Tackling education challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, UN Resident Coordinator Ingrid Macdonald has played a vital role over the last two and a half years in bringing the UN Country Team together to support the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery efforts. A key area of focus has been working with the relevant authorities to overcome the deep-rooted educational challenges facing the country.

As the pandemic unfolded in 2020, the Resident Coordinator mobilized relevant UN agencies, funds and programmes to come together to prioritize the education of the approximately 400,000 children whose learning was being disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Using the findings from a joint needs assessment by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Resident Coordinator worked to support the UN Country Team with designing and implementing a comprehensive education recovery programme.

• With the unique convening power of her office, the Resident Coordinator leveraged the agency-specific expertise at the country level, mobilizing resources and support from UN headquarters to launch the cornerstone programme ‘Reimagine Education for Marginalized Boys and Girls during and post COVID-19’, led by UNICEF and UNESCO, in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), and supported by the United Nations COVID-19 Recovery Fund.  Coordinated and joint work helped deliver clear results working together with the decentralised levels of the authorities responsible for education. The programme helped ensure access to classes for marginalized children and build online teaching capacities across the country – training almost 2500 teachers in digital learning and expanding access to digital platforms to over 100 schools across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The strengthened cooperation with authorities underpinned a series of consultations in preparation for the UN Transforming Education Summit which took place in September 2022.

• The UN’s increased engagement with the education authorities at all levels during the pre-Summit phase, was vital for supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina to align education priorities towards shared goals. The UN Country Team is now supporting the development of an action plan with a view to transforming the education sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• With the support of the Resident Coordinator, and in close coordination with UNICEF and UNESCO, the Minister of Civil Affairs led country-wide consultations with non-governmental organizations, academia, private sector, teachers, parents and youth. These ensured that the voices of civil society and all relevant stakeholders could be heard in shaping Bosnia and Herzegovina’s education priorities, with particular focus on the perspectives of young people.