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Education and Sustainability: innovating to build resilience in education
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the fragility of many of the systems that we live by today. For the education projects supported by Theirworld, it is clear that in order to keep going - to be sustainable - they have had to be even more adaptable and resilient than usual. Given the challenging environments many of these projects already operate in, this has been no small feat.
In 2013, more than 500,000 school-aged refugee children were living in Lebanon and very few were in school due to being displaced by the Syrian war. Theirworld funded a team of experts to work with the Government, international agencies and NGOs to develop a solution. The result was an innovative ‘double-shift school’ system in Lebanon, which saw Syrian refugee children use schools from 2pm onwards, after the Lebanese school day had ended.
Today, Theirworld continues to support the delivery of the double-shift schools, working in collaboration with local NGOs and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. However, due to political unrest and the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2019-2020 school year was severely disrupted in Lebanon. Parents became concerned their children would enter the next school year ill-prepared. To ensure that children were able to learn during school closures, we adapted our project activities so that teachers and special educators were able to reach children remotely via WhatsApp, with prepared videos and learning materials, and through Covid-19 safe distributions of activity packs at five pilot public schools.
Theirworld’s work to end the global education crisis is present in many countries around the world. For instance, another organisation Theirworld supports is the Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), which uses digital tools to deliver learning and skills programmes to young people and women in vulnerable communities in Kenya and Nigeria. YTF provides most of its digital skills programmes - such as Code Clubs for girls and Skills for Their Future initiatives - within school classrooms. So the Covid-19 shutdown meant delivering learning in different and innovative ways.
“We were thrown into this new world just like everyone else. We are used to pivoting but not to this scale,” said YTF founder and President Njideka Harry. The organisation’s short-term Covid-19 response included supporting 100 teachers at primary and secondary school levels in Nigeria and Kenya. Professional development workshops showed teachers how to move their class content online and share it with students.
“Our role has changed and the role of the teachers that we work with has changed,” said Harry. “They are no longer the sage on the stage, they are now the guide on the side, as the students themselves have to lead their own learning. When teachers in Nigeria and Kenya go to teacher training college, they are shown how to teach using a pen and paper, with barely a mention of digital. So it is something that many have never seen. Some had never used email”. For all the suffering and disruption it has caused, the pandemic has also provided the chance to give teachers new, sustainable skills.
Amid Covid-19, governments, aid agencies and businesses are facing recession, budget cuts and competing priorities. In response, Theirworld has launched The Key - a comprehensive information resource to help everyone make a clear and robust case for education.
The free digital report is crammed with messages, statistics, taking points and infographics about dozens of subjects where education plays a key role - from climate change and inequality to public health and financial literacy. With education spending under threat, it is more important than ever to protect education and make its provision as resilient and sustainable as it deserves to be.
Please take a look at www.theirworld.org.
BY REBECCA SHARKEY, CAMPAIGN AND ADVOCACY MANAGER, THEIRWORLD, FOR ENGAGE 2020
BY REBECCA SHARKEY, CAMPAIGN AND ADVOCACY MANAGER, THEIRWORLD • May 7, 2021
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.
Last year the Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the work of The Federation of Drama Schools by providing financial aid to new graduates, enabling them to take part in an industry showcase at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The showcase is an annual event for Irish graduates who have completed a professional training at one of the Federation’s partner conservatoires in the UK, introducing young actors to the industry they hope to work in. The Federation of Drama Schools partners are institutions that provide conservatoire vocational training for those who want to be professional performers, theatre makers and technical theatre practitioners. The courses they offer are for students of eighteen years and over, who have completed their school level education. In November (2024) fourteen young Irish graduates took part in the showcase and the SSF provided financial support to two graduates who may not otherwise have been able to take part in this showcase, which is a bridge between training and their professional career. Melanie Lavery from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is one of those who benefitted from this support. Melanie writes of her experience. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Steve Sinnott Foundation for the support I received, making it possible for me to take part in the Dublin Showcase 2024. The opportunity allowed me to work with graduates from across FDS schools and widen my contacts in the industry. Coming from a socio-economically deprived area, I’ve often missed out on opportunities available to my peers. I have had to spend a lot of energy during my three years in drama school working to support myself and this has meant I often don’t have time to follow up network opportunities. In receiving this sponsorship and taking part in the showcase I have been able to connect with other Irish creatives - the people I am acting opposite, directors, casting directors and agents in the industry. These industry showcases are so important for graduates. It gives us the possibility of networking with industry professionals and hopefully the opportunity of taking that first crucial step into the profession we have trained for. As I studied in Wales, it gave me the chance to return to Ireland and to reach out to creatives there. The Foundation gave me this amazing opportunity to kick start my career in my home country. On the day of the showcase, I had such pride watching my fellow Irish peers performing on stage at Ireland’s National Theatre. Working together throughout the rehearsal period, I got to know them individually and we all helped each other to grow as performers. This showcase has helped me to create my own community of actors around me. When it came to talking with other creatives after the show case, I became so much more aware of how large and welcoming the industry is in Ireland and how much work is being produced here. I think this show case is so important as it highlights how vibrant and growing the industry is in Ireland. I feel so lucky that I was able to take part thanks to the help of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. For more information on the Federation of Drama Schools, professional industry showcases, and it’s partner schools please visit www.federationofdramaschools.co.uk
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