The importance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in education in emergencies and protracted crises (EiEPC)

Welcome to the Giving Hope Conference. Below you will find information for the day, including: the program with speakers and themes; a breakdown of the running order for the day; and bios and pictures (in two carousels) of all speakers and panel debate participants.

• Date/Time: 24 April 2024, 09:00 – 12:45 (Seminar:  09:15 – 11:45; Networking lunch:  11:45 – 12:45)
• Location: Nationaltheatret Conference Center, Haakon VIIs gate 9, 0161 Oslo (map)
• Attendance: In-person and digital participation possible

Conference Program

We are delighted to welcome the Director General of Norad, Bård Vegar Solhjell to give the keynote introduction to the conference. This introduction will explore areas including NORAD’s focus on the links of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) to wellbeing and education within conflicts and crises.

This will be followed by presentations exploring different themes linked to the growing importance of MHPSS to wellbeing and education for children and young people in the face of increasing conflicts and crises. Themes will include: a global perspective on the greater need for MHPSS provision in education in fragile contexts; a Nordic perspective on linking mental health and education (including updates from the recent 2024 Nordic MHPSS conference in Malmö); different and evolving approaches to providing MHPSS to boost wellbeing and education; and a donor perspective on challenges, solutions and priorities for MHPSS provision in education.

Following the presentations there will be a panel debate titled “Problems & solutions – different perspectives.” This debate will look in detail at the different perspectives and experiences of those involved in the education and MHPSS area, including young people themselves. Discussion in the debate will range from the experiences linked to displacement, to ideas on what the challenges and solutions are for improving MHPSS provision and its positive impacts to wellbeing and education.

Program Outline

• Doors open: 08.30
• Take seats for conference: 09.00 - 09.15

Keynote introduction and presentations: 09.15 - 10.15

• Bård Vegar Solhjell (Director General, Norad) - MHPSS links to education in crises & conflicts, NORAD focus
• Dianah Nelsen (Chief of Education, Education Cannot Wait) - Global perspective on MHPSS in EiEPC
• Jill Popp (Senior Research Specialist, The Lego Foundation) -Changing donor landscape & priorities for MHPSS in EiEPC
• Ragnhild Dybdahl (Co-Chair, Norwegian Network for Global Mental Health) - Nordic MHPSS in EiEPC view, incl. Malmö outcomes
• Susan McIsaac (CEO, Right To Play International) - Evolving MHPSS in EiEPC approaches, incl. play based ones
  

Break: 10.15 – 10.30

Panel debate: 10.30 – 11.30 “Problems & solutions – different perspectives.”

• Moderator; Hector Ulloa (Global Student Forum, ECW Board Youth Member)
• Camilla Lodi (Global Head, Psychosocial Support, Norwegian Refugee Council)
• Jennifer Roberts (Education in Emergencies lead, UNHCR)
• Patience Agbamu (CEO, Siedi)
• Sigurd Johns (Director, Child Protection, Health and Nutrition, Save the Children Norway)

Closing remarks: 11.30 – 11.45

• Susan McIsaac (CEO, Right To Play International)

Networking lunch: 11.45 – 12.45

Conferance moderator for the day is Lars Erik Svanberg, (National Director Right To Play Norway).

Giving Hope speakers

Bård Vegar Solhjell (Director General, NORAD)

Bård Vegar Solhjell is Director General of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Norad, since January 2020. He is deputy board-chair of the Fritt ord (free word) foundation, and a board member of Norway’s second biggest renewable energy company Hafslund.

Mr. Solhjell came to Norad after having served as Secretary General of WWF Norway.
From 2001 to 2017 Mr. Solhjell held senior positions in Norwegian politics. He was member of the Parliament from 2009 to 2017, Minister of Education from 2007-2009, Minister of the Environment 2012-2013 and a State Secretary for prime minister Jens Stoltenberg from 2005-2007. From 2007 to 2015 he was Vice-chairman of the Socialist Left Party (SV).

Mr. Solhjell holds a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Oslo. He has written 4 non-fiction books and written extensively for Norwegian and international publications.

Dianah Nelsen (Chief of Education, Education Cannot Wait)

Dianah Nelson joined ECW as Chief of Education in January 2024, with expertise in the education sector and international development stemming from 15 years working with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and donor institutions in twenty-one countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining ECW, she provided critical leadership and technical support during Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, the Refugee Response in Tanzania, armed conflict in South Sudan, the European Migration Crisis in Greece/Serbia, and during the Ebola Response in Sierra Leone, to name just a few. Dianah is originally from Uganda and has two Master’s degrees in culture and development studies, and educational studies from KU Leuven University. Dianah enjoys spending quality time with her family especially reading, exploring and dancing with her daughter.

Jill Popp (Senior Research Specialist, The Lego Foundation)

Jill Popp is currently a Senior Research Specialist at the LEGO Foundation focusing on building evidence on learning through play, whole child development, and lifelong learning. She is particularly interested in understanding ways to support positive play experiences between caregivers and children within the home environment. Her previous research focused on young children with chronic illness and the impact of stress on young children’s narratives and parent-child relationship quality. Along with this, she has worked as a researcher on several large-scale community intervention programs in the United States.

Ragnhild Dybdahl (Co-Chair, Norwegian Network for Global Mental Health)

Ragnhild Dybdahl is currently seconded to Africa CDC in Addis Ababa from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and is also an associate professor of global mental health at the Centre for Crisis psychology, University of Bergen. She is a licensed clinical psychologist from University of Oslo and a PhD in psychology from University of Tromsø. She has worked in international development cooperation and humanitarian assistance for many years, with more than 15 years in leadership positions. Her research and practice include mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies, early childhood development, sexual and gender based violence, social determinants of health, forced displacement, and experience from Somalia, Bosnia, Guatemala, Niger, Sudan, Vietnam, France and the UK. Her previous positions include project co-ordinator for Norwegian People’s Aid, Head of education and research at Norad, and Deputy head of the Norwegian embassy in Vietnam. She is also a former co-editor of the Journal on Education in emergencies.

Susan McIsaac (CEO, Right To Play International)

Susan McIsaac joined Right To Play International in June 2019 as the Chief Philanthropy Officer, and became Chief Executive Officer in January 2021.
Prior to joining Right To Play, Susan was the Managing Director, Strategic Philanthropy at Royal Bank of Canada, where she provided strategic advice and guidance to RBC’s ultra-high net worth clients in developing their family philanthropic and legacy plans.

In the previous two decades, Susan was a senior executive with United Way of Greater Toronto, where she served as the organization’s Chief Development Officer and then as President and CEO. Under her leadership, United Way mobilized people and resources to address many of the region’s most pressing challenges, including income inequality, housing, precarious employment, and youth success. During her tenure, the organization increased its revenue from $58 million in 1998 to $118 million in 2015.

Susan has been involved in the community throughout her life as a volunteer and director of numerous organizations, and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012 in recognition of her efforts. She was named by the Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s To 100 Most Powerful Women in 2014 and won Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Region Builder Award in 2017.

Next Steps

All participants will be sent a link to the recording of the conference in the days afterwards. We will also explore with partners, ways to take forward the momentum of the conference around attracting more funding and financing focus to MHPSS in education in conflicts and crises. If you would like be involved or kept informed of these next steps, please contact Crispin Williams cwilliams@righttoplay.com