The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) is an open global network of practitioners, students, teachers and staff from UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, donors, governments and universities who work together to ensure the right to education in emergencies and early recovery. INEE aims to ensure that all people in crisis-affected and fragile states have access to quality, relevant and safe education opportunities and that education services are integrated into all humanitarian response. INEE is a dynamic inter-agency forum that fosters collaborative resource development and knowledge sharing and informs practice through consensus-driven advocacy.
In 2004, INEE launched the handbook "Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises, and Early Reconstruction" (referred to as the "INEE Minimum Standards"), a seminal document for the field of education in emergencies based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Dakar 2000 Education for All goals and the Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Charter. The handbook has been translated into many different languages and is being used in over 80 countries around the world for education programme and policy planning, assessment, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It is also a tool for advocacy, training preparedness, and inter- and intra-agency policy dialogue and coordination. Users relate that the INEE Minimum Standards provide a common language and promote holistic thinking, facilitating the development of shared visions between different stakeholders, including members of affected communities, humanitarian agency staff and governments.
INEE’s website (www.ineesite.org) is designed to assist managers and practitioners in the field of education in emergencies and is useful to project staff, school administrators, head teachers, teachers, policy makers and youth workers alike. It provides information on INEE initiatives, access to reference and advocacy materials, internet links and good practice guides. Through its listserv, INEE keeps members updated on important developments within the field of education in emergencies, chronic crises and early recovery, as well as in the realm of disaster preparedness and mitigation and peace education.