 It's my great pleasure to be here today to welcome the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Dillunidus, to speak to us here today. Mr Dillunidus was appointed to his current position in November 2014 and also concurrently serves as the EU Ebola coordinator. The visit of the commissioner is most timely for us actually here in Ireland and I really want to thank the commissioner and the IIEA for that. I had the pleasure this morning of attending a meeting with the commissioner and Minister Flanagan about the issues that are most pressing on all of our minds at the moment, not least the situation, the desperate humanitarian situation in Aleppo, and hopefully Minister Flanagan will be addressing the door on that today and I think the fact that he had the opportunity to speak to you this morning commissioner was really excellent. The subject matter on which the commissioner will speak today, education and displacement crisis is rapidly being recognised as the most important issue in us addressing these ever increasing humanitarian emergencies. I think we're all convinced that education is really the key building block in supporting recovery in our most protracted conflicts and crisis that we're currently dealing with. According to UNICEF's recent report Uprootit, which was released in preparation for the September Migration Summit, there are 28 million children forcibly displaced worldwide. And as the average duration of the crisis grows, so too does the length of time where these children are prevented from being in school. And we know another awful statistic that worldwide over 120 million children are out of school and over half of these live in conflict affected countries. Also girls are two times more likely to be out of school than boys in these countries affected by conflicts. So we can hear with a few simple statistics how immense the challenges are. Not least, obviously, as I said, the topic that's most pressing on our minds at the moment, the Syrian crisis now in its sixth year. And this has lasted the same duration of the period of time that most of our kids here in Ireland and in other parts of Europe and the world are in secondary school, for example. So we know that a whole generation of Syrian children that remain in Syria are losing their right to basic education. And I just want to emphasise, you know, there is so much attention right now, rightly so, on Syria. But let us not forget the many forgotten crisis that we don't hear about as much. But to which Ireland, in terms of our humanitarian assistance, is very, very committed, such as Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan. There also we have generations of children losing out on school, lack of services available, children living in conflict zones, etc. I'm very pleased to say that at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May, Ireland committed to providing greater support for education and livelihood opportunities for displaced people, particularly those affected by the Syria crisis. And this is as a contribution to their dignity and self-reliance and to enable displaced people to make valuable contributions to the societies in which they now live and hopefully to their countries when they return in future. Ireland also strongly welcomed the launch of the Education Cannot Wait Fund at the World Humanitarian Summit, which is a new global fund established to accelerate the delivery of education and emergencies. And just to make you all aware, the Irish people through Irish aid contribute to a number of programmes which support the provision of education and emergency context, including for refugee and IDP children, in the belief that education can save and sustain lives while rebuilding communities and societies for longer-term recovery and resilience building. Ireland supports initiatives such as the No-Loss Generation campaign with UNICEF, who I know are here today, and particularly for children affected by the Syria crisis. No-Loss Generation partners have supported 3.2 million children to be enrolled in education inside Syria and 1.2 million children in countries affected by the crisis, with community-based child protection, including psychosocial care and support. Ireland also provides significant funding to the global partnership of education, and we know that at least half of that now is focused on provision of education in fragile settings. In addition, we also support a number of our NGO partners, also present here today. For example, with Plan International Ireland, we work in the Central African Republic and in Cameroon. These programmes are leading to an improved availability and access to quality education for thousands of children and adolescents in IDP camps, including on literacy and life skills. Also, through our partner World Vision Ireland, we've supported the building of classrooms, training of teachers, establishment of child-friendly spaces for children displaced by conflict in South Sudan. Both of these examples have resulted in increased girls attendance in school. So Ireland has a particular focus on gender and protection, and we believe that education is critical for the empowerment and protection of girls in particular in crisis settings. I hope those few introductory remarks do give you a broad overview of some of the areas in which Ireland is supporting education and displacement. We are very focused on this issue, and as I said, particularly on girls' education. I think it's so important to re-emphasise today in the face of everything we're dealing with in Europe that we are so committed to working with the commissioner, with our other EU partners, and that we work together, put our shoulders jointly behind the wheel in this massive effort we have. So I look very much forward to listening to Mr Stunanita's address today, and without further delay, please welcome our keynote speaker. Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I would like to say that I witness the contribution of the Ireland in many areas of the conflict in South Sudan, Yemen and Syria, and I appreciate it a lot. This contribution is commissioned for humanitarian aid, and thank you so much for this collaboration and for this engagement, especially in this very difficult field as humanitarian and development field, both of them. It's really a privilege to be here today with you to address the Institute for International and European Affairs, a leading think tank on European international affairs. I know that your reputation stretches beyond Ireland, and this is not just a gentsher. Now more than ever, we need in depth analysis and assessments from researchers and experts about current European and international developments. And your work is very valuable at this very critical juncture for Europe. I'm pleased to be here to speak about an issue I consider paramount, education in emergency situations, more specifically the role of the education in the refugee crisis. This is an issue that has become my obsession, and in our premises in Brussels, I have a lot of accusations because of these obsessions. But sometimes accusations, but it is an incentive for me to follow this difficult way, because I strongly believe that education is the only way, especially in these very difficult circumstances. I would like to share with you my thoughts on the largest challenge of forced displacement also, and the importance of the synergies between humanitarian aid and development, the nexus between humanitarian actors and development. For us politicians, the chance to share our thoughts and exchange views with academics, researchers, the private sector is really refreshing. We need this refresh. And they're very precious because it allows us to think out of the box, out of the institutional box, and it allows us to engage in a new and innovative ideas. This is very essential, especially in this current time when the political approach definitely is under the attack of the populistic parties and many others who believes that we are maybe at the end of the history of the politics. Yes. Dear friends, the work we live in today is substantially different than it was, let's say, ten years ago. Completely different because it has become more volatile and definitely less predictable. This makes the work of the humanitarian community even more challenging. Today, 250 million people are affected by humanitarian crisis. I've seen on the ground many forms of human suffering. From Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone to displacement due to the Boko Haram campaign of terror in Nigeria in charge in Niger. And of course, the human tragedies in South Sudan, in Somalia, in Ethiopia due to El Nino and many other reasons for this humanitarian crisis. I saw also the urgent needs in countries hosting a large number of refugees from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Iraq. At the same time, I've seen the vital and brave job our humanitarian workers do. And how the humanitarian response makes a real difference on the ground. Allow me at this point to speak of my personal experience and to tell you that I've seen with my own eyes the great contribution of host communities. Of ordinary citizens from Gaziantep to the Aegean Islands, north of Greece, Idomeni, their generosity is enormous. And I commend it. They are all collectively at the front of each and every crisis. And this is, for me, the definition of the encouragement in order to continue in this difficult field. No doubt the European Union is and remains the leading humanitarian donor. And as commission for humanitarian aid, I promise and I intend to remain so humanitarian, a European Union as a leading donor in humanitarian field. This is our moral obligation as Europeans. This is our moral framework. This is our collective responsibility. Regardless of some differences and disagreements within our institutions. This is a completely different issue. But we all share the same moral framework, the moral obligation. And for me this is enough to continue. Despite the different needs that humanitarian crisis have, they have a common one. They need for education, which has become a basic need. An essential element for survival is not a luxury. It is essential element for survival. This is especially so for refugees, for people who have been uprooted because we need to ensure continuity of their education immediately. Without these protections these children become easy prey. Education is a protective shield. Education gives them better prospects. Especially education in emergencies, this is my priority and of course it is a top priority for the European Commission and for the European Union as a whole. And allow me to explain why education in emergencies should be top priority. Firstly education is a human right. Every child has a right to uneducation. Close to 40 million children are currently out of school in areas affected by crisis. 40 million. This is catastrophic. This is simply unacceptable. But this is reality. Secondly, education is the foundation of everything else. As John Jay we said, education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself. And this is very crucial for all of us to accept this idea, this approach regarding education. Thirdly, and this is, it is a proof, it is an evidence on the ground, is a strong shield against radicalisation. Against forced recruitment, against forced marriage. Education protects children from becoming prey to terrorists and criminal organisations. Fourth, even in the most tragic circumstances, education can give children a sense of normality. And this is, for me, is the framework of the protection, especially in the childhood. It allows children to lead a dignified life. It helps them to restore their self-confidence. To feel that they can have real opportunities. Equal opportunities. Because education opens up possibilities and avenues for them for a better future. And they recognise this. Because all message around them, social media, all these things, they send the same message. You need education. You need something in order to be distinguished from the other person close to you. And fifth, education is essential so that we do not have lost generations. In Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen, in South Sudan, in Nigeria, in Niger, elsewhere. Investing in the education of children crisis is investing in peace. This is my strong conviction. In Seattle, resilience and economic growth also. In one sentence, investing in their future. Last year, as commissioner of humanitarian aid, I committed to increasing the EU's humanitarian aid for educational emergencies worldwide. To increase the budget four times, reaching over 2,300,000 children in 42 countries. And for me, it was a figure out of beyond my imagination, definitely. And frankly speaking, I'm thinking to increase again next year budget more. This commitment has not only been fulfilled, it has been surpassed. The European Union is leading by example. And as I already said, we intend to continue our efforts to make education in emergencies a collective priority. My dear colleagues, one of the defining challenges of our century is forced displacement. Which among other serious consequences disrupts the education of children, definitely. Conflicts and violence are causing millions of people to flee. More than 65 million people have been forced to leave their homes worldwide. Half of them are cheated. Last year, every minute, 24 people were forced to flee. Something very terrible, just to think. The numbers are shocking. They are catastrophic, especially for the young people. People are forced to go to a different part of their own country. Many flee to neighbouring countries. Others take a dangerous journey. Some come all the way to Europe. We saw, we witnessed through international media. Let me elaborate on this last point. In Europe, inevitably, these infligent refugees have stretched the capacities of some member states to the limits. It has presented huge challenges. Therefore, we had to react swiftly, effectively. And of course, in a coordinated manner. To that end, we put in place as European Commission a new instrument. To allow us to provide humanitarian aid inside our own borders. And through this instrument, we have managed to improve the living conditions for refugees. Especially in Greece, because it was the first victim of these new infligences through Turkey's shores towards Aegean Islands. And of course, we focus, especially the vulnerable children. Some, unfortunately, come and accompany. Separated from their families. Traumatised. These girls and boys definitely need specialised care in child-friendly environments. With the help of our humanitarian partners, some of you are organisations, we offer them protection. For instance, in Greece, we have allocated almost 25 million euros for child protection activities. This, of course, includes psychosocial support, specific shelters for unaccompanied minors. And of course, we support the reunification with their families. This is the major purpose. Also, we are creating safe spaces for them to play and relax. And specifically, in 17 different refugee camps in the mainland of Greece and in the Aegean Islands. Because that children can be children as simple as that. Equally important for me, we provide non-formal education. For example, again in Greece, we provide Greek and English classes or math as a basic education. And we also provide school kids and the transportation of children to and from public schools. These activities benefit 4,500 refugee children in Greece. This is through the new instrument. This is why I focus on this. Many of these boys and girls will spend their entire childhood away from home. This is why their education is key. It is the foundation for everything else. Also, I visited many other places where we are implementing educational projects. Beca valley in Lebanon. Zaadari camp in Jordan. Donetsk in Ukraine. Kazian depth in Turkey. Datab camp in Kenya. The others areas around the lake Charad, Niger and Chant. In all these visits I saw and I was impressed by the determination of the children there to learn. Something is a physical motivation. Yes, despite the obstacles and dangers they face in many areas. Some examples. In Kazian depth in Turkey we ensure the access of 7,000 Syrian children to quality education. Kazian depth very close to the borders. Just opposite Aleppo. European Union funded programs include transportation, psychosocial support and social cohesion activities. We also, and this is another very critical measure, support 350 teachers with knowledge Arabic language. Because we need also to learn and to know Arabic language. In Beca valley we are supporting projects of informal education for young children who cannot go to school. They lost the continuation of the education process. The help we provide is a mix of teaching, protection and psychosocial support. I insist on this process, non-formal education because I saw on the ground this is maybe the only way to establish a process and to protect the continuation of the children. Otherwise, if we insist only in the national curriculum on formal education, definitely we will lose this continuation. And the informal education is a real solution, is another aspect in our activities and in our funding. In Somalia, very difficult field, we are supporting a project addressing the economic and social causes which deny education to girls. Girls access to education is very crucial to build resilient communities, to prevent forced marriages and sexual abcusions. My experience on the ground gave me a very clear message. The resilience is a matter of the women. Without women, especially in Africa, there is no resilience process. Sorry, my dear colleagues and men, but this is the reality. And we have to admit this in order to find practical solutions. In the north states of South Sudan, the most terrible situation worldwide, the definition of the man-made conflict. It's a shame for the international community this situation in South Sudan. Refugee children have little or no formal education. To address this, we support a project to increase access to education for more than 30,000 boys and girls. And for me it's a big achievement in these conditions to establish and to continue this very critical project. A major concern for us, of course, is the tragic developments in Syria. Where the deteriorating humanitarian situation is truly appalling, particularly in Aleppo, the violence is something which can touch everywhere. Every time, every minute, every second. Barbaric situation. Its sole objective is to inflict maximum suffering. And as always, the main victims are children. We saw the images of the children in the rappel. And I think these images speak for themselves. Also, we saw the president and unacceptable breaches of international humanitarian law. And human rights. The European Union has spoken out loudly and strongly in condemning these atrocities. The immediate priority is to restore a credible ceasefire to bring a net to hostilities. But in the face of the humanitarian tragedy in Aleppo, inaction is not an option. This is why, together with Federica Mogherini, Vice President, we've taken on behalf of the European Union, unearthed humanitarian initiatives last weekend, aiming at allowing humanitarian organizations to do their work to rescue and protect civilians. Until now, unfortunately, we don't have real impact on the ground, no results on the ground. But we have to continue, we continue our efforts through political contacts, through anyone to provide any help in order to find ways to provide humanitarian assistance from West Aleppo to Israel. As you realize, in these circumstances, education is forcefully disrupted. Schools are destroyed. Teachers are killed or forced to leave. Children have no schooling, they have no classes to attend. The longer they remain without schools and education, definitely, and this is based on figures, they become prey to criminal organizations. I'll shove up in Somalia, Al Nusra in Syria, ISIS in Mosul, very close to Erbil and everywhere. That is why I insist on informal education and in these affected areas by crisis, especially the informal educations becomes essential. Many times, not to provide basic knowledge, but to protect children, to preserve a sense of continuity as much as possible. This is not an easy task under the current tragic condition especially in Syria. It is a huge challenge, but doing nothing is not a choice. Leaving these children without basic schooling is catastrophic to their future. And of course, for the prospect of a peaceful Syria. Day after, we need people with educational skills. That's why as commission we allocated so far over 544 million euros through its various instruments, such as Matat Fan, especially for neighboring countries around Syria, and to address the educational needs of children affected by the Syrian crisis, both inside Syria, of course, as well as in neighboring countries. As I already pointed out, humanitarian crises have become more frequent over the past 25 years. They have become more complex, more severe and more protected. Refugees may have reached European shores, but the developing world continues to shoulder the largest part of the burden. 89% of the world's refugees live in developing countries. This is the figure. 89%. The question becomes how do we respond to these challenges? When our resources are very limited, we already discussed these problems as humanitarian community. To find the answers we need to think out of the box. We need to change the way we do things. Business, as usual, is not acceptable in these very difficult circumstances. First displacement must be part of a comprehensive strategy. And joint approach, and joint concern of humanitarians as well as development and political actors. This approach that we, all of us, we have our separate field, I think is very old-fashioned. It's completely out of any touch of the reality. Only with this new approach can make a reality affairs on the ground. It will help host communities to integrate and work with the displaced people. First of all, giving them access to labour markets, education, health and other services. So, instead of seeing displaced people as a burden, they will view them as a potential economic and social asset. This is very critical for the host community and for the political system to accept this new approach. Even in Europe, because we face a lot of very strange behaviours inside our institutions and in our societies. And again, education is one central aspect of this new approach. In this sense, let me give you another one aspect. The use of cash assistance to help refugees lead a dignified life. I insist on the cash scheme or the cash voucher approach because I saw concrete results on the ground. Because of this new instrument and because of the necessity to use this instrument. A few days ago, I was in Ankara, where I launched in partnership with the World Food Program, implementing partner and other Turkish partners, the Turkish Red Crescent, the so-called emergency social safety net. This is the largest ever humanitarian aid project funded by the European Union. It is also the largest ever humanitarian cash transfer programme. It has a start-up budget of 348 million euros, a huge amount. And we believe that we can provide cash assistance for one million refugees in Turkey, outside of the camps. Every month they receive a cash transfer and they can buy what they need most. Definitely this enables them to put food on the table, pay their rent because they have this problem, and at the same time, send their children to school instead of to work. Because we have problems with the labour children, especially inside Turkey. At the same time, through this cash scheme, we can reconcile the refugees communities with host communities. Because through this scheme, local economy can boost and can find specific incentives and motivations. And this is good. And this is why this project is a truly ground-breaking project. My dear colleagues, humanitarian assistance is absolutely essential during the emergency phase. But to tackle the long-term effects of crisis, we need to focus on larger development questions. And bring in new actors. We need new actors. And of course, in the final analysis, we need political solutions. All of us, we realise that unfortunately the humanitarian problems need political solutions. Only through political solutions can we minimise humanitarian crisis everywhere. To that end, we all have a role to play. All of us. Not only myself as commissioner. And for me, partnership is key. You, as a think tank and individually as researchers, can help a lot. You are part of this process. First of all, by providing in-depth analysis. You know better than us to analyse all this aspect of the situation. By providing assessment of facts and information. And of course, by sharing your views and proposals. Through media, through interventions, through interviews and many other activities. And thank you again for this opportunity. And I'm here and I'm looking forward to your comments and your views. I'm here to listen to you and I'm here to hear. In order to improve myself and my approaches in many areas. Because as I said, I'm here to refresh my mind. To see and to think out of the box. Out of the institutional box. Thank you so much again for your attention.