The Institute for International Studies in Education (IISE) at the University of Pittsburgh and its partners are collaborating on the development of a Global Information Network in Education (GINIE).
GINIE contributes to the provision of educational services to citizens of or refugees from nations in emergency or post-emergency transition, by assisting governments, international organizations and NGOs to draw on collective past experience in order to fashion appropriate interventions quickly and efficiently.
The past decade has been a time of rapid and often explosive transition. In addition, armed conflicts have proliferated and there has been a subsequent explosion in the number of refugees, displaced people and traumatized populations.
The international community has long been concerned with the provision of education and related counseling and orientation services to children and adults in crisis and transitional situations. Education represents stability to populations coping with trauma and change, and contributes to the maintenance of civil order during those times. Education also contributes to the post-crisis rebuilding and recovery of a society.
GINIE exists to help provide governments, donor and relief organizations with on-line information, both current and historical, on crisis- and change-oriented educational services and materials. It is an on-line repository of information on education in nations in crisis and in transition, preserving high quality materials, tools and plans developed in one situation that may be adapted for use in other situations. Furthermore, GINIE offers a mechanism to collect, analyze and disseminate educational information to policy-makers, educators, government and agency officials and local communities. It provides on-line access to educational materials used (or in use), in situations of crisis and/or transition, under the premise that lessons learned under one set of conditions may inform others. The project is unique in that it bridges the gap between the crisis, transition and recovery phases that an education sector goes through in the wake of upheaval and change. Finally, GINIE creates links to organizations that provide Internet access to their own materials and contacts to help make the "good work" of organizations more accessible to users.
One way that GINIE works is through established working partnerships with professional organizations with related interests. Among the partnerships are:
to share their materials, directories and discussions with others through links to their own web sites, or through our technical support services.
In order to access the GINIE material, emphasis is placed on provision of a full description of materials available. Many of these materials can be downloaded as files over the Internet.
GINIE is currently soliciting high quality educational materials related to education in nations in crisis and/or in transition. You can contribute to GINIE, (with full authorial/organizational credit) and share the good work done by you or your organization. Using past efforts to inform future initiatives saves time and precious resources in situations of crisis and rapid change, helping governments, donor and relief agencies and field practitioners to provide high quality educational services to adults and children caught in the midst of crisis and change.
Documents and materials are accepted in both electronic and hard copy format. Materials will be reviewed for relevance to GINIE areas of concern, and acknowledged. Original copies will be returned after materials are put on-line, if so requested.
To contact the GINIE staff, send an e-mail to: iise@pitt.edu
