Are you passionate about making a difference through education? Are you eager to discover the critical role of education in times of crisis, and learn how to contribute meaningfully to global efforts? Are you a student of education, social sciences or social work, a teacher or an education professional, an expert in the development sector or a person keen to learn about EiE?

We invite you to deepen your understanding of Education in Emergencies and broaden your vision of your future opportunities in our engaging workshops tailored for beginners in the humanitarian field.

Workshops will be held on Monday 19th May at 17-19 as a prelude for Education in Emergencies – Lifeline for Furute Conference in Helsinki University (Fabianinkatu 33) and two of the workshops, the 3rd and 5th, are also available online! The workshops are led by Finn Church Aid’s (FCA) experts in education and humanitarian work, and organised by Teachers Without Borders Finland.

Choose what you are most interested in and register now!

By clicking the name of the workshop, you find a more detailed description:

  1. Humanitarian Foundations of Education in Emergencies – From Paper to Practice (Helsinki in-person)
  2. Project Management and Cluster Coordination in Times of Crisis: Navigating Uncertainty and Adapting to Change (Helsinki in-person)
  3. Why education matters during emergencies? Examples from Myanmar and East Africa. (Helsinki in-person and online)
  4. Teacher Professional Development in Education in Emergencies: the case of Somalia and South Sudan (Helsinki in-person)
  5. Building Resilience: Supporting Learners’ Mental Health in Challenging Times (Helsinki in-person and online)

If your preferred in-person workshop is fully booked, we’ll offer you a chance to attend another workshop. We’ll share the lecture room for face-to-face participants and the teams link for the online participants before the event.

Hope to meet with you in May!

1. Humanitarian Foundations of Education in Emergencies – From Paper to Practice (Helsinki in-person)

Are you passionate about making a difference through education? Are you eager to discover the critical role of education in times of crisis and learn how to contribute meaningfully to global efforts? How do the global community and FCA work to guarantee that everyone’s right to quality education is ensured even amidst crises? This is the workshop for you!

What You’ll Explore: 
🌍 Humanitarian Aid vs. Development Work: Understand their differences and interconnections. 
📚 Education in Emergencies: Why education is a lifesaving need and a fundamental right. 
🛡️ Global Commitments: Key international treaties governing education during crises. 
Uganda Case Study: Overcoming education challenges in refugee settings; How multistakeholder EiE efforts create impactful solutions; Transitioning from emergency response to long-term education systems.

Merja Färm, Humanitarian Advocacy Adviser, FCA Helsinki office: I support FCA country offices in designing and implementing advocacy work towards the national stakeholders – mostly related to education legislation and policy. I also work with international policy issues – specifically refugee education and integration policies and compliance with international humanitarian law as well as promotion of humanitarian principles.   

Shakirah Luwedde, Education in Emergencies Coordinator, FCA Uganda: As a co-lead of the Education in Emergencies Sector Working Group, I work closely with EiE partners to ensure a well-coordinated, coherent and effective education sector response in Uganda in close coordination with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and UNHCR. In addition I support FCA’s internal EiE coordination and operationalization of safeguarding and protection mainstreaming in education, livelihood and peace programs in Uganda. 

Filbert Idha Ajax, Education Technical Lead, FCA Uganda: I provide technical guidance and management support for education program in Uganda by engaging in strategic planning, designing projects, and contributing to resource mobilization. I deliver professional capacity development for schools, staff and partners, ensure quality assurance during implementation, and manage education stakeholder relationships. 

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2. Project Management and Cluster Coordination in Times of Crisis: Navigating Uncertainty and Adapting to Change (Helsinki in-person)

Every successful humanitarian response requires the world’s best project management! That in turn requires top professionals with a fire for management, would you be one? This is the key that a quality education can be delivered!

Welcome to find out how is the humanitarian project managed in the times of crisis? Who will call in the assistance in the field of Education? How is the humanitarian response coordinated, and the quality of the assistance ensured from the global to local level?

💻🏫A humanitarian project management in Kenya, Kakuma/Kalobeyei refugee settlement – from daily operations to the big picture. A humanitarian project management response experience during crisis situations and identify effective strategies to reduce project vulnerability during the crisis period.

🤝🆘Humanitarian response as a part of the global education cluster – from global to local. The Education Cluster brings humanitarian UN- and non-UN education actors together to assess needs, identify priorities, coordinate responses and to promote education as a key first response in humanitarian crises.

Richard Tsalwa, Program Coordinator, FCA Kenya: Daily, I lead field office programs and support teams in Kakuma/Kalobeyei refugee operation by monitoring projects implementation progress, identifying any issues or challenges, and taking appropriate actions to address them. I also play a crucial role in resource mobilization efforts by conducting comprehensive needs and gaps analysis in my area of operation.

Timo Estola, Education Cluster Coordinator, FCA Helsinki Office: I work as part of the Global Education Cluster and its Rapid Response Team in support of the active education clusters. This includes remote support and deployments and developing and coordinating thematic aspects of cluster coordination.

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3. Why education matters during emergencies? Examples from Myanmar and East Africa (Helsinki in-person and online)

Education is a human right, and it belongs to everyone. It also belongs to the 224 million children worldwide living amidst crises. Unfortunately, only 1/10 continued education which led to quality learning, and 1/3 couldn’t continue schooling at all. Global community must guarantee the access to quality education!

Welcome to find out What is education in emergencies in different parts of the world? Why is it sustaining lives? How is learning happening and supported in emergency settings such as in conflicts or during climate hazards? Who are the most vulnerable children and youth in those contexts? And have a deep dive into Myanmar and East Africa!

💡What education in emergencies (EiE) is,

💡Who are the most vulnerable children and youth in EiE,

💡What kind of service and support is given in EiE,

💡Where are currently the most prominent crisis globally,

💡Why EiE should be prioritized in crisis contexts?

NawKushi Lwin, Education Specialist, FCA Myanmar (based in Yangon): I provide technical support for Education in Emergencies (EiE) projects in Myanmar and actively participate in the development of proposals, particularly for Education initiatives.

Saara Turunen, Regional Education Specialist, FCA Helsinki Office (based in Kenya): I provide holistic technical advice and support to FCA country offices in East and Horn of Africa, and Central African Republic.

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4. Teacher Professional Development in Education in Emergencies: the case of Somalia and South Sudan  

In Education in Emergency protracted crises: what is the role and status of a teacher? How are teachers selected and trained? What are the biggest challenges educators face and the most pressing capacity building needs?

Practically: how can teachers keep up with new education technology when internet or mobile phones are nowhere to be found. Welcome to dive deep in continuous professional development of teachers, the cases from Somalia and South Sudan and possibilities for education professionals through Teachers without Borders.

🌍🏫This workshop gives you an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of history and current political situation of Somalia and South Sudan. FCA’s education experts, Aburas Faras and Moses Omara, will talk about the unique pathway to the current education system and describe how teachers and students’ lives are affected by different challenges, and what gives them strength to endure through protracted crisis.

🌱Learn what gives teachers hope and how Finn Church Aid supports the continuous professional development of education personnel in Somalia and South Sudan.

💡Looking for a more active role? In the workshop you will also hear about the Teachers Without Borders network. Through the volunteer network teachers and educators from Finland can support FCA’s development cooperation programs and take part in improving the quality of education globally.

Aburas Ali Farah, Senior education and Quality Advisor, FCA Somalia: My daily work includes providing technical guidance to the country education team on program planning, development, and implementation in areas such as education in emergency response, TVET, and the broader humanitarian and development context, offer technical capacity-building support to project staff and partners to ensure that all FCA education and TVET programs and projects meet high-quality standards as well as establish networks and collaborate with the Ministry of Education at both federal and state level,

Moses Leviticus Omara, Education Advisor, FCA South Sudan: My daily work rotates around provision of strategic leadership for integrated programming in quality education, livelihoods, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and climate-smart initiatives at country level, leading large-scale education-in-emergency (EiE) programs, professional development of teacher, TVET and youth skilling innovations and supporting refugee and internally displaced youth with pathways to quality education, and fostering inclusive policies that promote equity and social cohesion.

Salla Ruh, Teachers Without Borders network coordinator, FCA Helsinki office: My daily work includes the coordination and management of TWB volunteer deployments in all stages of the volunteer management cycle as well as support to country offices in TWB planning, communication, quality assurance and knowledge management.

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5. Building Resilience: Supporting Learners’ Mental Health in Challenging Times (in Helsinki and online)

In times of crisis, supporting the mental health of students and educators is vital. At our interactive workshop we’ll look at practical skills and tools for providing psychosocial support, fostering resilience, and encouraging self-reliance. Designed for future and in-service educators, counsellors, social workers and school leaders, this workshop will empower you to create a supportive and nurturing environment for everyone and for yourself.

Join us to gain valuable knowledge and skills, and become a driving force in fostering well-being, resilience, and healing across your entire school community!

🔍Explore the IASC Mental Health and PsychoSocial Support (MHPSS) framework and its application in education in emergency settings

❤️‍🩹Brainstorm and learn practical activities and self-care strategies for educators and students

🌱Discover how to effectively integrate Psycho-Social Support (PSS) and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into school curriculum

Alevtina Sedochenko, Education Advisor, FCA Ukraine: I provide technical support to FCA colleagues on various education-related topics, focusing on crisis-affected contexts, collaborate with educational institutions, government agencies, and other organizations to align our projects with national standards and address community needs, including integrating social-emotional learning and psychosocial well-being into the school curriculum to help both students and educators build resilience.

Jesca Driciru, Child Protection Specialist, FCA Helsinki Office, based in Uganda: I support all FCA country programs to support standardization of child protection in FCA projects through mainstreaming and integration, and capacity building. I work closely with both Safeguarding, Education and Child Protection focal persons from each country program, either at the national or project level to ensure appropriate guidance

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