

Cheshire, SK14 9DT,

UK

Ayman Qwaider, EENET’s Arabic/MENA Network Manager.

Read this article in Arabic.

Scale of destruction

The genocidal war in Gaza has left no aspect of life untouched. One of the most devastating impacts is on the education system and, consequently, on the future of Gaza. The damage being inflicted will have profound and long-lasting effects on the current and future generations in Gaza. While much has been written about the overall impact of the war, the systematic destruction of Gaza’s education sector deserves particular attention.

Schools, both public and those operated by the United Nations, have been reduced to rubble. Universities, which once served as the backbone of higher education in Gaza, lie in ruins. The very institutions where generations of teachers were trained have been obliterated. Alongside the destruction of formal education facilities, community education centres, art centres, and archives – essential components of cultural and educational life – have also been destroyed. Many of these learning spaces have been converted into shelters for displaced families, underscoring the sheer scale of devastation.

This is not merely the destruction of buildings; it is the dismantling of an entire educational infrastructure. Teachers have been killed, their families displaced, and their schools and universities destroyed. Every household in Gaza has been touched by loss, through the death, disappearance, or separation of loved ones. The images of bombed homes, displaced families, and the daily struggle for survival have dominated social media for months, revealing only a fraction of the suffering that continues unabated.

One cannot overstate the impact of this destruction on education and learning. The cumulative trauma, suffering, and memories of violence experienced by an entire generation are staggering. The children of Gaza, exposed to unprecedented levels of violence and abuse daily, face a future where education is inextricably linked to their trauma.

What happens next?

The question now is: What will education/learning look like in Gaza after this? How can learning continue amid such accumulated trauma and suffering? The psychosocial trauma inflicted on Gaza’s children, teachers, and families has been accumulating over the last 17 years, exacerbated by the continuous Israeli blockade and repeated military assaults. This current unprecedented violence only adds another layer of pain and suffering.

To address these challenges, psychosocial support must be integrated into any educational interventions. Every person in Gaza will need such support, and this must be sustained over a long period. Schools and curricula will need to be re-engineered to meet the needs of these traumatized learners. The curriculum must be informed by the experiences of those who have lived through this trauma, and teaching pedagogy must evolve to capture and address the stories of these children.

Educators themselves will need significant support – socially, culturally, and psychologically – to process and share their experiences. It is vital that they have the space to tell their stories, not just for their own healing but also to inform the world of the realities of life in Gaza. No one should endure genocide without the opportunity to bear witness, and the stories of Gaza’s educators and students are essential for understanding the true cost of this conflict.

The loss of an entire year of education in Gaza is unprecedented. For the first time since 1948, Palestinian students in Gaza were unable to complete their higher education exams, and children were deprived of the opportunity to pursue their dreams. The destruction of Gaza’s education system is not just a loss for the present generation but a profound threat to the future of the entire region. The rebuilding of this system will require more than just physical reconstruction; it will require a reimagining of what education can and should be in the context of ongoing trauma and adversity.

Learning about and from genocide

When talking to friends and colleagues in Gaza, a common sentiment arises: there is much written about genocide, yet not enough is done to integrate this harrowing reality into education. They argue that the experience of genocide should not be relegated to history books alone but must be a vivid memory in the minds of education policymakers. It is crucial that education policies reflect the need to address the impact of genocide, and this should be an integral part of the curriculum.

Incorporating the realities of genocide into the curriculum is not merely about recounting the past but about raising awareness and fostering resilience in the present. It is about ensuring that the next generation understands the gravity of such atrocities and is equipped to recognise and respond to the early signs of genocidal actions in the future. For the children of Gaza, who have lived through a genocide, this is not a distant lesson from history but a lived experience. Integrating this into their education could play a vital role in healing and empowerment. Indeed, all parties, locally and globally, need to integrate genocide education into their curricula if we are to prevent such horrors from occurring again.

Educational genocide is part of a broader genocide targeting human life itself. Education’s mission is to uphold human life as the ultimate goal. In Gaza, resilience, or Sumoud, is not just a concept but a lived reality. The people of Gaza demonstrate social solidarity by supporting one another despite unimaginable circumstances. Conventional education is insufficient; it must evolve into learning through life and daily challenges. The future of education in Gaza requires transformation, moving beyond formal schooling to seek opportunities in adversity. This educational endeavour is not just a duty but a form of resistance against a comprehensive genocide that seeks to erase existence and identity.

The hope is that embedding the lessons of genocide into the curriculum will not only educate but also serve as a powerful reminder to the global community. It can be a tool to ensure that such atrocities are not forgotten and do not go unchecked when they occur. Education has the potential to be a safeguard, raising awareness about the devastating impact of genocide and fostering a commitment to preventing it in the future.

Please follow and share EENET’s Hear Us See Us campaign on our website, Facebook and LinkedIn. The campaign shares the experiences of educators and learners in Gaza. We add our voice to the calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli occupation and apartheid.

#CeaseFireNow

#StopArmingIsrael

#FreePalestine

#EndTheOccupation

#EndIsraeliApartheid

#LearningNeverStops

By Dr. Mohammed Awad Sabhair

This blog is a slightly adapted transcript of a podcast – episode 2 of EENET’s “Inclusive Education: Unheard Stories” series. The podcast is available in Arabic.

 Watch on YouTube.

Listen on SoundCloud.

Introduction

I am Dr. Mohammed Awad Sabhair, a volunteer activist in the educational community. I hold a Ph.D. in Educational Administration, a Bachelor’s degree, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I work as a director and a distinguished school supervisor at Al-Aqsa University in the Gaza Strip. I am actively involved in the Arab and global campaigns for education for all and the Palestinian Educational Coalition.

I am also the founder of the Pulse of Peace Association for Mental and Community Health, a mental health first aider in times of crisis, and a certified educational and community trainer within the Gaza Strip. I am involved in various civil, private, and popular voluntary institutions. I am a member of the Community Accountability Committee in Gaza and a researcher with numerous published research papers, studies, articles, and diverse writings locally and regionally.

My current situation

I am in Khan Yunis Governorate, southern Gaza. We were told by the Israeli forces to evacuate our homes due to the precarious situation. We find ourselves in a dire situation, facing inhumane conditions with a complete lack of services. The harsh winter conditions surround us. This area is also close to the Rafah border, where over a million and a half people are cramped in a small space, lacking essential services.

There are insufficient words to describe the scene in the displacement area where my family and I are located. It is almost impossible to convey the complete picture. We are experiencing power outage for over three months, no communication or internet services due to the destruction of the communication network. There is a complete lack of water services due to the destruction of underground networks. We resort to primitive methods to obtain and transport water.

Transportation services are entirely halted, fuel is scarce, and essential goods are absent. If available, prices have skyrocketed. Special medications for children, women, the elderly, and pregnant women are unavailable. People are suffering with difficult health conditions. There is a shortage of basic goods, and tents, blankets, and winter clothes are unavailable. The local stock of water, livestock, crops, and goods is depleted due to the lack of entry of supplies.

Living under siege

Daily life is severely impacted by the complete closure of land crossings, a comprehensive naval blockade, full control of the airspace, and continuous airstrikes and destruction throughout the day. As night falls, fear and anticipation take over, and in the pitch-black darkness, movement becomes impossible due to reconnaissance aircraft hovering above.

The continuous shelling of coastal areas by naval vessels adds to the danger. As I write this message, the sound of shelling intensifies. In the face of these conditions, we are lost, not knowing where the circumstances will lead us or how to meet the needs of our families and children.

My children, who now ask questions and engage in discussions, are met with silence from us adults in the face of the crisis and the catastrophe we are living through day and night.

 The education situation up to October 2023

Around 650,000 students were enrolled in education in Gaza. Supervision of education was shared among the Ministry of Education, the Palestinian Education Authority, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and private schools. In Gaza, before this war, 750 schools were operating on a two-shift system due to the high student density. The political division imposed by Israel since 2007 led to a comprehensive blockade affecting all aspects of life until 2023. This has caused significant destruction in all areas, particularly in education.

The conditions for teachers and educational staff were extremely challenging. They did not receive their salaries regularly, and delays in payment led to a loss of motivation, forcing them to seek additional employment to meet their needs. The severe poverty and unemployment experienced by parents also affected students, as many parents were compelled to send their children to work to support their families.

The impact of war on education

Then came the latest war on Gaza in October 2023, where Israel terminated all agreements, treaties, and conventions calling for the protection of the right to education and the preservation of educational institutions and facilities without harm or disruption. As of now, the education sector has reached a point of complete destruction and collapse due to Israeli practices, including the brutal and genocidal war.

The numbers attest to the difficult situation: 4,119 students have been killed and 75,000 students wounded. Additionally, 221 teachers and administrative staff working in the ministry have been killed and 703 injured. Furthermore, 83 schools have suffered severe damage, seven schools have been completely destroyed, and 278 schools require major maintenance. Also, 65 schools affiliated with UNRWA have been damaged. The Ministry has indicated that 90% of school buildings have been directly or indirectly damaged.

All schools in Gaza – whether under the Ministry of Education, UNRWA, or private institutions – have been turned into shelters for displaced people fleeing Israeli attacks. The situation is dire, with schools that were once able to accommodate 2,000 students now housing 9,000 displaced individuals. Other schools have been subjected to theft, vandalism, and looting of school furniture, which is sometimes used as fuel for cooking due to the lack of fuel and cooking gas.

There has been direct targeting, arrest, and displacement of many people, including those managing the shelters. In light of these figures and this grim scene, the education sector in Gaza has reached a point of complete destruction and collapse. No local entity can provide any services for education in the near or distant future without a halt to the war and the intervention of a state to rebuild the education sector, including schools, universities, and kindergartens.

Supporting students

Students have developed psychological symptoms, manifested in severe fear, constant anxiety, various behavioural problems including involuntary urination, night terrors, withdrawal, intense crying, constant panic, clinging to parents, difficulty sleeping, reluctance to participate in group activities, loss of passion, absence of hope, feelings of guilt, constant self-doubt, and frustration, as well as various health issues and emotional numbness.

Through my work in shelters and displacement centres, I see this vivid reality that we experience every day with the children and their families. We strive to provide first-level psychological and social support services to children and their families to alleviate fear and provide temporary stability. We collaborate with the Teacher Creativity Center to offer socio-emotional learning services to children in shelter centres, helping them stay connected with various educational skills and make up for what they missed during the past three months of the war.

Several youth and volunteer initiatives and organisations try to provide play services, support, and distribute gifts to children and students to alleviate their suffering. The distribution of some guidance manuals for parents on first aid for psychological care, child protection, emergency education times, and emotional support is ongoing.

What we witness is extremely dangerous and challenging. However, we believe it is our duty to uphold the right to education and learning during emergencies, and to be present to provide humanitarian services to students and children, guiding parents on providing education based on available resources and under difficult circumstances.

Looking ahead

Many questions remain unanswered from parents and children. When will the war end? Is there a ceasefire? What happened to my father who was arrested by the Israeli army? Will we return to our school? What about our teachers and classmates who were killed in this war? Where is our home, and in which house? How can we make or find food? I want to buy clothes; we need a tent to live in. Faced with these questions, we stand helpless, as there are no answers to these questions. No countries in the world can answer them in the face of the might and aggression of the Israeli war machine.

Everyone’s hope for a future life has been shattered, as the students reported when asked about their outlook for the future. Their responses were heartbreaking:

“There is no future; the future is gone. There is no hope.”

This is the language of children, and I convey it to you. We stand together to protect our students and keep the flame of their right to education, towards providing sustainable, equitable, and dignified education for all. We will not leave anyone behind due to the atrocities of the Israeli war.

I wish you a day and times filled with hope and peace.

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

“Around the world, people are rethinking their ways of working: whether due to the increasingly incandescent disaster that is human-driven climate change or the more recent outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). This is an opportunity to develop and implement better ways of working and deliver greater, more sustainable impact that decolonises existing power relations.”

‘Climate change – rethinking the way we work’ by Rachel Bowden with Juliette Myers and Anise Waljee, EENET, 15 March 2020

Rethinking who the experts are

Three years have passed since we published the blog entry quoted above. The COVID-19 pandemic became an opportunity for EENET to radically change the way it worked. For almost two years all our work was done remotely, through online meetings, emails, and text messaging. The change that excited us was the increased opportunity to work with, support and mentor local expertise.

EENET has always been committed to supporting education stakeholders, consultants, advocates and trainers within the countries where we work to become more experienced and skilled. We used to ask donors and clients for budgets and timelines that would enable our international consultants to work alongside and mentor national counterparts, with the longer-term ambition of reducing or removing the need for international consultants in many activities. But some clients and funders did not want to pay for the extra cost or take the extra time, preferring only to fund the international consultants’ costs and leaving it to ‘someone else’ to support national expert capacity building.

When COVID-19 stopped all international travel, suddenly the vital importance of national consultants, advocates and trainers could not be ignored. We invested a lot of energy (and client/donor funds) into quickly developing ways to remotely support and mentor a range of personnel in countries where we were involved in projects so that they could carry out work previously done by visiting international consultants. Of course, it would have been easier if we had been able to work consistently on this process over a long period before the pandemic, rather than it being an emergency measure.

Discussions around power relationships and institutional inequality in humanitarian and development work are not new. The discourse received impetus in May 2020 when the killing of George Floyd by US police spotlighted institutional racism around the world. And the pandemic offered an unusual opportunity to interrupt further the balance of power among experts in development and humanitarian work. But where are we heading now?

International consultants can travel again, and NGO and government budgets are squeezed by economic crises. What will happen if clients/donors revert to the pre-2020 routine of employing international consultants and strive to avoid the extra cost and time often needed to simultaneously intensively mentor local expertise? What if they choose only to work with the (usually less expensive) national consultants, advocates and trainers who were fast-tracked into new roles during the pandemic but refuse to take (financial) responsibility for further professional development for them?

EENET calls on donors and NGOs to value the (perhaps unplanned and unintended) progress of interrupting the reliance on international consultants and find ways to keep investing in challenging the balance of power among inclusive education experts.

Rethinking our environmental impact

The pandemic made it much easier for EENET to move towards its environmental policy ambitions – stopping harmful international travel was easy when no travel was allowed! In 2022, travel fully resumed and projects expected international consultants to return to in-person work. This reignited dilemmas for EENET around how we move towards reducing our carbon footprint.

We are also challenged to rethink EENET’s core networking and information-sharing activities. Since we were established in 1997, we have prioritised providing hard-copy materials to education stakeholders considered ‘hardest to reach’. Free printed materials for those without internet access is something we still passionately support. But how do we square that with the environmental impact of printing and sending materials around the globe? And how do we afford it now that printing and international postage and courier costs are soaring? But if we don’t maintain hard-copy distribution, how can we reach our important offline audience, because EENET cannot single-handedly fix the digital divide?

We haven’t got all the answers! But here are some steps we have taken:

Localised printing (i.e., funding partners or cost sharing with partners in certain countries to print and distribute copies of Enabling Education Review). The printing is not necessarily cheaper, but we save money on international shipping and reduce our environmental impact. The downside is that this passes an extra workload to the selected partners who must get quotes, supervise the printing process and then distribute the copies. It also means we do intensive distribution in a few countries rather than dispersing copies across many countries.

USB flashdrives. We have distributed hundreds of flashdrives containing our video training packages, all editions of Enabling Education Review, and dozens of other inclusive education guides, training packages and posters. In a tiny package, we can distribute an entire library which the recipient can access without needing the internet. The recipient still needs a computer or tablet, of course. The downside is that flashdrives can be subject to customs duties on arrival, although we try to pre-pay duty wherever the option exists, and flashdrives often get ‘lost’ in the postal system.

You can order an EENET flashdrive through our online shop.

Hand-delivery. We have always ensured that consultants carry as many EENET materials as possible when they visit a project. These days paying for a little excess luggage on a flight can be cheaper than sending a large package by post or courier. If you are based in the UK, visit education projects in other countries, and would like to take some free EENET materials to distribute to your partners/colleagues, please contact us to make arrangements.

Constant reflection and action for change

During our AGM in 2022, we discussed how to continue reducing our carbon footprint, how to question assumptions around international consultants’ travel to projects, and how to push for change. We recognised that change will be incremental, and probably there will be steps forward and back. But the climate crisis and the urgent need to challenge unequal power relations in development and humanitarian work mean EENET will continue to reflect critically on everything we do and will remain committed to having difficult conversations with donors and clients.

Annette Rebentisch and Ingrid Lewis, EENET

May 2023

Author: Takyiwa Danso, Sightsavers, September 2022

We’re setting homework for global education leaders to protect the rights of children with disabilities. Here’s why we’re doing it.

World leaders and the international education community convene in New York on 19 September at the Transforming Education Summit (TES). The summit will mobilise political ambition, action and solutions to transform the future of education and accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) – inclusive and equitable education for all children and young people.

In preparation for the summit, over the last few months education ministers have been focusing on the key areas that need attention for transformative change in our education systems: inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools; learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development; teachers and the teaching profession; digital learning; and financing of education.

But while discussions have highlighted the many challenges faced by children and young people around the world, the 240 million children with disabilities are being forgotten. Widening inequalities, global austerity cuts to education budgets, the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change threaten the future of learning for all, but the impacts for children with disabilities are disproportionately higher.

What is the issue?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, children with disabilities were already among the most excluded from learning. Nearly 49% of children with disabilities worldwide were likely to have never attended school, and even if they did, they were usually less likely to progress or receive proper support within the school system. Girls with disabilities often experience double discrimination based on their gender and disability, facing even more barriers to participating fully in society.

We know pandemic-related school closures disrupted lives of millions of children around the world, but for many children with disabilities the impact has been devastating. Schools are integral to the life and wellbeing of all children, as places for learning, personal development, socialising and receiving other vital services including meals and hygiene care. But the sudden shift to remote schooling often left children with disabilities unable to continue learning and cut them from the benefits of the school environment.

Pre-existing digital inequalities have worsened. While more than 90% of countries offered some form of distance learning, at least 31% of children were unable to benefit from this due to limited access to internet and technology, inaccessible tools, or lack of access to tools.

Children with disabilities already faced numerous barriers to learning and by not including them in the pandemic recovery, they risk being left behind for good. The window of time to enact change and get back on track to achieve SDG4 is narrowing.

What are we calling for at the summit and why?

Until now, there has been a lack of urgency to use the TES to demand more inclusive education systems. Sightsavers and partners are calling for world leaders to act now so that the 240 million children living with disabilities around the world can access their right to a quality, inclusive education.

We want to see world leaders deliver on their promise to ‘leave no one behind’ by ensuring disability inclusion is fully embedded into their national and global education plans. That’s why through our #DoYourHomework campaign we’re setting world leaders six pieces of homework to build an inclusive education system.

1. Sociology homework: Include children with disabilities in mainstream education and collect data that includes everyone
2. Economics homework: Invest in inclusive training, so that teachers can respond to diverse learning needs and develop flexible curriculums for all children
3. Politics homework: Implement policies, plans and budgets to include and support children with disabilities
4. Computing homework: Tackle the digital divide and ensure digital learning and other education technologies are accessible for all
5. Maths homework: Allocate sustainable financing for inclusive education so that all children with disabilities can learn
6. Design homework: Involve people with disabilities in all stages of inclusive education design and make sure their voices are heard

Through our education work, Sightsavers has demonstrated that change is possible and that when education systems are inclusive, children with disabilities can not only access school but can learn among their peers and thrive.

We have tested approaches that embed inclusive education at all levels of the education system including:

• developing inclusive participatory planning approaches in Nigeria
• training early years caregivers in inclusion in Malawi
• creating learning materials in accessible formats such as braille in Mali.

Governments must adopt these approaches and embed them in policy. Education transformation means doing things differently. Strong political leadership, sufficient financing, and the implementation of robust institutional frameworks founded on inclusion and equity are required to make quality education a reality for all children.

None of this is possible without the voices of people with disabilities at the helm of decision-making. The TES must ensure the full representation and participation of children and youth with disabilities, their families, and their networks. Their knowledge, expertise and experience are key to creating sustainable change.

Time is running out for us get on track to meet SDG4. Priorities defined at the TES have the potential to change the future of education. We’re looking to world leaders to do their homework to ensure education transformation is truly inclusive, so the 240 million children with disabilities worldwide are not left behind.

You can also find this blog on Sightsavers’ website.

This is the first of a series of posts about the 2021 UKFIET conference. Here, we provide an overview of the research presentation that Su Corcoran, Helen Pinnock and Rachel Twigg delivered as part of a panel on disability.

Background to the project

When schools were closed across the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of learners had to learn at home. Their parents and caregivers became responsible for delivering this education. There was an increase in the number and variety of home learning resources available through online platforms, but less focus was put into supporting learners with disabilities, especially in low-income contexts where access to the internet is limited. In partnership with the Norwegian Association of Disabled, EENET set out to develop easy-to-read resources and guidance to support learners,  their parents and caregivers with home learning.

We wanted to make sure that these materials matched a need. Therefore, we sought to understand what support and materials were already being provided for children’s home learning and the barriers learners faced trying to learn at home.

Two surveys were conducted. Over 1000 parents, teachers and other education system stakeholders from 27 countries completed an online survey. A second telephone survey reached 97 parents in Zambia and Zanzibar who had no access to the internet. In our UKFIET presentation, we explored the findings of both surveys, highlighting the major challenges identified by the respondents.

Challenges

The respondents raised the following concerns:

• They mentioned the additional risks faced by children who were already living in poverty. Families who relied on the informal labour market found that their income-generating opportunities decreased as non-essential businesses closed and they struggled to provide for their children.
• The focus on delivering education using radio, television and/or the internet may have provided quick and easy countrywide coverage. However, learners without access to radios, television or the internet were unable to use this provision.
• Parents mentioned uncertainty about how they were expected to take responsibility for their children’s learning. They wanted access to useful guidance, especially on adapting home learning materials.
• Not knowing when schools would reopen caused additional stress and worry for caregivers, indicating a need for mental health support during the crisis.
• Home learning provision did not always consider learners with disabilities. They were often invisible. For example, television programmes did not feature sign language; some mainstream schools stopped their additional rehabilitation and learning support provision; and school closures in some areas meant that access to medication ceased.

Successful experiences

A number of respondents described home learning support they perceived as successful. Despite the challenges mentioned above, lessons disseminated through television and radio broadcasts reached large numbers of learners in some countries such as Eswatini. Elsewhere, there was a focus on the distribution of hard copy materials that families without access to television, radio, or internet appreciated.

The most innovative use of online platforms came through teachers’ and parents’ use of social media. For example, teachers shared short videos through WhatsApp groups and used the platform to make regular contact with children (and their parents). Parents shared resources and other advice with each other through locally established peer-support WhatsApp groups.

In addition:

• In Jakarta, Indonesia, a stipend was available to families through the schools, enabling them to access the internet.
• In England, learners with educational health care plans were allowed to continue attending schools and other education programmes provided by disability centres.
• In northern Syria, electricity was more reliable at night. Night schools were set up that took advantage of this electrical supply.

Recommendations

The respondents suggested that when schools are closed good home learning for ALL learners requires: safe, healthy homes; local support networks for sharing resources and caring for each other’s children; access to electricity and the internet or to reading materials if this is not possible; input and/or support from educators to either provide home learning lessons or adapt general provision to make them accessible to learners with disabilities or additional needs. There is also a need to repair, strengthen or develop existing educational frameworks to improve on the conditions in which children may be expected to learn at home.

From the survey, we have identified five key recommendations:

1. Catch-up education, good nutrition and health support, and effective disability rehabilitation should be a focus to prioritise and encourage recovery from widened equity gaps when schools reopen.
2. Where possible, national human resource development strategies (such as education sector plans and donor support programmes) should prioritise electricity supplies and internet access for schools and wider neighbourhoods.
3. Teachers, schools and other local agencies providing education programmes need autonomy, access to appropriate (e.g. hard copy) resources and the ability to distribute these through their network to reach more children.
4. Learners experiencing crisis are under additional pressure. Learning resources should be designed to fit around the patterns of their lives. Parents need guidance to set up learning routines and adapt resources for children with disabilities and additional learning needs. The content of our home learning resources was therefore designed to integrate learning activities into daily routines.
5. Where possible, plans should be developed to support the mental health of young people and their parents. Such support could be integrated into the process of distributing educational content. It is also important to keep parents up to date on existing plans and possible changes.

More information about the home learning project is available on EENET’s website. Project reports and copies of the home learning resources and guidance can also be found there.

This blog post is based on data analysis conducted by Su Lyn Corcoran, Helen Pinnock and Rachel Twigg. The wider project team involved in developing the data generation, language translation, and project management for the surveys and the creation of the home learning resources includes: Sandrine Bohan-Jacquot, Hasmik Ghukasyan, Cotilda Hamalengwah, Alexander Hauschild, Mustafa Himmati, Said Juma, Moureen Kekirunga, Khairul Farhah, Khairuddin, Polly Kirby, Ingrid Lewis, Oleh Lytvynov , Duncan Little, Emma McKinney, Aubrey Moono, Alick Nyirenda, Ayman Qwaider, Paola Rozo, Hayley Scrase, Anise Waljee, and Jamie Williams.