In the future the promotion of basic education and crisis prevention are to be more closely interwoven in development cooperation than is the case at present. This is the objective of the sector project "Education and Conflict Transformation", which GTZ has been conducting since the beginning of 2004 on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In concrete terms this means that children and young people in cooperation and partner-countries for German development cooperation learn to live together in peace and to defend social cohesion. In order to achieve this,

• we advise BMZ
• develop concepts, methods and instruments for project implementation
• elaborate a comprehensive advisory package for German Technical Cooperation
• mainstream crisis/conflict-oriented basic education measures into development cooperation projects

In order to devise crisis-sensitive education systems and educational measures appropriate for crisis and post-crisis situations, we support our partner countries in the following areas:

Development of cohesive, crisis-sensitive education systems

The capability of a society to deal constructively with its own internal diversity and heterogeneity is reflected in the manner in which its education systems treat identity issues like language, religion and culture. Of equal significance is how diversity or differences find expression in people’s access to education. Building up a conflict-sensitive education system calls for a comprehensive approach, one that takes into account the potential impacts – both constructive and destructive – of every facet of education.

Integration of education for disadvantaged population groups in complex emergency situations

War and conflicts take a toll on the functioning of education systems and often destroy educational infrastructure. Among those affected are disadvantaged children, particularly child soldiers, displaced persons, refugees, and children belonging to minority groups. Such complex emergency situations call for complex pedagogical responses.

Violence prevention and conflict transformation as part of school and out-of-school education

Violence not only destroys a society’s physical, psychological, social and material foundations but also inflicts considerable economic damage. Educational facilities are well suited to violence prevention. The link between the prevailing school culture and aggressive, violent behaviour among children and youth has been empirically established. For this reason we consider school development to be an effective means of preventing violence.