Regional Networking

EENET Asia draft strategic plan

Drafted in Bangkok, 29th May 2007

What is EENET?
It is the Enabling Education Network.  EENET is an information sharing network focusing on communities, schools and universities that value and recognises the abilities of all children and other learners - promoting equal access to quality education for all.  EENET Asia is a network of individuals and organisations with different backgrounds and from different parts of the region with a set of common values.  It is facilitated by a team of volunteers with a diversity of perspectives representing inclusive and child-friendly education initiatives in different countries throughout Asia.  Our goal is to involve all countries in Asia and possibly in the Pacific in our efforts and activities.  The EENET Asia office in Jakarta is currently responsible for printing the newsletter as well as reporting to donors and partners.   

EENET Asia Vision and Mission Statement
Encourage and support the sharing of information, ideas and experiences among all those involved in improving the access to and quality of education in Asia.  Promote inclusive and child-friendly education systems and practices to ensure that education for all is really for all – with special focus on education initiatives targeting learners vulnerable to marginalisation and exclusion in formal, alternative and indigenous education systems.

EENET Asia Values

• We adhere to the values of EENET.
• We believe that no school can be inclusive unless it is child-friendly and no school can be child-friendly unless it is inclusive. 
• We believe that inclusive education is about school and community improvement.
• We believe that education is broader than schooling, recognising that learning takes place in formal and non-formal settings – among others in homes, on play grounds and in community learning centres.
• We believe that all children can learn, that all children have the right to quality education and that they should be valued and appreciated for who and what they are.  It is important that assessment systems are also child-friendly and inclusive.
• We believe in the right of children to play, be happy and that this is an important and integral part of their learning process.
• We support and believe in the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC], in the Education for All [EFA] goals and the principles of the Salamanca Statement and encourage the implementation of international conventions guaranteeing the rights of girls, learners affected by and/or living with HIV, children with disabilities, children from ethnic, religious, language and social minorities and all other children vulnerable to marginalisation and exclusion.
• We encourage a reflective attitude to all information and ideas.
• We recognise the value of indigenous Asian experiences and potential for mutual learning within and beyond Asia.
• We recognise that all cultures, traditions and religions have elements of inclusiveness and that these should be enhanced and built upon.      

What do we do?

• We publish two issues of the EENET Asia Newsletter per year in English and in Bahasa Indonesia.  Some articles have also been translated into Russian for Central Asia, Karen and Vietnamese.  We plan translation of the full newsletter into Urdu later in 2007.  We hope that more languages will follow later.
• We collect articles from throughout Asia – trying to highlight initiatives and voices that are not heard or widely publicised – some of these articles are later published in the EENET Asia Newsletter or on our web page.
• In selecting articles for publication we seek a balance between initiatives in different countries, implemented by various organisations and covering a range of themes.
• We distribute the newsletters to pre- and in-service teacher education and training programmes to encourage a process of reflection among teacher students and teacher educators/trainers.    
• We distribute the newsletters to teachers, parents and education officials to provide practical examples and illustrations of how inclusive and child-friendly education can be planned and implemented.
• We encourage readers to create and participate in discussions and conversations on a wide range of issues related to inclusion and child-friendly education.
• We create networks between initiatives and actors on all levels and in different countries who would otherwise have limited opportunity to share and discuss ideas – translating policies into practice and finding ways in which practices can shape policies.
• We have launched online 'Food for Thought' discussions involving individuals from throughout Asia and beyond.  Topics have included; discriminating labelling of children, use of terminology in different countries, financial reward for teachers in inclusive classrooms as well as teacher training and education related to inclusive education.
• We hold EENET Asia Open Meetings in connection with national, regional and international conferences to promote the sharing of information, ideas and experiences between inclusive and child-friendly education initiatives and key stakeholders.    

How do we work?

• Team work through e-mail communication and occasional face-to-face meetings.
• The editing of articles is the result of a collective process between the members of the editorial team.
• Team up with other initiatives to promote inclusive and child-friendly education.
• Involve resource persons outside the editorial team. 

Who do we want to reach?

• Teachers, head-teachers and school administrators
• Parents
• Pupils and other learners
• Teacher students [students in teacher education and training programmes] 
• Teacher educators and trainers
• Elected officials and legislators
• Education and planning officials
• School supervisors and inspectors
• Education and child/human rights activists
• United Nation organisations
• International, national and local non-governmental organisations and community based initiatives
• Media
• Corporate sector
• All others interested in education and child/human rights

Strategic Objectives

1. Facilitate the development of a more comprehensive understanding of inclusive and child-friendly education in line with a rights-based approach to education.
   • Investigate existing definitions and understandings of inclusive and child-friendly education, a rights-based approach to education as well as quality education to facilitate a wider discussion on these terms in Asia. 
   • Each newsletter will feature a section that reflects this debate.
2. Networking
   • Inspire and support partnerships and information sharing between regional and national stakeholders to promote inclusive and child-friendly education.
   • Facilitate networking between different initiatives and programmes to encourage increased collaboration.
   • Moderate online discussions on different topics related to inclusive and child-friendly education.  Input from these discussions will be featured on the Asia section of the EENET webpage and in the EENET Asia Newsletters.  These discussions will at first be in English but will later expand into other languages.  
   • Work with - learn from and support EENET affiliated networks in other parts of the world.
3. Documenting
   • Invite stories on inclusive and child-friendly practices from children, parents, teachers and all others involved in education.
   • Invite stories on innovative pre- and in-service teacher education and training programmes.
   • Publish information about inclusive and child-friendly policies from throughout Asia.
   • Facilitate capacity building among children, parents, teachers and others involved in education to write about their experiences.  This will be done through smaller workshops as well as individual guidance and coaching.
   • Ensure that all documentation should be accessible and reader friendly, keeping in mind the diversity amongst readers targeted by EENET Asia most of whom have English as their second or third language.
   • Encourage the translations of all publications into different languages as English is not always widely spoken or understood. 
   • Invite contributors to write articles in their own languages - we will then try to facilitate a translation into English.
   • Ensure that publications are available in Braille.  Online versions should be compatible for screen reader software.
   • Publish stories that are thought [provoking] and invite reflection.  It is important that many of these stories inspire action and change of practices to make schools and communities more inclusive and child friendly.
   • Collaborate with other publications related to inclusive and child-friendly education, child/human rights as well as a right-based approach to education.
   • Identify and collect information about training material and research done in Asia that could be redesigned, edited and promoted for wider use.
   • Promote useful free publications that may have had limited reach.
   • Promote video and audio documentations.    
4. Influencing
   • Policies - by highlighting inclusive and child-friendly developments in schools, communities and countries throughout Asia.
   • Practices in schools and communities – by highlighting socially, emotionally and academically successful as well as cost effective practices.  It is important to cover education initiatives that have both short and long term impact.
   • Pre- and in-service teacher education and training programmes – by informing about and discussing innovative programmes from throughout Asia
   • Networking – by practising inclusive and interactive networking within EENET Asia. 
   • Attitudes and cultural practices – by highlighting examples of good practices as well as the consequences of a continuation of marginalisation and exclusion often found in schools and communities.

Regional Networking

13/07/2006