Global Citizenship Education

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UN supports education authorities in Lebanon to ensure continuity of education, inclusion and equity for children and young people 2020-04-28 The COVID-19 outbreak has translated into a major education crisis. Nearly 190 countries have imposed school closures, affecting 1.5 billion children and young people, according to a UN report launched by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week. While many countries, including Lebanon, switched to distance teaching and learning to mitigate the effects of such disruption, challenges related to preparedness, infrastructure and capacity, as well as the digital gaps, have put additional strains on students, parents, teachers, principals and the educational authorities. School closure has widened learning inequalities, affecting the most vulnerable children and youth disproportionately. In this context, the UN urged collective action to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on children and youth and is providing support to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) and the Ministry of Agriculture, among other partners in Lebanon, by developing alternative solutions to school closure to ensure that learning never stops. In close collaboration with MEHE, UN agencies are assisting in preparing and deploying inclusive distance learning solutions, utilizing hi-tech, low-tech and no-tech approaches. Distance learning support includes activities for the production of pre-primary and basic education lessons, as well as well-being materials, the Gender-Based Violence approach and health awareness for students and parents. The UN is also providing assistance for developing communication learning materials and special TV episodes, targeting teachers and parents, to raise their awareness on addressing the stress and psychosocial needs of children during remote learning. “Never before have we witnessed educational disruption at this scale. Despite the crisis, learning should never stop. While Lebanon is developing alternative solutions for school closure, we have a special responsibility to ensure inclusion and equity for all learners, so that no one is left behind. Our collective actions not only can help ensure continuity of education but can also contribute to building a more resilient education system for the future”.- Dr Hamed Al Hamami, UNESCO's Regional Director for Education in the Arab States “From school closures, to isolation, to a persistent sense of fear and anxiety, the effects of this pandemic are impacting children worldwide. We need to come together and explore every avenue to keep children learning and help them through this difficult time. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has been able to swiftly deploy innovative, scalable solutions for children and youth. The adaptations made are a powerful reminder of what we can achieve together for children as the crisis is far from its end”.- Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon The school closures have also affected youth enrolled in vocational and technical education and training. The UN in Lebanon, with its partners, is supporting the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in upgrading the agriculture education system in Lebanon, which offers Lebanese and displaced Syrian youth the opportunity of acquiring necessary technical skills to access improved career opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness in Lebanon or Syria upon their return. The assistance provided by the UN and its partners also includes distance online learning for students enrolled in the Technical Baccalaureate programs (BTA) at the seven agricultural technical schools in Lebanon. Teaching Programs are posted on the Ministry’s website for students’ access at this link and taken further with schoolteachers through virtual education. “FAO has always played an important role in the production, and dissemination of knowledge and technical educational materials to face the challenges of food security, sustainable agricultural and rural development. FAO is committed to provide continued support to the Ministry of Agriculture in upgrading the agricultural education system and in expanding distance learning opportunities for both Lebanese and Syrian students enrolled in agricultural schools". - Dr Maurice Saade, FAO Representative in Lebanon UN support to school children includes the extension of distance learning to the second shift and non-formal education programmes, aiming at reaching the most vulnerable communities, including the refugee communities. UN teams in the Bekaa developed remote learning solutions and created a virtual learning community (WhatsApp, Skype) contributing to guarantee children’s continued access to education. In Palestinian camps, UN-paid teachers and education cadres are currently implementing a Self-Learning Programme and using educational materials that the UN developed specifically to support student learning during this COVID-19 emergency. A Learning Readiness Rapid Assessment has been completed with the UN support and the participation of over 10,000 Syrian families with children enrolled in suspended non-formal and formal education programs. This assessment provides critical information to determine the ability of these families to access and manage distance learning opportunities. With this information, education providers will be able to tailor content and implementation modalities given the current lockdown. The UN has also developed a series of regional webinars to strengthen teachers’ capacities in distance/online teaching and build their skills to use ICTs in education. Several awareness raising information materials, including flyers and infographics have been prepared targeting teachers and parents. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the UN has been monitoring the impact of the crisis on the sector and providing MEHE with technical expertise, sharing of information and good practices. Monitoring support is also focused on the progress of remote learning, identifying gaps and providing technical support. With a chief aim to keep children and their families safe and informed about how to protect themselves, the UN engaged in a series of preventative actions that included the development of Cleaning and Disinfection Protocol for schools, the provision of hygiene and medical kits to schools and health clinics. As schools are expected to re-open at one point, the UN is providing advice and recommendations for education planners and decision makers who are anticipating the reopening of schools after lockdown measures are lifted. URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/supports-education-authorities-lebanon-ensure-continuity-education-inclusion-and-equity

ⓒ من موقع البرنامج العالمي لتنفيذ إعلان الدوحة

البرنامج العالمي لتنفيذ إعلان الدوحة ينشر قصة بشأن التعلم المنزلي لأطفال المدارس الابتدائية 2020-04-24 نشر البرنامج العالمي لتنفيذ إعلان الدوحة قصة بعنوان "التعلم المنزلي لأطفال المدارس الابتدائية بفضل الأدوات المبتكرة لمكتب الأمم المتحدة المعني بالمخدرات والجريمة" وذلك على الموقع الشبكي للبرنامج وحساباته على مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي في إطار مكون التعليم من أجل العدالة.وكانت دولة قطر قد استضافت المؤتمر الثالث لمنع الجريمة عام 2015 وصدر عنه إعلان الدوحة الذي يتضمن خطة عمل للمجتمع الدولي خلال السنوات الخمس التالية في مجال منع الجريمة والعدالة الجنائية.ومولت دولة قطر برنامجا عالميا لتنفيذ توصيات إعلان الدوحة بأكثر من 49 مليون دولار يقوم مكتب الأمم المتحدة المعني بالمخدرات والجريمة بتنفيذه.ويشمل البرنامج العالمي، أربعة مجالات رئيسية هي: نزاهة القضاء، والتعليم من أجل العدالة، وحماية الشباب من الجريمة من خلال الرياضة، وإعادة تأهيل السجناء.. وبلغ عدد المستفيدين من البرنامج حتى الآن حوالي 1.5 مليون شخص من أكثر من 190 دولة. URL:https://al-sharq.com/article/23/04/2020

Adverse consequences of school closures 2020-04-24 More on UNESCO's COVID-19 Education Response School closures carry high social and economic costs for people across communities. Their impact however is particularly severe for the most vulnerable and marginalized boys and girls and their families. The resulting disruptions exacerbate already existing disparities within the education system but also in other aspects of their lives. These include: Interrupted learning: Schooling provides essential learning and when schools close, children and youth are deprived opportunities for growth and development. The disadvantages are disproportionate for under-privileged learners who tend to have fewer educational opportunities beyond school. Poor nutrition: Many children and youth rely on free or discounted meals provided at schools for food and healthy nutrition. When schools close, nutrition is compromised. Confusion and stress for teachers: When schools close, especially unexpectedly and for unknown durations, teachers are often unsure of their obligations and how to maintain connections with students to support learning. Transitions to distance learnign platforms tend to be messy and frustrating, even in the best circumstances. In many contexts, school closures lead to furloughs or seperations for teachers. Parents unprepared for distance and home schooling: When schools close, parents are often asked to facilitate the learning of children at home and can struggle to perform this task. This is especially true for parents with limited education and resources. Challenges creating, maintaining, and improving distance learning: Demand for distance learning skyrockets when schools close and often overwhelms existing portals to remote education. Moving learning from classrooms to homes at scale and in a hurry presents enormous challenges, both human and technical. Gaps in childcare: In the absence of alternative options, working parents often leave children alone when schools close and this can lead to risky behaviours, including increased influence of peer pressure and substance abuse. High economic costs: Working parents are more likely to miss work when schools close in order to take care of their children. This results in wage loss and tend to negatively impact productivity. Unintended strain on health-care systems: Health-care workers with children cannot easily attend work because of childcare obligations that result from school closures. This means that many medical professionals are not at the facilities where they are most needed during a health crisis. Increased pressure on schools and school systems that remain open: Localized school closures place burdens on schools as governments and parents alike redirect children to schools that remain open. Rise in dropout rates: It is a challenge to ensure children and youth return and stay in school when schools reopen after closures. This is especially true of protracted closures and when economic shocks place pressure on children to work and generate income for financially distressed families. Increased exposure to violence and exploitation: When schools shut down, early marriages increase, more children are recruited into militias, sexual exploitation of girls and young women rises, teenage pregnancies become more common, and child labour grows. Social isolation: Schools are hubs of social activity and human interaction. When schools close, many children and youth miss out of on social contact that is essential to learning and development. Challenges measuring and validating learning: Calendared assessments, notably high-stakes examinations that determine admission or advancement to new education levels and institutions, are thrown into disarry when schools close. Strategies to postpone, skip or adminsiter examinations at a distance raise serious concerns about fairness, especialy when access to learning becomes variable. Disruptions to assessments results in stress for students and their families and can trigger disengagement. URL:https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/consequences

"My Hero is You": Children's book to cope with COVID-19 2020-04-17 A new story book that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced by a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children. News release of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee With the help of a fantasy creature, Ario, “My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!” explains how children can protect themselves, their families and friends from coronavirus and how to manage difficult emotions when confronted with a new and rapidly changing reality. The book – aimed primarily at children aged 6-11 years old – is a project of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, a unique collaboration of United Nations agencies, national and international nongovernmental organizations and international agencies providing mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings. During the early stages of the project, more than 1700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world shared how they were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. The input was invaluable to script writer and illustrator Helen Patuck and the project team in making sure that the story and its messages resonated with children from different backgrounds and continents. In order to reach as many children as possible, the book will be widely translated, with six language versions released today and more than 30 others in the pipeline. It is being released as both an online product and audio book. My Hero is You - How kids can fight COVID-19Download the book (English version): Click hereMy Hero is You: all language versions Quotes from collaborating partners World Health OrganizationDr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General“Previous humanitarian emergencies have shown us how vital it is to address the fears and anxiety of young people when life as they know it gets turned upside down. We hope that this beautifully-illustrated book, which takes children on a journey across time zones and continents, will help them to understand what they can do to stay positive and keep safe during the coronavirus outbreak.” UNICEFHenrietta Fore, Executive Director“All over the world, children’s lives have been completely upended – the majority of them living in countries with some form of restricted movement or lockdown. This wonderful book helps children understand and navigate this new landscape and learn how they can take small actions to become the heroes in their own stories.” UNHCRFilippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.“This is an important resource for children around the world with a strong message of inclusion at its heart – that this pandemic can only be beaten if everyone is included in its prevention and response. Children, including those who are refugees, displaced and stateless, can help too. No-one is protected unless we are all protected”. UNESCOAudrey Azoulay, Director General“Sharing facts and reliable information is vital to respond to COVID-19, and I wish to commend the creativity and passion of all artists, writers and publishers who find compelling ways to translate and craft stories and artwork so they can reach children and families to comfort and guide them through a distressing situation. UNESCO is proud to support this initiative and we see this as an example of the contribution of the artistic community to the well-being and resilience of all." Media Contacts:Alison Brunier, Communications Officer World Health Organization+41 22 791 4468, +41 79 701 9480bruniera@who.int URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/my-hero-you-childrens-book-cope-covid-19

Schools’ readiness for digital learning in the eyes of principals. An analysis from PISA 2018 and its implications for the COVID19 (Coronavirus) crisis response 2020-04-15 by Juan Manuel, Morenolucas Gortazar Across more than 170 countries, some 1.5 billion students have seen schools close as part of their governments’ response to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Now, ministries of education around the world try to ensure learning continuity for children and youth through distance learning. In most cases, efforts involve the use of various digital platforms featuring educational content, and a variety of educational technology (EdTech) solutions to keep communication and learning spaces as open and stimulating as possible. The paradox facing all countries is that. Thus, if the digital gap in education were to increase while schools are closed, learning inequality and learning poverty would also inevitably increase. Learning continuity would then be ensured for some but denied to others. This would allow all students to access online learning materials and digital platforms with educational content. However, even in rich countries where Internet connectivity is all but universal and there is little gap in access, the COVID-19 crisis has illuminated two more dimensions to the digital gap. The second dimension is the digital use gap: without direction, engagement with online content is less sophisticated and less learning-oriented for students from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. The third dimension is the school digital gap: the capacities and capabilities of each school to provide individualized, or suitably levelled and sequenced, digital learning for students; to promote and monitor engagement with these materials; and provide to feedback that helps maximize learning outcomes. For example, one school might be sending printed materials only or suggesting that students watch videos aimed at the general public, while another school is able to continue classes virtually or initiate creative ways of using digital apps for collaborative learning and individualized student support. The vast disparity in schools’ capabilities makes it easy to see why this is the most relevant digital gap for ensuring that students can keep learning during the pandemic. Since nobody knows more about schools than their principals, we have looked at the Principals’ Questionnaire in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 to see what they said about the readiness of their schools and teachers to create and manage digital learning experiences for students. Their responses bring some hope, but also a realistic and somewhat disappointing picture. Do principals agree that there is an effective online learning support platform available to their students? Principals in slightly more than half of education systems surveyed said that most 15-year-old students are in a school without an effective online learning support platform. This is the case in all participating countries from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), most of those from Europe and Central Asia (ECA) (not the Baltics, Turkey, and Kazakhstan) and all of those from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), except Qatar, plus a considerable number of high-income and OECD member countries (France and Portugal had 35 percent of students with no access, Germany 34 percent, and Japan 25 percent). While most countries are in the range of 35 to 70 percent, universal access to such platforms is within reach only for a few countries, including all the Nordic countries, Singapore, Qatar, and the four Chinese provinces participating in PISA 2018, and to a lesser extent Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. Overall, most countries are in the range of 35 to 70 percent of students attending schools in which the principal reports the availability of effective online learning support platforms. Hence the world’s education systems remain very far from universal availability of effective online platforms for student learning. Figure 1. An Effective Online Learning Support Platform is AvailablePercentage of 15-year-old students whose school principal agreed or strongly agreed Do teachers have the necessary technical and pedagogical skills to integrate digital devices in instruction? Principals had a much more positive opinion on this question. With just a few outliers (most notably, Japan), most countries have around two-thirds of 15-year old students in schools whose principals think their teachers have the technical and pedagogical skills for digital learning. High-income OECD members, again, do not fare better than middle-income countries. Differences between regions are comparatively small, although LAC and MENA lag behind ECA and East Asia and Pacific (EAP). In the COVID-19 crisis, the responses on this question offer some hope, though two-thirds seems low for teachers while at the same time raises concerns about the remaining third, whose teachers do not have skills that are now indispensable for successful digital learning during the school closures. Figure 2. Teachers Have the Necessary Technical and Pedagogical Skills to Integrate Digital Devices in InstructionPercentage of 15-year-old students whose school principal agreed or strongly agreed Are there effective professional resources to learn how to use the digital devices that are available to teachers? Principals were reasonably positive in their views on this question. For most countries, between 45 and 80 percent of students are in schools whose principal considers that effective resources exist for teachers to use the digital devices available, with quite a few countries reaching 90 percent and higher. Here again, rich countries are not particularly different from middle-income countries across LAC, MENA, EAP, and ECA. The two outliers are Japan and Hungary, where principals report a lack of such resources (affecting 19 and 29 percent of students, respectively). With close to a third of students having teachers who lack access to these professional resources, the COVID-19 crisis increases the urgency for ministries of education and private sector providers around the world to create and make available more and better resources for teachers (and now parents as well). Figure 3. Effective Professional Resources for Teachers to Learn How to Use Digital Devices are AvailablePercentage of 15-year-old students whose school principal agreed or strongly agreed Conclusion: Digital gaps in education are important to address in response to COVID-19 and future crises When it comes to education inequalities, the digital paradox is inescapable. In most of the 82 education systems participating in PISA, there is a positive correlation between the three variables described above and student socioeconomic status (a positive and statistically significant correlation is found in 46, 47 and 56 countries for each of the three variables described respectively). Thus, during COVID-19 and any future need for intermittent school closures, digital learning has the potential both to avoid widening learning inequalities and, paradoxically, to exacerbate them. The good news is that most school principals are quite confident about the pedagogical skills of their teachers and the availability of resources to help them use digital learning while students remain at home. It is critical now to ensure universal access to the Internet, as this can enable schools to use EdTech effectively, in age-appropriate ways, as part of their regular instruction. The aim is a smooth transition to distance learning, to allow continuity of learning during any future disruption in school operations. URL:https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/schools-readiness-digital-learning-eyes-principals-analysis-pisa-2018-and-its

Teacher Task Force calls to support 63 million teachers touched by the COVID-19 crisis 2020-04-15 Around 63 million primary and secondary teachers around the world are affected by school closures in 165 countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are on the frontlines of the response to ensure that learning continues for nearly 1.5 billion students, a number that is predicted to rise. Everywhere, together with school leaders, they have been rapidly mobilising and innovating to facilitate quality distance learning for students in confinement, with or without the use of digital technologies. They are playing a key role also in communicating measures that prevent the spread of the virus, ensuring that children are safe and supported. This unprecedented situation is putting teachers, students and families under stress. In some cases, teachers who may already be exposed to the virus themselves are trying to manage the anxiety of being told to work in situations where the COVID-19 risk is spreading. Others are dealing with the stress of of delivering quality learning with tools for which they have received little or no training or support. In many countries, contract teachers, substitute teachers and education support personnel risk seeing their contracts broken and their livelihoods disappear. The Teacher Task Force, an international alliance working for teachers and teaching, has issued a Call for Action on Teachers to ensure that teachers are protected, supported and recognised during the crisis. Leadership and financial and material resources for teachers are necessary to make sure that quality teaching and learning can continue at a distance during the crisis, and that recovery is rapid. The Task Force is calling on governments, education providers and funders – public and private – and all relevant partners to: Preserve employment and wages: This crisis cannot be a pretext to lower standards and norms, or push aside labour rights. The salaries and benefits of the entire teaching and education support staff must be preserved. Prioritise teachers’ and learners’ health, safety and well-being: Teachers need socio-emotional support to face the extra pressure being put on them to deliver learning in a time of crisis as well as provide support to their students in these anxious circumstances. Include teachers in developing COVID-19 education responses: Teachers will have a crucial role in the recovery phase when schools reopen. They must be included at all steps of education policy-making and planning. Provide adequate professional support and training: Little attention has been given to providing teachers with adequate training on how to ensure that learning continues. We must move swiftly to ensure that teachers receive the necessary professional support. Put equity at the heart of education responses: Greater support and flexibility will be needed for teachers who work in remote areas or with low-income or minority communities, to ensure that disadvantaged children are not left behind. Include teachers in aid responses: The Teacher Task Force urges financing institutions to help governments support education systems, particularly the teaching workforce’s professional development. Such support is particularly urgent in some of the world’s poorest countries, which are already struggling to meet education needs because of critical shortages of trained teachers. For more information, download the call in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. *** The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 is a global network of over 90 governments and some 50 international and regional organisations (including UN organisations, civil society organisations, the teaching profession and foundations) working to promote teachers and teaching issues. Its Secretariat is hosted by UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris. URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/teacher-task-force-calls-support-63-million-teachers-touched-covid-19-crisis

UNESCO launches CodeTheCurve Hackathon to develop digital solutions in response to COVID-19 2020-04-07 UNESCO, in partnership with IBM and SAP, has launched the CodeTheCurve Hackathon to support young innovators, data scientists and designers across the world to develop digital solutions to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from its terrible impact on the health of thousands so far, the COVID-19 crisis is having profound effects on societies, from reliable information sharing to education, with school closures currently affecting more than 1.5 billion students across the planet.“Solving this unprecedented global crisis will require the collective expertise and imagination of all of us,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. “We know that there are young women and men around the world with new and innovative ideas on how technology can help us handle the pandemic, but they need support to bring them to fruition. Through this Hackathon, in association with our partners, we hope to help make these ideas a reality.” CodeTheCurve is organized in two phases, beginning with a video competition for ideas, it will be followed by a Hackathon among 40 selected teams. The Hackathon will run until 30 April 2020. Participating teams will work on one of three main themes: 1) Ensuring continued learning 2) Data management and information, and 3) The present and the future: societal and health issues. “With so many young people currently at home due to COVID-19 school closures, 183 countries impacted, and a need for practical, fun, and virtual education, the IBM Z team is excited to launch CodeTheCurve with UNESCO, SAP, and our collaborators. Empowering youth with tech skills, entrepreneurial zest, professional development, and mentorship is really the secret sauce for inspiring the world to transition from consumers of technology into creators, makers, and doers empowered by technology,”says Melissa Sassi, Global Head – IBM Z Global Student Hub & IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator. Participating ‘Hackers’ will receive experience pitching their innovative solutions from relevant and supportive organizations that have been brought together under the umbrella of CodeTheCurve. The selected teams will be able to benefit from a series of webinars and activity kits offered by partner organizations, such as IBM, SAP, FOSSASIA, and iHackOnline. “During these unprecedented times, we need to empower young innovators as they engage in finding solutions to this crisis,” says Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Africa Code Week co-founder at SAP. “True to SAP’s vision of helping the world run better and improving people’s lives, our colleagues will resolutely support the CodeTheCurve hackathon by mentoring participants.” The CodetheCurve initiative is supported by UNESCO, IBM and SAP, and the generous contribution of TruChallenge.co.uk, AngelHack, iHackOnLine and with the collaboration of Pamplemousse Communication. The initiative builds upon UNESCO’s long-standing efforts to foster digital skills and professional development competencies for youth, with a particular focus on young women software developers and designers. YOUR IDEAS CAN CHANGE OUR FUTURE!PARTICIPATE IN THE CodeTheCurve HACKATHON!REGISTER ON CODETHECURVE.ORG: http://codethecurve.org Media contactBernard Giansetto b.giansetto@unesco.org(link sends e-mail) +33 (0)1 45 68 17 64More information on UNESCO information programme URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-launches-codethecurve-hackathon-develop-digital-solutions-response-covid-19

Alternative Solutions to School Closure in Arab Countries to Ensuring that Learning Never Stops 2020-04-02 UNESCO estimates that, as of 26 March 2020, 165 countries have closed schools and universities nationwide, affecting over 1.5 billion children and youth – or 87% of the world’s student population and a further 11 countries have implemented localized school closures. As stressed during an emergency meeting of the principals of multilateral education partners that virtually took place on 24 March, equity is the principal concern because school closures adversely affect disproportionately vulnerable and disadvantaged learners and alternative distance learning modalities might even exacerbate learning inequities due to the gaps in technology access and in the resources and capacities of schools and teachers.The Arab region, where 13 million children and youth are already out-of-school due to conflict, has been additionally challenged with more than 100 million affected learners across the region, according to the Global monitoring of school closures caused by COVID-19.Against this backdrop, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States in close collaboration with field offices and cluster offices in the region is urging collective actions aiming to mitigate the collateral impacts of the pandemic on the education sector.Since the beginning of the pandemic, UNESCO Beirut has been monitoring school closures, national responses, and government circulars. This brief report, available for download below, provides a summary of some measures taken by countries in the region. URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/alternative-solutions-school-closure-arab-countries-ensuring-learning-never-stops

UNESCO rallies international organizations, civil society and private sector partners in a broad Coalition to ensure #LearningNeverStops 2020-04-01 At a time of when 87% of the world’s student population is affected by COVID-19 school closures, UNESCO is launching a global education coalition to support countries in scaling up their best distance learning practices and reaching children and youth who are most at risk. Over 1.5 billion learners in 165 countries are affected by COVID-19 school closures. “Never before have we witnessed educational disruption on such a scale,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “Partnership is the only way forward. This Coalition is a call for coordinated and innovative action to unlock solutions that will not only support learners and teachers now, but through the recovery process, with a principle focus on inclusion and equity.” Since closing schools to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have been deploying distance learning solutions and grappling with the complexity of provisioning education remotely, from delivering content and supporting teachers to providing guidance to families and addressing connectivity challenges. Equity is the paramount concern because closures disproportionately hurt vulnerable and disadvantaged students who rely on schools for a range of social services, including health and nutrition. “We must speed up the ways we share experience, and help the most vulnerable, whether or not they have internet access”, said Angelina Jolie, UN High Commission for Refugees Special Envoy, who partnered with UNESCO in the establishment of the Coalition. UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohamed expressed the UN’s full commitment to the Coalition, warning that “for millions of children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, school closures could mean the loss of a vital safety net – of nutrition, protection and emotional support.” She added, “This is not a time to deepen inequalities. It is a time to invest in education’s power to transform. As we embark on the decade of action of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, our responsibility as a global community is to leave absolutely no one behind.” Multilateral partners, including the International Labor Organization, the UN High Commission for Refugees, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the World Food Programme and the International Telecommunication Union, as well as the Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, the OIF (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Asian Development Bank have joined the Coalition, stressing the need for swift and coordinated support to countries in order to mitigate the adverse impacts of school closures, in particular for the most disadvantaged. The private sector, including, Microsoft, GSMA, Weidong, Google, Facebook, Zoom, KPMG and Coursera have also joined the Coalition, contributing resources and their expertise around technology, notably connectivity, and capacity strengthening. Companies using learner and educational data have committed to uphold ethical standards. Philanthropic and non-profit organizations, including Khan Academy, Dubai Cares, Profuturo and Sesame Street are also part of the Coalition, mobilizing their resources and services to support schools, teachers, parents and learners during this time of unparalleled educational disruption. Media outlets are also invited to join the Coalition, as has done the BBC World Service as part of its commitment to supporting young people in lockdown across the globe. The BBC will be producing advice, stories, and media education materials to help isolated young people understand how the Coronavirus may affect them. With its emphasis on equity and gender equality, the Global Education Coalition will respond to countries’ specific needs, as envisaged during the meetings of Education Ministers convened by UNESCO. It will endeavor to match needs with free and secure solutions, bringing partners together to address connectivity and content challenges among others. It will provide digital tools and learning management solutions to upload national digitized educational resources, and curate resources for distance learning and strengthen technical expertise using a with a mix of technology and community approaches, depending on local contexts. In all interventions, special attention will be placed on ensuring data security and protecting the privacy of learners and teachers. Specifically, the Coalition aims to: Help countries in mobilizing resources and implementing innovative and context-appropriate solutions to provide education remotely, leveraging hi-tech, low-tech and no-tech approaches Seek equitable solutions and universal access Ensure coordinated responses and avoid overlapping efforts Facilitate the return of students to school when they reopen to avoid an upsurge in dropout rates “We are working together to find a way to make sure that children everywhere can continue their education, with special care to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in a video message marking the Coalition’s launch, together with UNESCO Director-General and other personalities. **** Media contact: Clare O’Hagan, UNESCO Press Service, c.o-hagan@unesco.org+33 01456 81729 URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-rallies-international-organizations-civil-society-and-private-sector-partners-broad

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