International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)/UNESCO Feb 2010
InterWorks designed and facilitated a national advocacy seminar “Disaster Risk Reduction and Conflict Mitigation in Education through the Integration of Humanism, Civic and Cultural Studies in the Curriculum” that took place in Harare, Zimbabwe from 9-11 February 2010.
This workshop was designed as a follow-up to the regional workshop conducted in Tanzania in October 2009. During that workshop country teams were given the opportunity to identify a follow-up activity that they thought would contribute to further capacity development in their own country. As a result this workshop was designed with the following objectives:
- Increase awareness of disaster risk reduction in the education system
- Identify actions that could be taken throughout the system to reduce risk due to disasters and conflict
- Commit to work together to provide education in situations of polarization, emergencies and natural disaster
The workshop drew on a range of training methodologies and facilitation techniques, including short presentations, group work, facilitated discussions, a simulation/role play exercise and two lectures by Zimbabwean university educators. Participants were encouraged to participate actively and to share concrete examples and to reflect on their experiences.
More than 50 people were introduced to the topic of disaster risk reduction and engaged in sessions related to conflict mitigation and the Zimbabwean topics of Unhu/Ubunti (or “humanism”). Participants were eager to discuss conflict mitigation, no doubt because of recent experiences in Zimbabwe.
The [workshop] created a vivid understanding of the knowledge around the concepts of “disasters”. The plenary sessions fully explored the various strategies/approaches on aspects of prevention, mitigation and response ability etc.
– Workshop participant