In the News

L’inverno si sta avvicinando e, con il calo delle temperature, è stata nuovamente avviata la campagna di sostegno alle famiglie ucraine e moldave, con l’organizzazione di alcune giornate di “shopping” per i bambini provenienti dalle situazione più di difficoltà. Rispetto a quanto fatto in precedenti occasioni, in cui era stato il personale di Ai.Bi. a scegliere gli indumenti più adatti e distribuirli ai beneficiari, questa volta è stato deciso di lasciare la scelta a bambini e genitori, così che potessero “fare la spesa” in autonomia, individuando gli articoli più adatti alle esigenze di ciascuno.

Per individuare le famiglie più bisognose, lo staff locale di Ai.Bi. ha chiesto aiuto agli insegnanti delle cinque scuole di Chisinau (la capitale della Moldova) dove, con il sostegno di Education Cannot Wait e in collaborazione con UNICEF Moldova e Plan International Amici dei Bambini sta svolgendo il progetto “Aumentando l’accesso a opportunità di apprendimento formale e non formale sicure, protettive e di qualità per i bambini ucraini, temporaneamente sfollati nella Repubblica di Moldova, e per i bambini delle comunità ospitanti, attraverso i centri di apprendimento a misura di bambino, le Ludoteche e il Ludobus”. Non è stato semplice organizzare le giornate di acquisti, ma la soddisfazione e le emozioni lette sui volti di chi ha vissuto questa opportunità ha ripagato di qualsiasi sforzo. Per alcuni bambini si è trattata addirittura della prima volta in cui hanno potuto scegliere un vestito secondo i propri gusti e acquistarlo, senza essere costretti a rinunciare ad altre cose perché “i soldi non sarebbero bastati”.

On the International Day of Tolerance, let us seriously reflect and make the effort to consciously embody the full meaning of tolerance before the millions of school-aged children whose futures depend on us and upon whom we, too, depend. 

In the final analysis, educating for tolerance requires role models for the young generation. As parents, teachers, leaders and people from all walks of life, we need to look afar and within. Because tolerance starts with ourselves and how we relate to universal values in practice and in action – just as outlined in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance. 

On the International Day of Tolerance, let us seriously reflect and make the effort to consciously embody the full meaning of tolerance before the millions of school-aged children whose futures depend on us and upon whom we, too, depend. 

In the final analysis, educating for tolerance requires role models for the young generation. As parents, teachers, leaders and people from all walks of life, we need to look afar and within. Because tolerance starts with ourselves and how we relate to universal values in practice and in action – just as outlined in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance.

Millions of crisis-affected children around the world are in urgent need of education support. These girls and boys are in danger of losing out on years of learning, and are at higher risk of child marriage, human trafficking, child labour and forced recruitment into armed groups.

To strengthen and scale up the delivery of holistic and protective education for children left furthest behind, Education Cannot Wait announced today a US$500,000 grant to the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action. This 36-month Acceleration Facility grant will strengthen partnership between child protection and education sector actors in emergencies and protracted crises – enabling them to better implement a whole-of-child approach that enhances protection, learning and wellbeing for children in crisis contexts.

That is why Labour is now urging the British government to work with its partners to coordinate a plan for the children of Gaza. To ensure that among the many priorities, we can deliver school kits, deconflict shelters for education and trauma support and protect aid workers so they can teach and alleviate children’s mental distress, deliver MMR vaccines and prioritise water and nutrition for children.

We have done this before, in conflict zones around the world through UN initiatives like Education Cannot Wait, UNICEF and Save the Children. Even in the darkest moments of war, more than eight million children have had the solace and the hope that comes with education as a result.

Finally, the “Education Cannot Wait” program is a crucial solution to helping Somalia escape the cycle of poverty. This program sees quality education for children and adults as the key to improving life for future generations. Almost half of the children in Somalia do not attend school due to having to help work at home, lack of teachers, illnesses and general lack of resources. With this program, however, families are given school supplies in addition to supplementary foods and safe drinking water. Partners in this program also provide incentives for teachers to give children a more significant opportunity for enrollment and rehabilitate classrooms. Eighteen thousand children have had access to education since 2019.

Anastasia is a student at Lyceum No. 1, one of the few schools in the Mykolaivska region of Ukraine that is fully operational. With over 700 students – including those coming in from neighboring villages and internally displaced children from areas where shelling continues – the school in Kryve Ozero remains open thanks to dedicated teachers, administrators and support from government and international partners.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, and partners in Ukraine are working to ensure that children are able to continue learning and building towards a brighter future. Among its numerous holistic education supports, ECW funding to UNICEF has supported an initiative to install shatter-resistant window film at 23 schools in the Mykolaivska and Odeska regions of the country – including Anastasia's school.

Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming T.D., today announced a further €1 million in support for Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies. 224 million children around the world are deprived of a quality education due to armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate-induced disasters and other prolonged crises. Funding from Ireland will assist Education Cannot Wait to provide education to children living in areas experiencing crisis. The additional funding will help to provide school infrastructure, learning materials, teacher training and mental health and psychosocial services. It will also provide water, sanitation and food for pupils.

Minister Fleming said: “Providing education is a key priority for Ireland’s work around the world. Conflicts and disasters are keeping 224 million young people around the world out of education. Depriving children of education is damaging for them and also sets back their entire communities. Ireland’s partnership with Education Cannot Wait supports children caught up in crisis to stay in, or to return to, education.

To accelerate the impact of Education Cannot Wait's (ECW) investments in over 40 crisis-affected countries, ECW announced today a US$1 million grant to the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). This 36-month Acceleration Facility grant will bring together diverse stakeholders, know-how and resources to inform public policies and share best practices to scale-up impact across ECW's broad global portfolio of programmes which have already reached almost 9 million children. 

To accelerate the impact of Education Cannot Wait's investments in over 40 crisis-affected countries, ECW announced today a US$1 million grant to the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies. This 36-month Acceleration Facility grant will bring together diverse stakeholders, know-how and resources to inform public policies and share best practices to scale-up impact across ECW's broad global portfolio of programmes which have already reached almost 9 million children.

"Education Cannot Wait and INEE share the firm conviction that learners in crisis contexts deserve to thrive, not just survive. INEE has been instrumental in advancing the right to quality education in emergencies and protracted crises through powerful advocacy, standard setting, knowledge sharing and capacity building of practitioners. Through this innovative partnership, we are strengthening capacities on the ground to improve the quality and impact of our investments and support holistic education for children in the world's toughest contexts," said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of ECW, the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

In addition, the EU has pledged a further 25 million euros for the global “Education Cannot Wait” fund. This fund focuses on educating children in emergencies and ongoing crises, particularly disadvantaged groups such as girls, children with disabilities and minorities. Since the fund was founded, the EU has already provided support with 27.5 million euros. With the additional 25 million euros, the total amount provided by the EU amounts to 52.5 million euros for “Education Cannot Wait” to ensure that vulnerable children have access to high-quality education and no one is left behind.

These measures underline the importance of quality education as a fundamental human right and key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Millions of children worldwide have been out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this additional funding will help improve educational opportunities for the most vulnerable children and advance global education goals.

We are also experiencing a very concerning increase in the number of children in emergency and crisis situations, often as a result of conflict or climate-related natural disasters.  Figures released in June of this year by Education Cannot Wait put the number of children whose education has been disrupted by conflict, climate change and other disasters at 224 million. Only 11% of these children are in school and reaching minimum standards in their reading or maths.

Now, as called for by UNESCO at the United Nations General Assembly last year, we must ‘reboot’ our education systems to ensure they are fit for purpose, fit for the future, and fit for every child – including the most vulnerable.