The Role of Education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone

This study was commissioned by UNICEF’s Evaluation Office, in association with the Education Section in UNICEF, New York. The Evaluation Office commissioned Mario Novelli (University of Sussex) and Alan Smith (University of Ulster) to conduct the study.

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of education in peacebuilding in post-conflict settings and to consider how education interventions and programming could have a stronger role in the peacebuilding architecture of the UN system. Given concerns about the frequency of relapses into conflict, highlighted as a priority to be addressed by United Nations (UN) peacebuilding efforts, the subject of the study is important and highly relevant to strengthen peacebuilding efforts. The findings and insights presented in the report are
intended to provide a basis for consultation and discussion within UNICEF on how the organization can most effectively contribute to peacebuilding through education.

The study comprised (i) a review of research and programme literature intended to assess existing knowledge about education’s role in peacebuilding, to identify critical knowledge gaps and to analyse initiatives by UNICEF and its partners in post-conflict contexts; and (ii) three country case studies (Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone) with a particular emphasis on the work of UNICEF.