Accessibility statement

Overview of Voices from Fragile States

Conflict, fragility and development: the challenge

  • 50% higher prevalence of malnutrition
  • 20% higher child mortality rate
  • 18% lower primary education completion rate

These are only a few of the impacts felt by approximately 1.5 billion people living in fragile states, according to World Bank figures. Despite international engagement, there has been little progress in alleviating their suffering, as no low-income fragile or conflict-affected country has yet achieved any of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Voices from Fragile States will bring together policy makers and academics from fragile and conflict-affected countries to develop action plans on fragility and education. Their work will be presented at a conference in New York in April 2013.

The debate around the causes and appropriate responses to fragility has often lacked input from the countries to which the term is applied; however, the recent New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, endorsed by 35 countries and international organizations following the fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in December 2011, identifies the urgent need for fragile states to develop country-led development plans and emphasizes collaboration and participatory dialogue.

Fragility and education: a country-led approach

There is now a unique opportunity to ensure that these voices from fragile states are heard. The University of York’s Post-war Reconstruction Unit (PRDU) and Institute for Effective Education (IEE), in partnership with Columbia University, are establishing the Voices from Fragile States initiative to facilitate discussions between policy makers and academics from fragile and conflict-affected countries in a non-politicised context which will lead to real and positive results on the ground. Focusing particularly on fragility and education policy, these experts will develop country position papers, with the support of University of York academics, which will be presented and developed into action plans at a two-day conference in New York on 15-16 April 2013.

The conference will bring together a broad coalition of fragile states, countries emerging from conflict, donors, UN agencies, and academic experts. Building an evidence-base for the contribution of education to peacebuilding will be a central feature of the conference.

This conference forms part of the University of York's 50th anniversary celebrations, which will take place throughout 2013.

 

In partnership with

Columbia University in the city of New York

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Partners

University of York:

Columbia University:

Institute of International Education: