Ministry of Education of Ecuador in alliance with UNESCO and the Norwegian Council for Refugees

August to November 2020

General objective:

• To raise awareness in the educational system through an open transmedia course to foster the educational inclusion of people in vulnerable situations.

Specific objectives:

• Build a process of awareness-raising and training aimed at Ministry of Education officials in a virtual learning modality with transmedia content.
• Build strategic content based on the regulations and technical guidelines of the Ministry of Education that is related to the right to education, the school as a place of protection, and determinants associated with conditions of vulnerability.
• Adapt content to the design and implementation of a massive, open, interactive, self-directed or tutored virtual 40-hour virtual learning tool aimed at officials of the Ministry of Education.

To ensure the application of Ministerial Agreement 25 A-2020 in the territories, the Ministry of Education and the United Nations System coordinated training processes for public officials to provide support to officials and families. Educommunicational and right to education awareness-raising strateies and training for the educational community and the general public were proposed.

The program addresses three main themes:

• Right to education without discrimination
• School as a protection factor for children and adolescents.
• Situations of vulnerability and the importance of educational inclusion.

The course includes information on the procedures derived from Ministerial Agreement 25 A-2020 to care for people in vulnerable situations and for people on the move; as well as questions and answers on the main citizen procedures for the effective exercise of the right to education without discrimination.

In addition, the course invites reflection on the responsibilities of educational officials to provide respectful opportunities to people who had to leave the educational system and need to return to it to complete their educational process. Case analyses are presented, based on the reality of the educational institutions of the country, to raise awareness about education as a right for all people.

The course presents audiovisual examples where families on the move seek to carry out a procedure for access or permanence in the educational system, showing officials how they can conduct the procedure, interpreting the regulations from the principle of the best interests of boys, girls and adolescents.

Additionally, the course includes four webinars to meet enrolled officials and generate a collective reflection on the right to education without discrimination and the implementation of Ministerial Agreement 25-A2020. These spaces promote the training course and include a padlet with audiovisual resources for participants to interact and ask questions that contribute to the debate.

The course consists of five modules that are completed in seven weeks, with a total duration of 40 hours:

• Module 1. Become aware of an education without discrimination.
• Module 2 Become aware of an education that respects diversity.
• Module 3. Become aware of a school that protects.
• Module 4. Become aware to understand people in situations of vulnerability.
• Module 5. Become aware to create content that includes.

The course is aimed at public officials of the Ministry of Education at the territorial, district or zonal level, from the following areas:

• Citizen attention of educational districts (front-line officials who provide information to people who come to the districts).
• School support, monitoring and regulation of educational districts (officials responsible for implementing and managing educational policies to regularize students in the educational system).
• Specialized and inclusive education of educational districts (they carry out activities related to the educational inclusion of people in vulnerable situations, either as DECE or UDAI support professionals).

National

Urban / Rural

UNESCO finances the consultancy in charge of the implementation of the course and provides advice on the contents. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) finances the development of transmedia content through a specialized consultancy.

Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, Organic Law of Intercultural Education and Ministerial Agreement MINEDUC-25 A-2020.

The gender approach was generalized throughout the course through examples, characterizations and the presentation of related situations of vulnerability.

The implementation ended with the issuance of a report and a feedback meeting with authorities from the Ministry of Education, UNESCO and the NRC, where the results of the course were presented:

• 800 registered civil servants. 545 participants completed the course. The participants created a YouTube channel; five winning videos and ten mentions.
• Social media reach: four webinars with 74 thousand people reached; transmission through the Facebook channel of UNESCO-Quito and 2700 participants in Zoom. 63% of the participants completed the course; 20% completed all activities including the final video.

Regarding public resources, the State uses the training platform of the Ministry of Education and its technical personnel for Cohort two.

All supplies and support for the first cohort were financed through external cooperation. Transmedia resources include videos, audios, games, webinars, etc.; contents that can be used on television and radio.

Total budget: US$28,000 (US dollars), which includes financing for accompanying professionals during the course.

Key informant interview conducted in April 2021:

• María José Segovia - Education Officer - Norwegian Refugee Council
• YouTube channel of the program: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQeywvgBWd58HubvawrnHCQ/null

Working documents provided by key informant:

• Implementation reports
• Sensibilízate Course memories. January 2021
• Report on the final version of the massive and open transmedia course SENSIBILÍZATE, EDUCACIÓN IS INCLUSION. October 2020

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In Ecuador, the importance of continuing with Sensibilízate is highlighted, taking advantage of its specialty as a course on the right to education aimed at administrative officials. For this reason, continuity has been proposed in coordination with UNESCO, UNICEF in Ecuador, and financing from Education Cannot Wait.

Initially, the course will continue on the platform of the Ministry of Education (mecapacito.edu.ec) aimed at teachers. Subsequently, it will be offered as a mandatory induction course for new officials, both administrative and teaching staff of the Ministry of Education.

In addition to this, UNESCO hopes to support the Ministry of Education with new Sensibilízate modules to deepen the instructions on the application of Agreement 25-A2020 or to address other issues.

Buenas prácticas de inclusión educativa de personas migrantes

Author: UNESCO IIEP Buenos Aires, Oficina para América Latina; Education Cannot Wait; United Nations Children's Fund.

Year of publication: 2021.