PROTECTING EDUCATION IN COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY CONFLICT PHOTO:DAVID TURNLEY / CORBIS CONTENT FOR INCLUSION IN TEXTBOOKS OR READERS Curriculum resource Introducing Humanitarian Education in Primary and Junior Secondary Education Front cover A Red Cross worker helps an injured man to a makeshift hospital during the Rwandan civil war XX Foreword his booklet is one of a series of booklets prepared as part of the T Protecting Education in Conflict-Affected Countries Programme, undertaken by Save the Children on behalf of the Global Education Cluster, in partnership with Education Above All, a Qatar-based non- governmental organisation. The booklets were prepared by a consultant team from Search For Common Ground. They were written by Brendan O’Malley (editor) and Melinda Smith, with contributions from Carolyne Ashton, Saji Prelis, and Wendy Wheaton of the Education Cluster, and technical advice from Margaret Sinclair. Accompanying training workshop materials were written by Melinda Smith, with contributions from Carolyne Ashton and Brendan O’Malley. The curriculum resource was written by Carolyne Ashton and Margaret Sinclair. Booklet topics and themes Booklet 1 Overview Booklet 2 Legal Accountability and the Duty to Protect Booklet 3 Community-based Protection and Prevention Booklet 4 Education for Child Protection and Psychosocial Support Booklet 5 Education Policy and Planning for Protection, Recovery and Fair Access Booklet 6 Education for Building Peace Booklet 7 Monitoring and Reporting Booklet 8 Advocacy The booklets should be used alongside the with interested professionals working in Inter-Agency Network for Education in ministries of education or non- Emergencies (INEE) Minimum Standards for governmental organisations, and others Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery. concerned with education for populations References to the most relevant standards affected by armed conflict or insecurity. for the content of each booklet are given in If referenced, please use the following the resources section. text: Global Education Cluster, This booklet, Curriculum Resource: Curriculum Resource: Introducing Introducing Humanitarian Education in Humanitarian Education in Primary and Primary and Junior Secondary Education, Junior Secondary Education, Protecting can be used with Booklet 6. Education in Countries Affected by Please feel free to share these booklets Conflict series (2012) Contents 6 Protecting people in crisis situations: An overview of humanitarian principles 8 TOPIC 1 We are all human beings 9 TOPIC 2 Henry Dunant, Part 1: A boy who changed the world 11 TOPIC 3 Henry Dunant, Part 2: Helping wounded soldiers 14 TOPIC 4 The Geneva Conventions 16 TOPIC 5 Preventing use of child soldiers 18 TOPIC 6 Protecting women and girls 21 TOPIC 7 The International Criminal Court (ICC) 23 TOPIC 8 Protecting prisoners of war 26 TOPIC 9 The Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement at work 29 TOPIC 10 Helping strangers: Some organisations in your own country 29 TOPIC 11 Helping people yourself 33 Annex 1: Notes for teachers 35 Annex 2: For reference 38 Text for the first Geneva convention 40 Glossary 41 Sources Preface Why is ‘humanitarian education’ of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent important? Movement, which aims to prevent and respond to human suffering, with basic very society is susceptible to crises such operational principles including humanity, E as natural and man-made disasters. neutrality and impartiality, and Many countries today face civil or contributed to the development of international conflict. These events can humanitarian work in general. Dunant’s cause immense suffering. Schools can play proposal for what became the first Geneva an important role in helping students Convention was a significant development develop concepts, skills and values to help in international humanitarian law. others in such times of difficulty, and likewise to understand the principles Who is this booklet for? underlying humanitarian law, which aims This booklet is being offered as a resource to protect life and dignity and lessen for Ministries of Education, especially suffering during armed conflict. national Curriculum and Textbook The term ‘humanitarian education’ is Development departments, centres or used for this type of learning that enables institutes, and other education providers young people to: (as well as interested teachers). It is hoped that ministries will review the topics • analyse events and phenomena from a covered here and consider including them humanitarian perspective in social studies, language or other subjects, • take action in the spirit of humanitarian lessons or textbooks, after translation and/ principles and values i or adaptation to local needs. The examples • where appropriate, explore basic rules of of possible lesson materials have been international humanitarian aw and other developed for upper primary or lower relevant bodies of law. secondary schooling. The present booklet illustrates how Humanitarian education introduces humanitarian concepts can be introduced students to ways of protecting and helping using simple language. Each topic includes other people in times of crisis, even if those core material in larger print and ‘extra people are not personally known to them notes’ in boxed text. This approach or part of their own social group. recognises that there will be different The story of Henry Dunant, the founder reading capacity in different settings and of the Red Cross, whose work inspired for different age groups. In particular, some humanitarian action and law, can be countries educate in the mother tongue. In included in school programmes to help this case, it will be quite easy for the students think more deeply about human students to understand and discuss quite dignity, human values and behaviour. sophisticated content. If, however, primary Dunant wanted to help men wounded in and junior secondary education is not in battle regardless of their nationality, on the the mother tongue, then textbook basis that they were all human beings in language must be very simple. need. This concern led to the establishment The ‘extra notes’ can be used by more 3 advanced students, or by teachers for identity. The materials in the booklet are personal orientation to the subject matter designed to be accessible to teachers with and for materials development. limited opportunities for professional training and limited classroom resources, What teaching methods are needed including in countries affected by or at risk and why? of armed conflict or natural disasters. The aim is to encourage students to There is a ‘Teachers Notes’ section at the internalise and act upon humanitarian end of the booklet that provides guidance values. The teacher has therefore to for classroom instruction. encourage class discussion in which students examine their own personal Must we use all the lesson topics, response to the issues raised in the lesson. stories and questions? This discussion has to first ensure that the No. As a teacher or curriculum developer, lesson has been understood and then the materials provided here are examples. encourage students to freely discuss the Some stories and questions may be more values and behaviours featured in the applicable than others. Perhaps you can lessons. Such discussion helps students to find true stories from your own country commit themselves to the ideas and values that will be more appropriate. For put forward. example, you can find stories of people The lessons use stories based on true who have helped organise relief after a incidents. The underlying theme is that we natural disaster. You can add stories or are all human beings with similar needs. information about your national Red Cross We must respect each others’ needs even or Red Crescent Society, and about during armed combat and following humanitarian work by non-governmental natural disasters. organisations (NGOs) in your country. Such values-based lessons are critical for It is important to leave about half of each students’ future behaviour as individuals, lesson period for active class discussions on citizens and in some cases in military roles. the questions raised by each story or topic, Class discussion should help students ask and perhaps for acting out some of the themselves how they would behave if there stories. This might mean that some topics were conflict and how they might help could take two or more lessons to cover in others in any times of crisis, including full, especially if local examples are added. people who are not members of their own If necessary, some topics or stories can be social group. omitted. Where the mother tongue is not used in Ideally, these topics will be introduced the official curriculum, it may be useful for in upper primary school and then re-visited the teacher and students to review this type in junior secondary school. The materials of lesson content a second time, in the in this booklet can be divided between mother tongue, and to allow discussion in these levels, or extra content can be added. the mother tongue. This is especially It is important to include key messages important for encouraging values and about Henry Dunant, the Geneva behaviour change linked to personal Conventions and humanitarian action in 4 primary school, if many students are expected to drop out before junior secondary school. This is especially true if the country is at risk of armed conflict. How can these materials be introduced into an education system? A first step is to hold discussions