Plenary Session 4: The Fight for Knowledge - Opportunities and Risks of Educational Work in Conflict and Crisis Zones

27 June, 1:15 p.m., Plenary Chamber
Hosted by Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn and Deutsche Welle

A pilot project of Bonn University is to examine the education sector as a driving force of democratic development. It will focus especially on the quality of higher education as a “disputed” development resource in post-conflict contexts, in which instrumentalization of the education sector by “former” adversaries is the core issue. The opportunities and risks of education work will be critically reflected using the restructuring activities by governments and civil society in Cambodia, Tajikistan and Libya as examples.

This panel session will discuss the research project by asking the following questions:

What are the opportunities and risks in relation to culture and education work in conflict areas? What possibilities are there to counter populist propaganda and hostile images and to promote peaceful and sustainable change? Which intercultural and interdisciplinary resources are already available? How to handle instrumentalization of education in post-conflict societies? How can national and international actors coordinate better and what new approaches and formats can be designed from the interaction of organizations? What specifically can media contribute?

The outcomes of the discussion will be integrated into Bonn University’s research project and provide impetus for its further progress.

Panelists:

Cheema, Dr. Amrita (Moderator)
Anchor and Journalist, DW, Berlin, Germany

Colson, Dr. Darrel D.
President, Wartburg College, Iowa, USA

Ghani, Dr. Ashraf
Politician, Chairman, Institute for State Effectiveness, Kabul, Afghanistan

Leclercq, François
Research Officer, Education for All Global Monitoring Report, UNESCO, Paris, France

Milovanovitch, Mihaylo
Programme Analyst, OECD Directorate for Education, Paris, France

Schetter, PD Dr. Conrad
Research Fellow, Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany

Seng, Theary C.
Attorney and Activist, Founding President, Center for Cambodian Civic Education, Phnom Penh, Cambodia