UNESCO to host Webinar on Resilient Schools and Disaster Risk Reduction Education
The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa will host a webinar on resilient schools and disaster risk reduction education on 10 February 2021.
The webinar seeks to highlight the role of education on building resilient individuals and societies while strengthening disaster risk management by providing adequate school safety planning and implementation in the context of the commitments of the 2030 Agenda and Systemic Risk.
It will familiarize participants with the concepts and guiding principles and processes for ensuring resilient schools and disaster risk reduction education. It will also equip participants with knowledge of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework and examples of its implementation in the Southern Africa region. Delegates will discuss ways to strengthen the preparedness, mitigation, recovery and response capacities of the education sector and communities to disaster risks through disaster risk reduction education, school disaster management and safe learning facilities. The webinar is also expected to introduce the Massive Open Online Course on resilient schools and disaster risk reduction education.
Education is central to building societies’ resilience to hazards. Hazards such as floods and earthquakes become disasters when society lacks the ability to cope with them. Disasters are occurring at an alarming frequency and with increased severity in the Southern Africa region. Climate change exacerbates disasters and create humanitarian and development challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic disaster has also revealed the systemic nature of risk and highlighted the exposure of educational systems to all hazards. The education sector has a key role to play in addressing these challenges and in preventing hazards from becoming disasters. This role is best fulfilled through resilient schools and disaster risk reduction education.
Join us for the webinar on Resilient Schools and Disaster Risk Reduction Education on 10 February 2021 from 10:00 -12:00 (Harare time).
Register here.