Country: Georgia
Closing date: 02 Oct 2016
Background
The 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia, Georgia, and the international blockade that followed had immensely downgraded the overall economic and social system in Abkhazia, Georgia. After 25 years, the conflict remains unresolved, slowing down the development of the region. Apart from the physical destruction, the war and international isolation has severely reduced the quality of education services. The overwhelming majority of schools in Abkhazia, Georgia are in very poor conditions and there is a constant lack of modern teaching resources, as well as skilled teachers. The limited financial resources of Abkhazia, Georgia do not allow for adequate support to the schools. The funds available are distributed among very few schools, predominately in the cities and town, which leads to a further degradation of schools in rural areas.
Even after the hardships of the last 25 years, Abkhazia, Georgia remains highly ethnically diverse in its population, with three main ethnic groups: Abkhaz, Armenian and Georgian. Abkhaz and Armenians are dispersed in various areas of Abkhazia, Georgia, while the Georgian population is predominantly living in the districts of Gal/i and Tkvarchal/Tkvarcheli, resulting in the marginalization and segregation of the Georgian inhabited areas from the rest of Abkhazia, Georgia. At the same time, the frustrations deriving from the protracted conflict with Georgia and related socio-economic hardships easily become politicized in Abkhazia, Georgia and the ethnic Georgian population is often portrayed as a disloyal group to be blamed.
Children of different ethno-linguistic communities in Abkhazia, Georgia today have very different chances to study in their mother tongue and children of each ethnic community face specific challenges. Whereas children of the Abkhaz and Armenian communities receive education in their mother tongue in school grades 1-4 before switching to Russian as language of instruction, children of the Georgian community have only limited opportunities to receive mother tongue education. 20 of those 31 schools in Abkhazia, Georgia with mainly ethnic Georgian children have been turned into Russian schools where Georgian is taught only as a subject or not at all. In the remaining 11 schools Russian was introduced as language of instruction in grades 1-4 since September 2015. Such a deprivation from learning in the child's mother tongue creates further dissatisfaction among the Georgian population, which, unless addressed urgently, might fuel resentment and hostilities between the divided communities.
At the same time, the position of the Abkhaz language and the quality of education in Abkhaz is a major source of resentment in the Abkhaz community. Due to a number of historic reasons, Abkhaz is the most vulnerable language among the four main languages in Abkhazia, Georgia, Georgia (Abkhaz, Armenian, Georgian and Russian). This fuels resentment among the Abkhaz community and also makes decision makers hesitating to develop mother tongue based multilingual education, as the latter is seen to potentially further undermine the development of the Abkhaz language. There is thus a significant need to further develop education in Abkhaz language including through the development of methodologies in teaching Abkhaz to Abkhaz and Non-Abkhaz speakers, as well as the elaboration of teaching materials in Abkhaz language.
Against this background, UNICEF started in early 2016 to actively promote among policy makers, education experts, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in Abkhazia, Georgia, Georgia the idea of developing a more systematic approach to mother tongue based multilingual education (MTB MLE). Such an approach could address the legitimate mother tongue education needs of children from all ethnic communities in Abkhazia, Georgia, reduce language-based resentment between the divided communities, and at the same time help to improve the quality of general education services and the learning achievements of children.
In August 2016, UNICEF organized a first expert round table for policy makers and education experts on international best practices in MTB MLE, as well as a separate expert meeting on the same topic with representatives of civil society. The round table and civil society meeting covered international legal standards and guidelines for education and language rights, global evidence on the positive impact of MTB MLE on students learning achievements, internationally existing varieties of MTB MLE practices, as well as global evidence on the positive impact of MTB MLE on social cohesion.
In addition, UNICEF is planning to hold a second round table with policy makers and expert meeting with civil society concentrating on the development of Abkhaz language through education and on international experiences with national language development. For this purpose, UNICEF seeks to recruit several experienced international experts in the field of national language development, language preservation, mother tongue based multilingual education or socio-linguistics. The task is to present international experiences in national language development through education, especially, but not only, in the framework of multilingual education systems. The round table and civil society meeting might be followed by separate meetings with specific Abkhaz policy makers or relevant institutions.
Objective
UNICEF seeks to engage several international experts to provide representatives of the de facto MoE, MFA, presidential administration and parliament, as well as other relevant education stakeholders in Abkhazia, Georgia, with expertise on international experiences in national language development through education, especially, but not only, within multilingual education systems. This will be done through presentations and discussions in an expert round table with policy makers from Abkhaz de facto government bodies, as well as a separate meeting with civil society representatives.
Tasks and deliverables
Tasks:
Taking into account the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, prepare a presentation on international experiences in national language development through education, especially, but not only, in multilingual education systems (each 1 presentation from 3)
Timeline: 10/10-20/10 2016
Work days: 9 (i.e. 3 per expert) from home
Deliverables: Good quality presentation
During one round table with policy makers and one meeting with civil society representatives (each 1 day), give the presentation(s), answer questions from participants, actively engage in discussions and advocate for applying international experiences for the development of Abkhaz language through education and in the framework of mother tongue based multilingual education (all 3 consultants)
Timeline: 20/10-15/11 2016
Work days: 6 (2 per expert) in Abkhazia, Georgia
Deliverables: Presentation held, questions of participants answered, discussion actively supported, application of international experiences for the development of Abkhaz language through education and in the framework of mother tongue based multilingual education advocated for.
Timeframe and mode of consultancy activities
The consultancy will be carried out during the second half of October and November 2016 and involves preparation work from home, as well as at least one visit to Abkhazia, Georgia, Georgia. During the work from home, the consultants will use email, skype and telephone for regular communication with UNICEF Georgia's Sukhumi Field Office.
Supervision
The consultants will work under the supervision of the Chief of UNICEF's Field Office and in close cooperation with the Education Assistant in Sukhumi.
Required qualifications
Advanced university degree in Philology, Education, or other relevant fields;
At least 10 years of work experience in one or several of the following areas: mother tongue based multilingual education, national language development, socio-linguistics, minority/language rights, minority/language policy;
Proven experience of advocacy work and advising public authorities on policy and human/minority rights matters;
Excellent English language skills; knowledge of Russian would be an asset;
Excellent presentation skills;
Familiarity with UNICEF's work in the area of education.
Payment terms
The consultants will be paid at a consultancy fee rate negotiated between the consultant and UNICEF Georgia, based on an initial proposal of the consultants and taking into account the consultants' level of experience and evaluations of their earlier work. Payment will be carried out after satisfactory fulfilment of tasks. UNICEF will also cover the consultants' travel expenses.
In addition to the required documents please submit your Cover Letter with proposed fee for the consultancy
How to apply:
Please follow the link to apply