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Rewrite the future

Peace begins in the minds of children. (Copyright: Save the Children Australia) 

 

"Education – the right kind of quality education – can... heal divisions and the traumas of war.  

A school can and should be a place of peace."

- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, in the foreword to our report Where Peace Begins 


Today's schools hold tomorrow's leaders and opinion makers, yet 37 million children are growing up with the effects of war and conflict and not going to school. Every day we are losing the opportunity to build peace through education.

 

Read our reports 

 

Where peace begins. (Copyright: Save the Children Australia)             Summary report (Copyright: Save the Children Australia)            One Year On Report(Copyright: Save the Children Australia)

Where Peace Begins (pdf)                  Summary Report (pdf)                   One Year On Report (pdf)

 

 

The Global Debate

"When you are educated... You can understand that war is not the best way out... 

because war is about misunderstanding." 

- Liberian primary school student

 

Child's drawing. (Copyright: Save the Children Australia)Our report Where Peace Begins sets out our experience and research on the importance of good education to build peace. But we know that there is a wide international community of others who have important experiences and expertise outside our own.


How do we make sure children receive the quality education that will help them build peace? 


We want your views to contribute to a body of evidence around education's links with peace and how it can be included in peace processes.

Please send your contribution to the global debate on education and peace to rewritethefuture@save-children-alliance.org  or Rewrite the Future, International Save the Children Alliance Secretariat, Cambridge House,100 Cambridge Grove, London, W6 0LE, UK.


The consultation period runs from 12 March to 21 September 2008. Save the Children will revise or add to the report at the end of 2008 based on the contributions we receive from you and others around the world.  When you submit a contribution to the global debate, you must own all rights to the content of your contribution or provide references to any citations. Your contribution needs to be publicly distributable on our website, and through other media. All contributions used will be fully referenced to you. 


These are the questions we want to answer with your input: 

  1. If the right sort of education is important to sustain a peaceful society, why is it not included in all peace agreements? 
  2. Who are the key actors (education and others) who peace negotiators engage with when deciding how education is to be included (or not) in a peace agreement, and how do education authorities play a role in this? 
  3. How does the role of education in promoting peace and stability differ between various contexts, for example in fragile states before a conflict, countries in the midst of conflict, and post-conflict situations? 
  4. Do you have evidence that you are willing to share (in the form of case studies or concrete examples) of where quality education has been implemented successfully in conflict situations and has made a difference to mitigating conflict? 
  5. What evidence do you have (perhaps from research or programme experience) that demonstrate which aspects of quality education promote peace? 
  6. Have you observed education systems that have undergone a positive transformation as a consequence of conflict? Please can you describe these and the key factors that transformed a negative situation into a positive situation.

 

Our global Rewrite the Future campaign

Education – a casualty of war

Good education rarely survives major conflict. Students and teachers often have to flee as school buildings are bombed or taken over by armed forces. As essential education money gets diverted towards military action, teachers’ salaries reduce and materials stop reaching the schools.  Many families can’t afford school costs and the children themselves are more urgently needed to help out at home. As a conflict continues, the hope of going to school fades. Without help, these children may never go back to school.  In Nepal, both Maoist rebels and government forces have used schools as battlegrounds and as barracks for fighters.

 

Scared of going to school

Fear can paralyse a child’s chance of education. Parents may be afraid to let their children – especially their daughters – out of their sight for fear that they will be abducted to become fighters or combatants’ wives.

During conflict, teachers forced to step in are often untrained and unpaid. This can put children more at risk, particularly as they’re less likely to get the emotional and psychological support they need.

In Uganda, up to 46 per cent of teachers are untrained, yet have to manage classes of up to 200.

 

Not staying the course

It is much less likely children living in conflict affected countries will stay in school. Many families are forced to flee their homes, and end up living in temporary accommodation where there is no access to schools.

Poor quality teaching, a lack of materials and disrupted classes mean some children leave before they complete primary school. Children who have started school late often can’t catch up because other responsibilities take priority over their education.

In Liberia, after 14 years of conflict, an estimated 60 per cent of primary school students are over-age.


Conflict puts society's most vulnerable children at terrible risk. Conflict can displace children, destroy schools and break down education systems.

 

What Save the Children is doing

Save the Children is working in conflict-affected countries to help three million children get a quality education by 2010.  A ‘One Year On' report has been published, which shows we have already made a direct difference to 3.4 million children, supported by fundraising of $240 million, and have begun to have a significant impact in making change for millions more.

Here are just a few examples of how we have already made a difference:

  • In Cambodia, 8819 children received access to education last year.
  • In Darfur, ten new primary schools were built, and in Nepal, 994 schools were renovated and three were newly constructed.
  • In Uganda, 8339 children gained access to schools thanks to the construction of 95 new classrooms. This reduced the pupil/classroom ratio in those schools by more than 25 per cent.
  • In Indonesia, we helped tutor 23,403 students in Aceh who were out of school for prolonged periods of time and behind schedule to prepare for the final national exam.
  • In Guatemala, we are improving access for Mayan children, who traditionally have lower rates of school enrolment. This includes training 90 teachers to work with children of different cultures and languages.
  • In Nepal, Save the Children is operating four transit centres for up to 200 former child soldiers, providing care and support services and vocational training. 
  • In Côte d’Ivoire, Save the Children delivered quality school materials to 14,267 children and 276 teachers in 46 schools.
  • In Indonesia, we provided 34,488 textbooks and 1,518 school kits benefiting 42,668 children in over 200 schools.
  • In Lebanon, we established 29 safe spaces centres for people who have been displaced, benefiting more 4,500 children. 
  • In Sri Lanka and Uganda, nearly 60,000 internally displaced and refugee children benefited from our educational support and creation of safe learning spaces in camps.

 

Thank you to all our supporters who have given so generously to this world wide campaign.  While the report demonstrates our progress one year on, substantial challenges lie ahead and we still need your help. 

  

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