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Safe and resilient schools in climate crisis contexts: key takeaways from the Global Education Meeting
The impact of climate change on education is often overlooked, with , representing half of the world’s children. Aiming to address the challenges to education in these contexts, UNESCO and the (GADRRRES) co-organized a session on “Safe and resilient schools in climate crisis contexts” at the recent Global Education Meeting (GEM) in Fortaleza, Brazil.
The session, held on 31 October 2024, featured panel discussions with education ministers and representatives from Zimbabwe, Colombia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Bangladesh, and Kenya, who are working to overcome the significant challenges facing education through effective policies and frameworks. Representatives from key UNESCO education partners, , the, and the , also spoke about the need for partnerships and collaboration at all levels to advance school safety and resilience. Attendees also had the chance to learn about GADRRRES during its spotlight session and at the Education in Emergencies booth at the event.
Member State representatives and partners speak during panel discussions:
Education at risk from the climate crisis and other emergencies
With just 6 years until 2030, progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), Quality Education, is alarmingly off track, illustrative of an underlying global crisis in education and significant challenges in the realization of inclusive, equitable and quality education for all. Globally, are out of school, a reduction of just 1% since 2015, affecting 129 million boys and 122 million girls.
The 2024 Global Education Meeting and this session came at a crucial time: as the world experiences an increasing number of complex crises, the need to uphold the fundamental right to education has never been more critical. Every crisis threatens access to education, which is especially concerning for children and young people. Education during crises is life-sustaining for them, building skills that can save lives and providing hope for a better future.
Emergencies often occur simultaneously, leading to compounded, protracted crises. Climate disasters, along with conflict, health issues, and displacement, can cause school closures, increase protection risks, and exacerbate inequalities, particularly for girls, young women and children and youth with disabilities. When disasters strike, teachers and education personnel in schools are often on the frontline, providing knowledge, skills, and support to affected learners. An all-hazards approach is essential to ensure schools and other learning environments are safe, inclusive, accessible, and resilient for all.
Attendees visit the Education in Emergencies booth at the GEM, organized by GADRRRES:
Ways forward for enhanced school safety and resilience
During the session in Fortaleza, discussions centered on concrete actions Member States and education stakeholders can take to enhance school safety and resilience in the face of emergencies, and advance progress on SDG 4. Below are three key takeaways from the session.
- Education systems must be prepared and resilient to overcome complex, often intersecting crises to ensure safe, quality, and inclusive education continues during emergencies.
Shocks to education systems caused by the climate crisis are not happening in isolation from other crises. The climate crisis intersects with other barriers to learning, including conflict and violence, and public health emergencies. To truly advance Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education, education stakeholders must work together to incorporate climate preparedness and resilience in education planning and strive to ensure that safe, inclusive, quality education continues in all emergencies.
- There is an urgent need to mobilize collective efforts to ensure comprehensive school safety (CSS) at all levels, including in tertiary and higher education.
Achieving comprehensive school safety requires the mobilization of all stakeholders—governments, NGOs, communities, and individuals. Hazards and risks cannot be addressed in isolation, nor by isolated actors. It is not only schools that are at risk from crises; higher education faces significant challenges when crises strike and must be prepared and resilient too. Safety and resilience in education should also be addressed at the global level by ensuring it remains on the advocacy agenda and is adequately financed.
- Endorsing and implementing the Comprehensive School Safety Framework enables improved educational resilience to all hazards.
Endorsing and implementing the (CSSF) is crucial to protect children and teachers from harm, ensure continuous access to education, and equip students with life-saving knowledge and skills. The CSSF promotes a unified, ‘all-hazards, all-risks’ approach to school safety, addressing natural disasters, conflicts, health crises, and everyday threats. To date, have endorsed the CSSF, demonstrating a global commitment to creating safe, inclusive, and resilient learning environments.
Attendees at this session concluded that the climate crisis is not just an environmental issue but a profound challenge to the fundamental right to education worldwide. Schools and education systems must be prepared to not only withstand the impacts of these and other hazards but also act as safe havens and hubs of information and preparedness for teachers and learners alike. Progress on SDG 4 relies on addressing these multifaceted challenges and ensuring resilient educational systems that can support continuous learning in the face of crises.
