Grim statistics from African conflicts highlight role of education for peace - Grim statistics from the last 10 years of conflicts in Africa have highlighted the role that education can play in ensuring peace across the continent. According to the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), 90 per cent of deaths from armed conflicts in the last 10 years in Africa are civilians, with 80 percent being women and children.

Also, 2 million children have been killed in the armed conflicts, according to a document which was prepared by ADEA for the just-ended Kinshasa Round Table on “Education, Peace and Development”.

It said three times as many children have been seriously injured or permanently disabled, while millions of others have been forced to witness or take part in horrifying acts of violence.

Those who survive, it adds, become extremely vulnerable, with children and young people separated from their families, displaced, abandoned or risking recruitment into armed forces.

“These horrors are further exacerbated by limited or even non-existent educational opportunities leaving adolescents frightened, bored and frustrated with life,” the document said, adding that under such circumstances, life in the military becomes “the most attractive option.”

According to ADEA, understanding the impact of conflicts and crisis on youth and children, and on their ability to access education, requires the recognition of the role of an effective education system in providing quality education to society.

The association also beliefs that that schooling can help engage children and the youth constructively in safe environments conducive to the development of skills and knowledge, and contribute to democracy, economic development and social cohesion across their communities.

It is against this backdrop that the 26-28 July Kinshasa Round Table brought together African education experts, policy makers, and curriculum developers as well as development agencies, donors and civil society partners to debate the role of education for peace.

Participants at the Round Table came from seven African countries in situations of conflict or fragility, such as Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Kenya, Somalia and Zimbabwe, as well as from international partners and donors based in the US and Europe.

They discussed education policies and practices supportive of education as a means for capacity building, peacekeeping and peacemaking  towards social cohesion, political stability and economic development.

The aim of the gathering was to deepen dialogue, generate knowledge and enhance understanding as well as commitment to the implementation of initiatives and solutions to address the challenges facing African countries, in order to help promote education for peace and sustainable development.

The conference was organised by ADEA's Inter-Country Quality Node for Peace Education (ICQNPE), together with the Ministries of Education of Kenya and DRC and UNESCO-BREDA.

Pana 04/08/2011