UN EDUCATION SUB-WORKING GROUP MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, 04 November 2020 11:00 – 12:00 VENUE: Yerevan, ARMENIA (Via Zoom)

UN EDUCATION SUB-WORKING GROUP MEETING

MINUTES

Wednesday, 04 NOvember 2020 11:00 – 12:00

Participating organizations:

19 participants from UN agencies, international organizations and international/local NGOs (see – attached Participants list) participated in the 2nd meeting of the Education Sub-Working Group.

Meeting agenda:

• Updates on the activities in ensuring access and continuance of education of student spontaneously arrived from NKR; • Discussion on future joint actions.

• UNICEF (Avlard Poghosyan) o Updates on UNICEF activities in ensuring access to education, particularly ▪ Starting from 04/11/2020 the distribution of school supplies to 10 municipalities (Ejmiadzin, Martuni, Jermuk, Yeghegnadzor, Sisian, Kapan, Goris, Ranchpar,Dilijan, Hrazdan) has started;

▪ Temporary learning spaces (space, where children can continue learning or prepare classes, when they are not in the school ) are planned to be established; (part of which is pilot project in Vayots Dzor marz) and teachers from NKR will be involved to assist overcoming the dialect barriers and the possible differences in curriculum. This project also has social integration component;

▪ 500 tablets will be provided to enable distance learning. The approach of the tablet distribution will be in line with the state policy, which means that the tablets will be provided to schools through marzpetaran education departments. The criteria for the distribution to children is that children from vulnerable families, CWD, children from families where there are three and more kids should be considered first.

• UNHCR (Inna Borisovich) ▪ Informed the participants, that the NAR from target municipalities are confidential, but after the finalization of NAR for 10 communities, a joint broad NAR will be developed and shared with the working group numbers, but there is no set deadline for the report.

▪ In response to the concern raised by OSF regarding the UN activities only in 10 municipalities, mentioned that the UN has formal request from the Government for only 10 municipalities, so can conduct needs assessments and based on the results, provide assistance only to those communities. The UN will extend its support once government allow them.

• Open society foundation (Larisa Minasyan) ▪ Updated that OSF allocated budget for school stationery, materials for learnings and some clothing for the distribution to children; ▪ Plans to implement modules for bridging underperformed children to the mainstream in the cooperation with the MoESCS; ▪ Assistance to the transportation of children to school will be provided in case schools will be opened, otherwise the assistance to the development of learning capacities will be facilitated; ▪ Pointed out the importance of understanding of the Government’s vision towards the organization of the educational process of arrived students to ensure the provision of meaningful and long-term assistance; ▪ Commented that they have some interaction with teachers, and they mentioned that classroom language is the same and there are no challenges of understanding of the dialect and also the curriculum is the same.

• International Red Cross Community (Grigori) ▪ Informed that rapid needs assessment was conducted, which is confidential, but the results of the report related to the educational part will be shared with the working group members; ▪ Updated on the process of ITC equipment procurement process; ▪ Informed about the confirmed budget for procurement of 100 school bags with stationary for arrived students, which will probably go to Syunik marz; ▪ Informed that a group of psychologists provides support spontaneously arrived people in Syunik marz; ▪ Reported that ICRC plans to deploy permanent representation in Syunik marz to provide ground support.

• People in need (Varduhi Dadunc)

▪ With the cooperation of the municipality and Public library “Child friend” centre was established in Goris and starting from the next week psychological support will be provided and other educational activities will be organized for the children. Transportation of the children from hotels and far areas of the city is also will be provided.

• The Armenian Red Cross Society (Nazeni Kirakosyan) ▪ Updated that the support to the establishment of education corners and safe spaces in the shelters has been expanded; ▪ Expressed readiness to mobilize resources and cooperation with UNICEF to expand support for the establishment of education corners.

• UN (Arevik Anaposyan)

▪ Informed that in cooperation with the MoLSA the “Impact hub” established classrooms in 12 shelters within the framework of the project “Hope”. The curriculums were developed for classes including art, recreation, languages (Armenian, Russian, English), STEAM subjects. The classes are organized with the involvement of the volunteer teachers, who had been provided with the physiological support beforehand; ▪ Suggested to consider the appropriateness of provision tablets in shelters by the number of age group not for individuals.

What was agreed:

➢ On the proposal of ICRC, UNICEF will share the locations where school supplies are distributed or will be distributed in order to avoid duplications by the partners and to provide target-oriented and efficient contribution;

➢ To work in coordinated manner a matrix on information where, what and when are being done by the working group members will be circulated by the UNICEF with the UNICEF’s inputs and all participants agreed to fill the matrix to overcome the overlaps;

➢ UNICEF is in the communication with the Head of National centre for technologies (Artak Poghosyan) and the MoESCS to set up the ICT registration and tracking mechanism and will update working group members about the results of the consultations;

➢ Agreed that working group will have biweekly coordination meeting and weekly thematic meetings.

UNICEF Armenia 04 November 2020

Participants list

Inna Borisovich UNHCR

Alvard Poghosyan Education specialist (UNICEF)

Larisa Manukyan Executive director (OSF),

Anahit Galikyan Education program coordinator (OSF),

Davit Manukyan Deputy director for programs (OSF),

Anna Barfyan Youth program coordinator (UNFPA),

Anush Shahverdyan Education programs (World bank),

Anoush Davtyan Consultant (UNICEF),

Arevik Anaposyan Development finance and partnership adviser (UN),

Anmari Swi Regional Emergancy adviser (UNICEF),

Darwish Zeitek Team Leader at Save the Children

Gohar Musayelyan Urban development and education programs (ADB),

Grigori Hovhannisyan Education programs manager (International committee of Red cross),

Karen Khachatryan Senior community protection officer (UNHSR)

Marina Mkhitaryan Head of innovation lab (UNDP)

Irina Soghoyan Save the Children

Nazeli Kirakosyan Head of organizational development (The Armenian red cross society),

Varduhi Dadunc People in Need

Hermine Katvalyan Program assistant (UNICEF)