Beirut 17 March 2017 – The peacebuilding organisation International Alert brought together over 40 representatives of Lebanese government, civil society, UN agencies and academia to discuss the potential of education to improve social stability in Lebanon. The conference ‘Education for Stability: Drawing on research and practice to inform cross-sector response’ was held as part of a research and networking project in partnership with Roskilde University in Denmark.
In light of the response to the Syrian crisis, education became a crucial sector, with a significant potential to contribute to social stability. Panellists from UNICEF Lebanon, American University of Beirut and Notre Dame University and participants used experiences from the field from the past few years and discussed how schools, civil society, institutions and communities can work together to support peaceful relations between refugee and host communities.
“Education is the largest and most funded sector and school is the place where early interactions take place. It therefore has a great potential to shape children’s perceptions of the other and contribute to the overall social stability of Lebanon”, said International Alert Lebanon Country Manager Chiara Butti.
In an upcoming report, International Alert examines how education can support social stability and positive relations among Syrian refugees and their host communities in Lebanon. Research findings reveal that challenges remain despite an unprecedented and welcomed move by the Lebanese government to open public schools to Syrian refugee children. The research also shows that non-formal education programmes with the right criteria, including community-based initiatives with longer-term funding, have greater impact in improving social cohesion among and between children and their families. The report recommends fostering a school environment that sustains the personal development of children, including their social skills, self-awareness and ability to deal with differences and conflicts without violence. It also recognises the role of non-formal education initiatives aimed at strengthening social stability, which complement efforts made by formal public schools, and encourages stronger coordination between formal and non-formal education providers.
These findings are very timely, as the education sector is now moving from providing emergency education towards shorter to medium-term solutions for the displaced Syrians in Lebanon, which has an impact on Syrian-Lebanese relations.
Michelle Pace, the Project Lead from Roskilde University, presented some of the findings from Denmark, where she focuses on unaccompanied Syrian refugee children: “This project is solution-oriented rather than problem-solving, which is why it is a priority for us to develop policy recommendations to support social cohesion initiatives in countries hosting Syrian refugees, in our case Denmark and Lebanon.”
The project is funded by the Fund for Academic Coordination and Exchange (FACE) as part of the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme (DAPP), which aims at strengthening academic relations between the Middle east and North Africa region and Denmark.
For more info: Yara El Moussaoui, Communications Department, International Alert Lebanon, +961-70-99 04 05, yelmoussaoui@international-alert.org Ilina Slavova, Senior Adviser, International Alert Lebanon, +961-71-92 38 12, ISlavova@international-alert.org
