CONSULTANCY– Artist for Project with Children

                                        TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToR)

Location : Sittwe/Pauktaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar

Languages required : Myanmar, basic English

Starting date : 14 February 2019

Duration of the contract : 22 working days

Background - Scope of the Consultancy

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been operational in Rakhine since 2008 when it initially responded to the devastation caused by cyclones Nargis in the Ayeyarwady Division (2008) and Giri in Rakhine State (2010) and as such possesses extensive knowledge and understanding of the operating environment. As a consequence of the inter-communal violence in Central Rakhine in June and October 2012 the crucial humanitarian needs of the displaced communities led to an increased focus on displacement and addressing humanitarian needs.

In Rakhine State, DRC is currently delivering shelter, community infrastructure, Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Non-Food Items (NFIs), livelihoods and protection (including GBV and child protection) assistance, to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and conflict-affected populations. DRC furthermore serves as the Camp Management agency for approximately 52,000 IDPs in rural Sittwe.

Five years after the inter-communal violence and subsequent large scale displacement in Rakhine State, children and youth in IDP camps, host communities and isolated villages continue to face considerable child protection concerns. The protracted displacement, worsening inter-communal relations, continuing movement restrictions, a lack of economic opportunity, and the scaling down or redirection of some basic humanitarian assistance in 2016, have exacerbated children’s vulnerability to a variety of child protection risks.

Whilst some gains have been made in Myanmar to improve the protection of girls and boys from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, serious protection concerns remain, resulting in a need for innovative and holistic programs for children in Rakhine. 

Objectives of the Consultancy

Art encourages fine motor skills, neural development, and problem-solving abilities while allowing children to process their world and deal with sometimes challenging emotions in a safe way. The goal of this consultancy is to lead the development of an art project to create a space for children to foster creativity and confidence while increasing ownership of the Child Friendly Space (CFS) in their community. The consultant should be able to work with children to teach art skills and design and provide guidance in expression of creativity and emotions.

DRC Child Protection team has presence in 10 locations across Sittwe and Pauktaw, where children access a CFS to engage, learn and develop with peers. We would like the consultant to run a workshop in each of these locations that focuses on teaching children basic painting techniques and providing guidance to encourage creation of an original collective art piece to be painted on the wall/canvas. The second aspect of the project will include supervising and supporting the children to paint the art piece, using the outcomes from the workshop. We hope this will lead to promoting team work, supporting creative development while enhancing the visual aesthetics of the space.

The consultancy is part of the DRC holistic protection approach aiming to increase capacity and give ownership to contribute to the construction of a protective environment for children.

Duties, Responsibilities and Deliverables

The Consultant will be based in Sittwe, Rakhine State and will work in 10 locations for up to 22 days (of which 20 are field based). The remaining 2 days will be to finalise a report of the activity including successes and challenges of the project:

The consultant will report to the Child Protection Team Leader and will conduct the following activities:

Responsibilities:

• Run a workshop for 20 children, teaching basic art skills and creating a project plan in 10 locations
• Coordinate and supervise the painting of a wall or canvas mural in each location in collaboration with the children. 

• At the end of his/her assignment, the consultant will prepare a short written report in English.
• The report should contain an overview of workshops such as objective, outcome, successes and challenges. In addition, the report should include photo documentation of children implementing the project (painting).

  The final report can be drafted during the project, and can be finalized on the last 2 days of this consultancy.

• The consultant will sign the code of ethics and will ensure full respect of humanitarian principles when approaching community members.
• The consultant will sign DRC’s ‘confidentiality form’.

Deliverables:

1. 1 full day workshop delivered to a group of 20 children (10 boys, 10 girls) aged 10 to 17 in 10 locations
2. 1 full day facilitating and directing children to paint either a latrine, wall or large canvas mural.
3. Final report.

Note: DRC will provide all materials including paper, paint and brushes for the project.

Profile of the Candidate

Your Experience must include:

• At least 5 years experience working as an artist including sketching and painting large spaces (ie walls, murals)
• At least 2 years of experience in delivering art workshops, preferably with children.
• At least 2 year of experience working with children
• Good understanding of the Rakhine context. Previous experience working with Muslim communities.
• Demonstrated knowledge of protection issues in humanitarian settings, and of humanitarian emergency operations and roles/responsibilities of humanitarian actors.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision
• Proficiency Myanmar and basic English (required for written report). Rakhine language desirable.

Interested parties are to submit applications on or before 5 PM on Monday 28 January 2019.  Applications should be sent through the link bottom.

Danish Refugee Council are equal opportunity employers and consider all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, national origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or physical or mental disability.