Event Highlights: Education and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus at 10
Education and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus at 10
On 9 December 2025, NORRAG co-hosted with the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), the online launch of its sixth NORRAG Policy Insights, “Education and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus at 10.” This co-produced publication has brought together over 40 contributions from more than 100 authors from diverse geographies, half of whom are from the Global South.
The introduction from Moira V. Faul, Executive Director of NORRAG and co-editor of this Policy Insights collection, emphasised the widespread reality of working in the HDP Nexus, and the need for decision makers to support that work after a decade of “nexus thinking” in global policy, particularly in the midst of intensifying crises and historic reductions in aid funding.
Laura Frigenti, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education, opened the session by underscoring a simple but essential premise: invest in people, and let evidence guide the path toward scalable, sustainable solutions. Her remarks positioned the HDP Nexus not as an abstract framework, but as a practical call to action for centring the needs and realities of crisis-affected communities.
Lead Editor Alison Joyner, Education in Emergencies Specialist at NORRAG, presented the publication’s five thematic sections and highlighted the cross-cutting threads running throughout: the indispensable role of local leadership, the centrality of teachers as frontline actors, and the urgent need for long-term, flexible financing anchored in strong relationships and shared accountability.
Joyner also noted the timeliness of the release, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of INEE and the upcoming Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025, both of which foreground the need for greater inclusion of refugees and more sustainable approaches to protracted emergencies.
Anne Smiley (International Rescue Committee) addressed the critique that the HDP Nexus is “just another buzzword.” Drawing on experiences from the PlayMatters project, she argued that the HDP Nexus reflects the real conditions facing education systems, rather than pushing actors away from the fragmentation assumed from outside and towards sustained collaboration. She emphasised the importance of: flexible, innovative, and crisis-responsive financing, building trust-based partnerships with governments and national stakeholders, and embedding long-term system-strengthening into programme design.
Smiley called for international actors to commit to financing models that enable rapid response to shocks while supporting long-term outcomes—including crisis modifiers and anticipatory funding that protect learning continuity.
Myuri Komaragiri (Right to Play / Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto) spoke on the role of education in peacebuilding. She underscored that communities do not experience crises in silos; hence, education systems must respond to interconnected needs and lived realities. Komaragiri stressed the peace-building potential of everyday classroom practices and highlighted Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a practical entry point for centring humanity, justice, and resilience. She also urged the sector to reflect critically on whose knowledge shapes tools and policies, calling for genuine resource-shifting and decision-making power to local actors.
Laurence Beruin (University of the Philippines Los Baños) turned attention to teachers, “the most critical players” in sustaining learning through emergencies. He argued for embedding self-reflective practice into teacher development as a path toward long-term professional growth. Teachers, he noted, often serve simultaneously as educators, caregivers, and community pillars, yet do not share equal privileges or systemic support. Meaningful change requires that institutions back teachers, recognise the limits of what they can shoulder alone, and create environments that enable them to contribute to resilient learning communities.
Anna Tazita Samuel (Women for Change South Sudan) called for a fundamental reorientation of HDP Nexus practice to prioritise local leadership—particularly women, people with disability and refugee-led organisations. Sustainable outcomes, she stressed, depend on reworking structural barriers, including the compliance burdens that prevent local organisations from accessing flexible funding. She advocated for coordinated, long-term financing and leadership models that reflect the realities of crisis-affected contexts.
Issoufou Ouedraogo (Education Cluster/Save the Children) highlighted Anticipatory Action as a strategic opportunity for strengthening the Nexus. Rejecting the idea that the Nexus is empty jargon, he argued that it becomes meaningful when actors “walk the talk”, by integrating education into Anticipatory action, embedding crisis modifiers in development programmes, and building the capacity of communities—(through Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and other local groups—to interpret early warning data and act ahead of crises.
Discussant Egide Niyonkuru, Youth Advocate for Education in Emergencies and Master’s student at the University of Geneva, offered a set of grounded reflections that tied together the speakers’ insights and emphasised what the Nexus must mean in practice. He highlighted the substantive contributions that all reflect real needs and contextualise the links across humanitarian, development, and peace efforts. They show that supporting HDP Nexus work is not theoretical but has direct consequences for communities.
During the Q&A, participants explored how to assess and strengthen the quality of relationships within education systems, especially in emergencies, stressing the need for long-term tracking, clear indicators, and partnerships grounded in trust rather than competition. Speakers emphasised that insights from the publication should inform future action by localising knowledge creation, embedding participatory approaches in curricula, and enabling higher education institutions to help rebuild the role of communities in shaping development priorities and funding. Strategic collaboration was highlighted as essential: organisations should map their mandates, analyse comparative advantages, and define roles toward collective goals, ensuring inclusivity and shared learning across sectors. Finally, panelists clarified that the peace pillar of the Nexus remains relevant even in non-conflict settings, such as drought-affected communities; peace education offers tools for resolving tensions, strengthening cohesion, and preventing future conflict, making it a vital component of education in any crisis-affected context.
In her closing remarks, Faiza Hassan, Director of Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), affirmed that the HDP Nexus is not an aspiration but a necessity. Fragmentation may be inevitable, she noted, but structures can be reshaped: global support for local leadership must become operational reality, and teachers—as frontline peace-builders—must remain at the core. Peace, she reminded participants, is not only about security, but also about social cohesion and the everyday work of communities.
NORRAG has started a blog series on the HDP Nexus, which examines how the HDP Nexus can inform—and has informed—education programming in diverse geographies. Contributions may respond to—or challenge—our thematic priorities:
- Taking stock, assessing the current status and relevance of the Nexus framework in education and aid, examining coherence, financing models, and lessons learned.
- Centring humanity focuses on reimagining education centred on human well-being, with examples from psychosocial support, social and emotional learning (SEL), and community and social resilience.
- Teaching at the heart of the Nexus explores the crucial role of teachers, emphasising their professional development, agency, well-being and central function in building a just peace.
- Leading locally examines the necessity of shifting power to local leadership and solutions, focusing on empowering community actors, integrating community and national systems, and addressing structural barriers to funding and coordination.
- Making the connections focuses on examining lessons from coordinating bodies, integrating child protection with education, bridging evidence systems, and advancing anticipatory action.
Programme:
- Opening Remark:
- Laura Frigenti, Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
- Panel Discussion:
- Anne Smiley, International Rescue Committee – Flexible Financing Across the Humanitarian-Development Nexus: A Case Study of Play Matters
- Myuri Komaragiri, Right to Play / Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto – Defining Peace in Education in Emergencies (EiE): Strengthening the Triple Nexus for the Next Decade
- Laurence Beruin, University of the Philippines los Banos – Promoting Self-Reflective Practice in Teacher Development
- Anna Tazita Samuel, Women for Change South Sudan – A Fundamental Reorientation of the Triple Nexus Framework, Prioritizing Local Ownership and Women
- Issoufou Ouedraogo, Save the Children/Education Cluster – Strategic Opportunities for Education: Advancing the Triple Nexus through Coordinated Approaches to Anticipatory Action
- Egide Niyonkuru, Youth Advocate for Education in Emergencies and Master’s student at the University of Geneva – Discussant
- Alison Joyner, Education in Emergencies Specialist at NORRAG – Lead Editor and Moderator
- Q&A
- Closing Remark:
- Faiza Hassan, Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
This event is organised in partnership with INEE
