Some of the participants were:
*Tony Ojukwu - Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
*Mrs. Sadiya Umar Farouq - Minister of Humanitarian Affairs
*Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed - Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Migrants & IBPs
*Prof. Bappa Aliyu-Muhammadu - Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE)
*Dr. Masa'udu Adamu Kazaure - Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)
*Osai Ojigho - Director, Amnesty International, Nigeria
*Alozie Amaechi Godfrey - Director, Humanitarian Affairs, ECOWAS
*Emmanuel Okorodudu - Head Division, Democracy & Good Governance, Department of Political Affairs, Peace & Regional Security, ECOWAS
*Dr. Dayo Oluyemi-Kusa - Conflict Transformation Expert & Senior Fellow, CDD
*U. Jasper - Programme Officer, CDD
*Rep. of ICRC
*Rep. of IOM
*Rep. of the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
*Rep. of UNESCO West Africa
Then, participants viewed the documentary on the right to education for PLWDs, Refugees, Returnees & stateless persons.
Some of the sub-themes discussed for protecting the right to education for PLWDs, IDPs, Refugees, Returnees & Stateless Persons were:
*Mechanisms
*Processes
*Role of home vs host states
*Who is a 'stateless person'?
*From Policy to Action - Opportunities & Creative Frameworks for developing/deploying formal Vocational/Technical Education Policies
-The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, etc
-Psycho-social support
-Invention & Creative Hubs
*Effective Camp Management for IDPs & Refugees
*The Kampala Convention (KC): Is it possible to replicate this at the ECOWAS level?
-Niger as 1st state to domesticate the KC.
-Can other West African states learn anything from Niger?
*Harmonisation of the educational system for the Francophone & Anglophone countries?
*Coordination of activities of Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, NCRMIDPs, ECOWAS, CDD, etc
*Lobby for increase in Education Budgets
*Human Rights as part of all Development Policies
*The use of Traditional Methods of Conflict Transformation in dealing with challenges as they arise
*CSOs partnership with ECOWAS
*Special care of vulnerable females e.g. Safe Schools
*Role of the Private Sector & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
*Terrorism and DDRR among this demographic
*Explore the use of extant local languages for instruction
*ECOWAS Protocol on Education
-Cultural Education Rights
*The use of Traditional & Social Media to promote the cause of this demographic
-Communication Strategy
-Strategic Communication (StratCom)
*Specialised Education Reporting
It was a fruitful and timely discourse on the vital issue of effective inclusion of PLWDs, IDPs, Refugees, Returnees & Stateless Persons in the educational system across the West African sub-region via ECOWAS with the support of individual nation-states, CSOs, CBOs, the Private Sector, etc. The conversation continues via #ECOWASHumanRightsDay. There was also the resolve to work with viable Innovation Hubs for the effective revamping of the education of persons that fall within the demographic in question...
Related Links
*ECOWAS tasks members on increased budget for IDPs, Refugees' Education https://t.co/1cNe7tXkZT
*CDD solicits inclusion policy for PLWDs, IDPs in education https://t.co/pMGlWegy2M
*Language endangerment: Why & how should we protect them? https://rightforeducation.org/2020/01/language/endangerment/
*West African states marred in controversy over single currency allafrica.com/view/goup/main/id/00071672.html
*How important could technology be for literacy in African countries? https://rightforeducation.org/.../technology-literacy-africa
*How can Africa improve access to quality education? http://mif.media/gr-201j
*The Almajiri crisisin the North: A cry for our children by Nigerian mothers https://newsdiaryonline.com/the-almajiri-crisis.../
*Is West Africa's Eco Currency just an echo of the colonial past? https://issafrica.org/iss-today/is-west-africas-eco-currency-echo-colonial-past/
*ECOWAS & Spain to strengthen the voice of women in peace and security https://www.ecowas.com/spain-strengthen-voice-women-peace-security
*The function of education is to think intensively and critically. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no moral - Martin Luther King Jr. www.peace-ed-campaign.org/mlk-the-purpose-of-education/
*UNICEF has released new data showing major discrepancies in the way public education funding is distributed www.peace-ed-campaign-org/unicef-report-addressing-the-learning-crisis-an-urgent-need-to-better-finance-education-for-the-poor-children/
*Why are millions of children out of school in Africa? https://www.youtube.com/watch?
*Africa's colonialism of the English Language theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/29/africa-colonialism-english-language.../
*Changing the lives of 25,000 children: Cote d'Ivoire building schools with bricks made from plastic waste https://wef.ch/34..N4dL #sustaiability #innovation
*$797m outstanding levy: ECOWAS Parliament holds session on improving funding nannews.ng
