In conflict & disaster, education systems face multiple risks, say experts at CIES

March 8, 2016

4 min read

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In conflict & disaster, education systems face multiple risks, say experts at CIES

By Jillian Slutzker

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Vancouver—In conflict-affected and disaster-prone communities, education programs cannot succeed unless they take into account the dynamics and risks associated with these unique environments, said a panel of experts at the Comparative and International Education Society conference on March 7.

With massive levels of displacement and trauma often caused by these crises, “we know you cannot do business as usual in these contexts,” said James Rogan, a principal consultant at Exterion and a key advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Education in Crisis and Conflict Network.

Rogan said that in these already precarious situations “no intervention is neutral.”

To mitigate the chance of heightening existing risks and increase the likelihood of effectively reaching learners, implementers must assess the conflict dynamics or disaster risks at play—including sources of grievances, potential community connectors, capacities for resilience and ongoing vulnerabilities to health hazards, natural disasters or renewed conflict.

Assessing conflict and education in Northern Nigeria

In the rural communities of Yobe state in Northern Nigeria, for example, food insecurity was already high and access to education was limited even before Boko Haram ramped up its attacks on schools in late 2013.

As school attacks surged, an already tenuous education system and its learners faced a compounded level of risk, explained panelist Jeffrey Coupe, Senior Education Associate at Creative Associates International.

In Yobe state alone, Boko Haram has destroyed or damaged more than 300 schools. Some 23,000 households have been displaced by the violence, said Coupe, and nearly 30 percent of the displaced population is between the ages of 6 to 17.

“As the situation goes on [those families] may be forced to withdraw kids from school, sell their animals……You may find the wholesale depletion of a livelihood,” said Coupe.

To respond to the unique educational needs of displaced children and youth, Creative is implementing the Nigeria Education Crisis Response Program, which is funded by USAID. To date, the program has reached more than 30,000 out-of-school, displaced children and youth in four states in Northern Nigeria with quality and protective non-formal education and psychological and social support. The three-year program will ultimately reach more than 50,000 children and youth.

But, as Coupe explained, the conflict dynamics are in flux in Yobe and its neighboring states. Education programming takes place against this backdrop of insecurity and economic vulnerability.

The program uses a Community Education and Conflict Assessment tool to track these risks, determine population needs and adapt to emerging priorities and changes in the environment.

“Our purpose is to do no harm and to mitigate risk,” said Coupe.

The Community Education and Conflict Assessment examines five key domains: Access; protection and wellbeing, both in and out of school; teaching and learning quality; relevance of instruction; and policy and coordination, including community involvement and family priorities.

For example, families are asked their perceptions about their children’s return to school and what ongoing risks they may fear.

The Community Education and Conflict Assessment triangulates data using in-depth interviews, community focus groups, secondary data from local education officials and a review of incident reports by monitor groups, such as the United Nations Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs.

Through the assessment, the program has created a feedback loop and has been able to identify emerging needs for peace education, foundational skill development, safety and security, and livelihoods training, among others.

“We use the data to see if the methods we’re using are working…whether we have have the right people and are using the right tools so we can improve the methods over time,” said Coupe.

And while the Education Crisis Response program is only part of the solution, Coupe hopes this adaptive approach to education in conflict-torn Northern Nigeria will enable communities to become more resilient and rebound over time.

Overcoming barriers to multi-risk assessment in education

Despite the critical need for multi-risk assessments for education programs in conflict and disaster zones, panelists said, education implementers can be reluctant to conduct these analyses, which can be time consuming, incur additional costs and delve into political dynamics.

Often, there is a divide between the education field and traditional peacebuilding and humanitarian communities, where such assessments are commonplace, said USAID’s Rogan.

However, “there is really a need to paint the whole picture,” said Leonora MacEwan, Assistant Programme Specialist at the International Institute for Educational Planning at UNESCO, urging that these analyses inform programming and planning so education initiatives can be responsive and successful.

After all, said Rogan, for students, teachers, school and communities in these situations, exposure to multiple risks is unavoidable. Programs must be aware of the dynamics in order to mitigate the risks.

“The segmentation you see at our headquarters is very artificial if you are a learner in these environments,” said Rogan. “The school experiences everything.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”RELATED STORIES” cat_id=”124″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Nigeria launches USAID’s Northern Education Initiative Plus in Sokoto state

February 24, 2016

2 min read

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Nigeria launches USAID’s Northern Education Initiative Plus in Sokoto state

By Boco Edet Abdul

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Sokoto — More than 100 elected officials and community leaders kicked off the Northern Education Initiative Plus program in the state of Sokoto.

“The responsibility of ensuring that every child accesses education lies on everyone and not just government alone,” said Nigeria’s foremost religious leader, His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who was at the Feb. 16 launch of the project. “As traditional leaders, we will support to enforce punitive laws against parents who refuse to send their children to school.”

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Northern Education Initiative Plus is a five-year, Nigerian government-led project designed to reach nearly 1.6 million children in first to third grades. It also targets more than 500,000 out-of-school children and youth attending some 11,000 Non-formal Learning Centers in three states—including Sokoto. It is implemented by Creative Associates International, three other global organizations and four Nigerian NGOs.

Sokoto state has recently repositioned its education sector for advancement. A state of emergency was declared on the sector backed by 27 percent of its budgetary allocation for 2016.

Access and quality

Creative President Leland Kruvant with USAID Nigeria Mission Director Michael Harvey and the Education Commissioner of Sokoto.

Education investment in Sokoto state will revolve around two priorities—access and quality. The state government has proposed in its budget to expand school facilities, train teachers and adopt a school feeding program all geared towards making education accessible especially to vulnerable groups.

The focus of the Northern Education Initiative Plus “strengthens the state government’s plans and strategies for the advancement of education in the state,” said Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal. “It rhymes perfectly with our declaration for the state of emergency on education.”

Before this initiative, Sokoto has benefitted from a number of earlier interventions funded by USAID, including the Northern Education Initiative.

The U.S. government’s sustained investment in the state is driven by the desire to “meet the yearnings of parents for quality early grade reading instruction for their children especially girls,” said USAID Nigeria Mission Director Michael T. Harvey.

Focus on girls & at-risk school-aged children

The five-year Northern Education Initiative Plus project will strengthen the states’ ability to provide quality education—especially for girls, orphans and children enrolled in nontraditional schools—and improve children’s reading skills. In addition to Sokoto, the project includes the state of Bauchi. A third state will be announced.

Creative and its partners will focus on building programmatic ownership among federal, state and Local Government Education Authorities, as well as increase their commitment to quality early grade reading instruction and increased access.

The project seeks to strengthen Local Government Education Authorities’ ability to better train and manage teachers, along with improving their capability to plan, budget and deliver on professional development, ensure school governance, mobilize community support for learning and the timely distribution of materials.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Nigeria: Disabled & displaced, program helps the most vulnerable

February 18, 2016

1 min read

More than 2.2 million Nigerians have been displaced by violent extremists. Unfortunately, the physically disabled–who are already marginalized–are even more vulnerable when terror strikes. The USAID Education Crisis Response program is providing opportunities to school-aged children and youth who have been displaced by the insurgents—and are physically disabled.

Nigeria: Agricultural support for displaced Nigerians

February 18, 2016

1 min read

Displaced families living in the city of Gombe are growing essential grains and raising chickens through a pilot program. USAID’s Education Crisis Response project and the U.N. Development Program teamed up to provide more than 350 internally displaced families now living in Gombe with agricultural assistance. From seeds to fertilizer and baby chicks to baby fish, the joint initiative ensures the most vulnerable in these communities can feed their families and move beyond subsistence living.

Unprecedented database of electoral violence could result in safer elections

February 10, 2016

4 min read

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Unprecedented database of electoral violence could result in safer elections

By Jillian Slutzker

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Groundbreaking research analyzing more than two decades of electoral violence will generate insights that could lead to safer elections—as well as surprises about perpetrators of malfeasance.

The Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence project, which is implemented jointly by the University of Glasgow and Creative Associates International, will deliver new tools and research to support electoral management bodies and development practitioners in keeping elections secure.

Sarah Birch, Ph.D., of the University of Glasgow, unveiled early findings from the three-year research project on electoral violence, which is building the world’s largest electoral violence database to date.

“The main impetus for doing this research was to help people like you better do what you do to detect and prevent electoral violence,” Birch told a group of electoral security practitioners at the launch of a new Electoral Violence Affinity Group on Feb. 4 at the Alliance for Peacebuilding in Washington, D.C.

With a team of researchers and computer scientists, Birch and Jeff Fischer, Creative’s Senior Electoral Advisor, are currently developing two datasets: a macro-level dataset examining elections worldwide from 1995 to 2015; and a micro-level dataset cataloguing specific incidents of electoral violence since 2009, through data mining of social media and online news reports.

The incident-level dataset will ultimately result in a real-time tool for observers and electoral management bodies to monitor and forecast incidents of electoral violence, and then plan prevention and mitigation activities accordingly.

Authorities more likely to be perpetrators

Sarah Birch Ph.D., of the University of Glasgow, revealed early research findings from the Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence Project, which is examining elections worldwide from 1995 to 2015. Photo by Ursala Knudsen-Latta, Alliance for Peacebuilding.

To date, Birch and her team have completed their macro level data set for elections in Africa from 1995 to 2014.

The research shows that state actors have been the biggest perpetrators of electoral malfeasance and violence on the continent, explained Birch, but this largely consists of threats rather than actual assaults. While non-state actors are less likely to commit such acts, their actions are more likely to be violent.

The findings also reveal a U-shaped relationship between the state’s concentration of power and the likelihood of electoral violence.

“At one end of the spectrum you have state failure,” said Birch. “At the other extreme you have an authoritarian state where violence is concentrated in the hands of a few people and people don’t really participate in any legitimate decision making.”

The data also revealed an inverse correlation between economic development and levels of electoral violence, as well as an increase in the chances of electoral violence following a recent regime change.

For actors wishing to influence the system, “instability equals opportunity,” said Birch.

Call for input from electoral assistance providers

Birch issued a call for electoral security practitioners to submit electoral assistance project documents to the Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence project for research on best practices in prevention.

“This would be very useful for us because we can use it to extract from that who’s been doing electoral violence prevention work in the field and link that up to our datasets.”

By running analysis of the types of interventions, randomized, and coded to protect the identity of implementers, overlaid with the macro-level and incident-level datasets on electoral violence, Birch and her team seek to gauge what types of interventions have contributed to mitigating or preventing electoral violence.

She wants to find out “what works, where, under what conditions and why?” with the goal of keeping more elections secure in the future.

“The reason we’re doing this project is that we want to have an impact….We want to link up with people who will be able to benefit from the data analysis…and [use] the methods in field.”

New affinity group launched

Alliance for Peacebuilding’s new Electoral Violence Affinity Group launched on Feb. 4. The group will facilitate collaboration among practitioners working on electoral security across countries and regions. Photo by Ursala Knudsen-Latta, Alliance for Peacebuilding.

Birch announced preliminary findings of the study on Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence during the inaugural meeting of Alliance for Peacebuilding’s new Electoral Violence Affinity Group, co-convened with Creative, which will share resources and lessons learned in the field.

“There is a community out there doing electoral violence prevention, but there really isn’t a mechanism for us to communicate and coordinate,” said Creative’s Jeff Fischer.

The group will facilitate collaboration among practitioners working across countries and regions so that electoral violence prevention work in Latin America, for example, can benefit from best practices or successful approaches in Africa or other regions.

Group members also emphasized the importance of thinking “significantly down the line” at the forecast for potential electoral violence years ahead and what preventative actions could be taken now.

To learn more about the Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence Project or to read the blog, visit: http://www.electoralviolenceproject.com/

To join Alliance for Peacebuilding’s Electoral Violence Affinity Group, visit: https://alliancepeacebuilding.z2systems.com/np/clients/alliancepeacebuilding/subscribe.jsp?subscription=163&[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”RELATED STORIES:” cat_id=”125″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Creative opens innovative early childhood education center in Lusaka

February 2, 2016

4 min read

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Creative opens innovative early childhood education center in Lusaka

By Jillian Slutzker

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Grinning widely and bouncing with anticipation, 15 young children in Lusaka, Zambia entered school for the first time on Feb. 1.

As the inaugural class of “Mimi’s Place,” a first of its kind early childhood education center using The Creative Way methodology, these children will access early learning opportunities that boost their chances of success in school.

Targeted to children ages 3 to 6, the program is designed to “build their self-confidence and help their parents understand the progress their child is making as they approach the age of formal schooling,” says Janet Robb, international education expert and a lead advisor in the development The Creative Way method.

Utilizing children’s innate predisposition for learning, The Creative Way provides guidelines for the physical space of the learning environment, as well as teaching pedagogy, curriculum and learning assessments.

At Mimi’s Place, Robb explains, The Creative Way is customized to the culture, social norms and curriculum guidelines of Zambia.

In its pilot phase, the center will serve the children of Zambian staff of Creative Associates International’s USAID Read to Succeed project, which is headquartered in Lusaka.

Mimi’s Place founders say the center is part of a larger strategy and commitment by Creative to recognize local staff through increased workplace support and innovative opportunities to attract more women to the workforce, inculcate a culture of learning and demonstrate the value of preschool education.

Early education for the best start in life

The center is named for Creative’s late co-founder Mimi Tse, who worked to expand access to quality education to children around the world, no matter their neighborhood or socioeconomic status. Photo by Nephas Hindamu.

Studies show that children who complete a well-designed early childhood education program are more likely to enroll in primary school and have higher achievement outcomes than their peers who did not access such pre-primary learning opportunities.

Early childhood education programs have also been linked to better economic prospects for individuals and countries and may contribute to a reduction in levels of inequality.

“The benefits of a strong educational foundation early in life are tremendous,” says Charito Kruvant, Co-Founder and CEO of Creative Associates International and the driving force behind The Creative Way. “If we hope to build stronger, more stable communities, we must start with the youngest members of society.”

The Creative Way strategy supports the government of Zambia’s strategic plan to ensure that all children have a preschool experience prior to entering first grade. Preschool education is rare in the country, and it is an opportunity about which the parents of Mimi’s Place learners are excited.

“I want [my daughter] to learn,” says Jacob Mtonga, the caretaker of the USAID Read to Succeed office and father of six-year-old Ennea. “None of my children have had an opportunity to go through preschool, as they go straight into grade one. However, the biggest advantage is that it is free education.”

Mimi’s Place educators lead the children through play, exploration and hands-on experimentation to instill a thirst for knowledge, respect, independence, responsibility, motivation and decision-making. Photo by Nephas Hindamu.

Jomo Simbaya, an accountant with USAID Read to Succeed and the father of four-year-old Bukata says he is confident that by the time his son leaves Mimi’s Place “he will be ready to be in grade one at any primary school.”

Ennea, Bukata and the other learners at Mimi’s Place, say its founders, will get a head start in education. By learning foundational reading and numeracy skills as well as social studies, health and nutrition skills—all through supervised, safe, fun and exciting play and exploration—they will better prepared for the Zambian schools system.

“Their day-to-day play and learning activities are in sync with the Zambian primary school curriculum, ensuring that their experience gives them a head start for schooling and will be a lifelong foundation for healthy productive lives,” says Bradford Strickland, Senior Associate for School and Community Health at Creative and an instrumental figure in the launch of Mimi’s Place.

Local leadership for sustainability

The Creative Way strategy supports the government of Zambia’s plan to ensure that all children have a preschool experience prior to entering first grade. The method improves children’s chances of success in primary school. Photo by Nephas Hindamu.

With an eye toward sustainability, two Zambian early childhood educators, trained by Creative in The Creative Way methodology, will lead the children at Mimi’s Place through play, exploration and hands-on experimentation aimed at instilling a thirst for knowledge, respect, independence, responsibility, motivation and decision-making.

The Mimi’s Place team, which also includes two Zambian support staff—a school assistant and a cook—will work hand-in-hand with parents. Local ownership of The Creative Way is key to its success.

“Mimi’s Place has the potential to a showcase, a model for others to emulate,” says Robb. “It is an excellent demonstration of what can be accomplished with locally available resources and professionals when guided by sound methodology and guidelines.”

Honoring a true advocate for early childhood education

Named for Creative’s late co-founder Mimi Tse, who retired in September 2015, Mimi’s Place is a testament to her belief that a strong start in life was invaluable. Access to quality education, she believed, could place children on a path out of poverty and toward success.

Throughout her career, Tse worked to expand access to quality education to children around the world, no matter their neighborhood or socioeconomic status.

“Mimi’s Place in Lusaka, Zambia, is the brainchild of Creative Co-Founder Charito Kruvant and a fitting tribute to one of Creative’s founders, the late Mimi Tse,” says Robb.

With reporting by Nephas Hindamu.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”RELATED STORIES” cat_id=”129″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

New project to set up early warning systems for conflict in West African elections

January 5, 2016

3 min read

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New project to set up early warning systems for conflict in West African elections

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]WASHINGTON, DC—Fifteen West African countries will receive support to prevent and manage conflict and violence through a new U.S. Agency for International Development program implemented by Creative Associates International. www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com.

The five-year “Reacting to Early Warning and Response Data in West Africa” project (called REWARD) will support the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) use of innovative technology and apply best practices to detect and respond to conflict across the region from political violence, violent extremism, and ethnic conflict to sectarian tensions, perpetration of atrocities and organized crime. This assistance is from the American people.

“By enhancing the ability of ECOWAS to identify conflicts before they escalate and rapidly respond using a variety of political, security and assistance mechanisms, the project will support ECOWAS’ goal of catalyzing a sustainable culture of conflict prevention throughout West Africa,” says Tom Wheelock, Senior Vice President at Creative.

West African states have also experienced multiple outbreaks of election-related violence in recent years, which has prompted USAID and regional stakeholders to seek effective conflict prevention and mitigation mechanisms.

“REWARD presents the opportunity to build capacity in preventing electoral violence in four ECOWAS member states together with local partners in the region,” says Jeffrey Carlson, Director of Electoral Education and Integrity at Creative.

Civil society and ECOWAS member states will be key partners in helping to improve the effectiveness of conflict response initiatives.

Creative will carry out the project in partnership with two nonprofit organizations: Fund for Peace, a global leader in early warning and conflict assessment with experience in more than 50 countries; and Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, a leading peacebuilding implementer with programs in more than 25 conflict-affected countries.

Early warning & electoral violence expertise

Creative’s Electoral Education and Integrity Practice Area is a leader in international electoral monitoring and security, having conducted electoral security assessments in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Colombia, Haiti, Guatemala, the Philippines, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In May, Creative’s team piloted a unique early warning system using social media analysis to track incidents of electoral violence in Guyana’s national elections.

In partnership with USAID, Creative’s Electoral Education and Integrity team has published two handbooks on Best Practices in Electoral Security and an Electoral Security Framework. These handbooks lay out approaches to identifying risk factors for electoral violence, and designing and implementing strategies to prevent, mitigate and mediate it when it does occur.

About Creative Associates International

Creative Associates International works with underserved communities by sharing expertise and experience in education, economic growth, governance and transitions from conflict to peace. www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com

Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has active projects in more than 15 countries. Since 1977, it has worked in nearly 90 countries and on almost every continent. Recognized for its ability to work rapidly, flexibly and effectively in conflict-affected environments, Creative is committed to generating long-term sustainable solutions to complex development problems.

Started by four enterprising women with diverse backgrounds, Creative has grown to become one of the leaders among the U.S. private sector implementers of global development projects. Creative is minority owned and operated.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”RELATED STORIES” cat_id=”170″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

West Africa – REWARD I & II

Program

2 min read

West African states have experienced multiple incidents of violence and conflict. Preventing and mitigating such political violence is essential to building a stable and healthy democratic society.

The five-year “Reacting to Early Warning and Response Data in West Africa” project (called REWARD) and its three-year follow-on, REWARD II, supported the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) use of innovative technology and applied best practices to detect and respond to conflict across the region from political violence, violent extremism and ethnic conflict to sectarian tensions, perpetration of atrocities and organized crime.

REWARD II further addressed democratic backsliding in target countries through a combination of approaches that prevented or mitigated conflict related to governments’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic and helped to address existing security vulnerabilities that were aggravated due to COVID-19-related limitations and restrictions.

This U.S. Agency for International Development program was implemented by Creative Associates International.

Building on Creative’s expertise in early warning and electoral security, the project supported ECOWAS’ goal of catalyzing a sustainable culture of conflict prevention throughout West Africa and boosted the capacity of ECOWAS member states and local partners to prevent electoral violence. REWARD also worked with ECOWAS on a suite of early warning and early response processes and planning tools, including the Joint Analysis and Response Planning (JARP) Compendium. This compendium of frameworks and manuals details a holistic and collaborative human security early warning and early response system.

Civil society and ECOWAS member states were key partners in helping to improve the effectiveness of conflict response initiatives.

Creative carried out the project in partnership with two nonprofit organizations: Fund for Peace, a global leader in early warning and conflict assessment with experience in more than 50 countries; and Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, a leading peacebuilding implementer with programs in more than 25 conflict-affected countries.

Community Risk and Vulnerability Assessments by Country:

Countries

Benin
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Gambia, The
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
Mali
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo

Creative Associates appoints leader of Africa strategy

December 17, 2015

1 min read

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Creative Associates appoints leader of Africa strategy

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]A development expert with more than 25 years of experience in Africa has been named Senior Director of Africa Strategy at Creative Associates International.

“Semere is an exceptional leader who is able to use decades of outstanding program management and vision to improve the lives of people around the world,” says Leland Kruvant, President of Creative Associates International. “We are fortunate to have someone of Semere’s extensive knowledge leading Creative’s Africa strategy.”

Kruvant noted that Creative has worked in more than 20 African countries.

Solomon recently led Creative’s team that was awarded the five-year, $117 million USAID Northern Education Initiative Plus project to improve access to quality education for school-aged children in three northern states.

He currently oversees Creative’s successful USAID Education Crisis Response program, which focuses on supporting internally displaced children in Northern Nigeria.

In addition to his new role, Solomon will continue to manage both Nigerian projects.

Solomon’s experience in systems development includes more than seven years of successfully directing the formation of education policy, human resource development, teacher training, research, planning and Education Management Information System as a Director General of Planning and Development in the Ministry of Education in his native Eritrea. He also served in several senior positions with UNESCO.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”PRESS RELEASES” cat_id=”170″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Creative & American University partner to identify lessons learned in reconciliation

December 14, 2015

5 min read

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Creative & American University partner to identify lessons learned in reconciliation

By Jillian Slutzker

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]In the past five years, 15 conflicts around the globe have either erupted or reignited, displacing some 60 million people, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Renewed conflict in many of these hotspots— Cote D’Ivoire, Yemen and South Sudan, for example—underscores the pressing need for durable solutions, beyond a mere ceasefire.

Through a research partnership, Creative Associates International and the American University School of International Service identified lessons learned in reconciliation efforts to improve on-the-ground programming and support post-conflict societies in achieving sustainable peace.

“When done well, reconciliation efforts transform an environment and build cohesion in broken societies. Our intention was to learn from both the theory and the practice of reconciliation so that we can ensure Creative’s efforts minimize the risk of post-conflict recidivism and maximize the opportunities for peace,” says Paul Turner, Senior Conflict Advisor at Creative, who oversaw the research project.

The research team—consisting of American University graduate students Alexsandra Canedo, Ashley Law, Justine O’Sullivan and Sacha Stein—examined four case studies of reconciliation efforts in post-conflict societies, including Indonesia, Liberia, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone.

While the term “reconciliation” is usually associated with efforts after a conflict has ended, the researchers say that their findings may have implications for communities in the midst of ongoing conflicts today.

“Programs can begin in the midst of violence if there is an interest and willingness to begin a peace process,” says Stein. “The conflict need not necessarily be completely resolved or finished in order for reconciliation programming to begin.”

Measuring cohesion

During and after conflict, relations between groups are fraught with mistrust. Neighbors may have perpetrated violence against one another, or government forces may have committed grave abuses against citizens.

Rebuilding relationships, establishing trust and creating cohesion is a key aim of reconciliation programs, and can be a critical buffer against reignited conflict, say the researchers.

To measure the effect of reconciliation programming in the four selected countries, the team evaluated each country using a modified version of the Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) index, which was developed by the United Nations Development Program in Cyprus, USAID and the Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development.

SCORE measures essential elements of reconciliation using indicators such as intergroup contact, perceptions of social threat and active discrimination. It also evaluates social cohesion with indicators such as satisfaction with civic life, freedom from corruption and trust in institutions.

The working hypothesis behind SCORE is that social cohesion affects or predicts reconciliation, and in turn, the propensity of a country to remain or become peaceful.

In their book “War and Reconciliation: Reason and Emotion in Conflict Resolution,” William Long and Peter Brecke, both professors of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology, researched 430 violent conflict in 109 countries.

Their research revealed that 64 percent of countries where at least one reconciliation event occurred—like a meeting between former opposing factions—did not return to violence. Only 9 percent of countries where no such event took place remained violence-free.

A hybrid approach for holistic change

The American University researchers examined a range of reconciliation approaches in each of the four selected countries, from truth telling sessions in Sierra Leone to interfaith dialogue in Liberia, land reallocation in Nicaragua and a national truth and reconciliation commission in Indonesia.

These initiatives were most effective, say the researchers, when various reconciliation activities originated from both the national level and the grassroots level.

In Indonesia, for example, a failed national truth and reconciliation commission gave way to numerous disparate local reconciliation efforts. While these local truth telling sessions and dialogues made headway in some communities, the results on a national level were mixed, says Stein.

“Grassroots actors took it upon themselves to initiate reconciliation programs in their specific communities, but because they are operating at the grassroots level, this has resulted in a somewhat disjointed sense of national reconciliation,” she says.

In Liberia and Nicaragua, by contrast, grassroots efforts to repair relationships and address psychological trauma from war were supplemented by government-led initiatives to address lingering grievances and acts committed during the conflict on a national scale.

“In Liberia and Nicaragua, society really benefited from the hybrid approach, which was a top down and bottom up relationship,” says Canedo.

For example, Canedo explains, when local mental health outreach in Nicaragua began to show success in helping survivors overcome conflict-related trauma, national actors scaled up the program—even inaugurating a Master’s degree program in mental health at a local university to expand the pool of qualified personnel available to assist victims of the conflict.

These local-national partnerships are critical to scaling up reconciliation efforts from a micro to macro level so that good programs “don’t remain localized in the context from which they emerged and are able to spread to wherever their presence is relevant,” says Stein.

Local knowledge for better interventions

International partners are also often key allies of national governments and grassroots organizations in scaling up effective reconciliation efforts.

However, the researchers caution that to succeed, each intervention must be tailored to the local context and take into account the specific traditions and grievances of its community members and stakeholders.

“Local consultation is the way to start your program,” says Law. “It helps to avoid that prescriptive, Western approach that sometimes actors have when they go into local communities.”

Law says that by including local actors in the design and implementation of reconciliation activities, implementers can grow local capacity and increase the chances of programmatic success and sustainability.

In Nicaragua, for example the Catholic Church, which is a very central institution in the lives of many citizens, played a key role in leading truth telling sessions in a familiar setting, which already had credibility in the eyes of both victims and perpetrators.

“The church created an alternative commission….and worked at a community level, getting victims and perpetrators together to discuss their issues within this sanctified setting and come up with resolution and ways forward,” says O’Sullivan.

Ultimately, says the research team, whether specific reconciliation activities take place on a grassroots or national level, and whether they target individual or collective grievances and healing, practitioners must keep in mind that reconciliation is a long and multipronged process. Healing, the researchers say, takes time.

“There is a difference between reconciliation and forced integration,” says Stein. “You don’t have to have [a population] give up their identity or give up their independence to have a reconciled environment. But you can build social cohesion and reduce the distance between populations.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”RELATED POSTS” cat_id=”130,131″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Tanzania’s teachers, officials seeing dividends from student-centric approach

December 1, 2015

4 min read

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Tanzania’s teachers, officials seeing dividends from student-centric approach

By Jennifer Brookland

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]The success of a five-year teaching and learning program in Tanzania is evident from the smallest of movements: the eyes of a second grade student glide competently across the pages of a book, his tongue easily forming the familiar words.

The boy, a pupil at Pagali Primary School in Zanzibar, spent his first two school years in classrooms that would surprise the average Tanzanian student.

With technology, teacher training and community support to boost children’s literacy and learning, he has benefitted from a student-centered approach that turned his classroom and indeed his whole school into a place where reading is encouraged and supported.

Tanzanian officials are taking note of the changes they see in classrooms like his, where teachers now emphasize interaction and group work, use teaching aids and technology and set aside special time for reading.

“What I have seen today is really fantastic,” said Parliament Member Mohamed Seif Khatib during a visit to Pagali School. “A standard two pupil reading a book competently…others operating computers at their early stages, a sign that there is a great effort [among] the project and other stakeholders taking place.”

The new classroom methods and materials were part of the USAID-funded Tanzania 21^st Century Basic Education Program, which worked in 900 primary schools in Mtwara and Zanzibar to enhance learning outcomes with an emphasis on early grade reading.

The program brought laptops with internet connections and video learning modules into classrooms where students were accustomed to watching nothing but the teacher pacing about and talking—traditional methods that have proven ineffective.

To view videos and stories from the program, please visit the Special Report: TANZANIA: Promoting reading through tech & teacher training.

Noticing a difference

With the new methods, teachers learned to make teaching aids from local materials they could easily procure at low cost in their schools or villages, and practiced leading children through games and songs that help the lessons stick.

They began to use a phonetic approach to teaching reading in a specific sequence, and followed up with children who needed extra attention.

To make all of these changes replicable, the program developed materials so that school heads and regional trainers could continue to educate, mentor and coach them. And it beefed up the resources available at Teacher Resource Centers in Mtwara and Teacher Centers in Zanzibar.

During her November 2015 visit to a Teacher Resource Center, Mtwara’s Regional Education Officer Fatma Kilimia was impressed by how much the space was now serving as a hub for teachers who wanted to progress.

“I will always remember TZ21 program for many things but mostly the improvement of Teachers Resource Centers in both Mtwara and Zanzibar,” Kilimia said. “They are well organized, strong, active and live.”

Kilimia took note of the teachers she observed in the centers, who were working in groups and participating in different in-service training sessions.

“Teachers were everywhere; in the computer room, in the library and others in the resource room. I have worked in several regions in this country, but I have never seen TRCs which are well organized and acting as a sole source of knowledge to teachers as I see these in Mtwara and Zanzibar,” she said.

Kilimia said she now considered the Teacher Resource Centers supported by TZ21 to be universities, where teachers can go to truly learn, find resources, ask questions and gain experience.

Broad support for reading

With high-level interest in the ways the program has boosted literacy for thousands of primary school students, TZ21 staff hope the approach can be expanded to reach even more.

And while regional and national officials will be key to this effort, so too will support from parents, teachers and community members who are becoming more and more involved in their children’s educations.

This kind of support is already making a difference at places like the Kiembesamaki Teacher Center in Zanzibar, where parents came together this month to create learning materials such as reading charts and homemade storybooks for use in local schools.

More than 50 mothers and fathers and 23 teachers used pink, blue and yellow colored paper to make alphabet, word and sentence cards their children would use to learn about sounds and syllables.

“There is evidence that awareness on the importance of collective participation on educational improvement has increased among the communities in Zanzibar,” says Hassan Libingai, TZ21’s Deputy Chief of Party in Zanzibar.

Libingai says the program used community engagement and mobilization programs like district dialogues and reading events to help bring parents closer to schools, and more involved in their children’s learning—something that is just as important as government support.

“The community now understands that they too are responsible in making sure that the pupils’ performance is good.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][list_category_posts_widget title=”RELATED POSTS” cat_id=”129″ order_by=”date” numberposts=”3″ excerpt=”yes” excerpt_size=”15″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Nigeria – Northern Education Initiative Plus

Program

3 min read

The Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Plus (NEI+) program improved access and quality of education for more than two million school-aged children and youth in two northern states.

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the five-year program strengthened the states’ ability to provide quality education—especially for girls, orphans and children enrolled in nontraditional schools—and improved children’s reading skills. NEI+ was implemented in Bauchi and Sokoto states.

Creative Associates International implemented NEI+ by using its “whole child, whole teacher, whole school, and whole system approach,” which addresses critical supply and demand factors that affect learning, teaching, management, parental participation and responsiveness to children’s needs.

Partnering with Creative were three U.S.-based international organizations—Education Development Center (EDC), Florida State University (FSU), Overseas Strategic Consulting (OSC)—and four local organizations—Value Minds, Association for Education Development Options (AEDO), Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA)and the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN).

Creative and its partners focused on building programmatic ownership among federal, state and Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs), as well as increased their commitment to quality early grade reading instruction and increased access.

The project strengthened LGEA’s ability to better train and manage teachers, as well as improved their capability to plan, budget and deliver on professional development, ensure school governance, mobilize community support for learning and the timely distribution of materials.

The USAID-supported program trained and equipped around 20,000 teachers and learning facilitators (LFs) who reached children in schools and non-formal learning centers.

By incorporating early grade reading instruction concepts, techniques, practice, and materials into national teacher training programs, graduates were equipped with a full set of instructional skills that with a direct and positive impact on their students’ primary school learning outcomes.

NEI+ reached nearly 1.4 million children in first to third grades, along with more than 400,000 out-of-school children and youth attending some 11,000 non-formal learning centers, adolescent girls learning centers and youth learning centers.

NEI+ builds on past successes

The program builds on the highly successful Nigeria Northern Education Initiative (NEI), which strengthened basic education systems in Bauchi and Sokoto by increasing access to quality basic education and social services.

Led by Creative and funded by USAID, the NEI project worked at the state level to build and improve teacher education and educational systems with a focus on learning, teaching, school management, parental participation and responsiveness to children’s needs.

NEI developed activity-based training manuals and trained 3,568 educators on how to teach literacy, math and life skills and provide psychosocial counseling to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). It also succeeded in integrating core basic education subjects into Qur’anic schools’ curricula, and worked with communities to provide care and support for OVCs.

To learn more about teacher engagement and improving their skills, please view this short video and read this article.

To learn more about Qur’anic schools, please view this short video.

The original NEI project saw a 33 percent boost in student enrollment in the states of Bauchi and Sokoto, with girls representing an impressive 38 percent jump. The NEI program concluded in 2014.