UN ISDR TPKE Newsletter-First Edition[1]

A new meeting of the Thematic Platform on Knowledge and Education (UNTPKE) was hosted by UNESCO last 5th April 2012, in Paris and chaired by UNISDR. The meeting discussed essentially the new draft of the Global School Safety Baseline Study and provided comments and recommendations for its finalization. Some directions were also provided to raise the profile of Disaster Risk Reduction Education and School Safety at the Rio+20 Side Event on “Educating for a Sustainable Future”, at the 4th session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (19-23 May 2013,Geneva) and in the post 2015 discussions on a global development framework.

“Gaps have been identified in particular

in the areas of assessment of student

DRR learning”

DRR in curricula

Newsletter UN Thematic Platform on Knowledge and Education

1st Edition May 2012

School safety The UN Platform on Knowledge and Education (UNTPKE) has mobilized partners’ efforts to develop a holist ic global strategy for school safety since 2010. The latter includes the

UNESCO and UNICEF are developing an international technical guidance instrument for the effective inclusion of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into school curricula. In preparation for this initiative,

approaches to integrating DRR in curricula and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages. It revealed that DRR, most frequently, is integrated into a narrow band of subjects, typically the physical and natural sciences, although there are examples of its appearance across a wider range

UNICEF and UNESCO commissioned a comprehensive mapping of global DRR integration into school curricula that captures key national experiences and good practices. The study

of subjects. Gaps have been identified in particular in the areas if assessment of student DRR learning, which is also related to the lack of comprehensive DRR learning outcomes. Teacher professional development in DRR was also found to need advancing. The document is to be published mid-April 2012.

consists of case studies of 29 countries and identified various

development of a series of guidance documents to Governments to allow them to respond positively to the 2009 and 2011 Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction’s calls to enhance school safety and Disaster Risk Reduction Education globally. In addition to a mapping of school curricula integrating disaster risk reduction by UNICEF and UNESCO, a Global School Safety Baseline Study was developed under UNISDR’s coordination, in the UNTTPKE context. The study features success stories and challenges faced by 10 selected governments in implementing school safety at the national level and provides policy and technical recommendations as well as basic tools to facilitate Governments’ efforts in this area. These initiatives will be complemented by the World Bank and UNICEF’s efforts to develop a standard school safety assessment methodology that will be field tested over 2012-2015 under the TPKE umbrella so to effectively report on progress in school safety implementation to the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction planned in 2015. For more info please visithttp://www.unisdr.org/we/advocate/education

Plan is implementing a three year programme on Child Centered Climate Change Adaptation in the Asia Pacific region. The expected outcomes include greater awareness of child centered climate change adaptation, locally designed climate smart solut ions and models as wel l as the incorporation of these into local, district and/or national government processes. The programme aims to reach around 140,000 people. Target countries include Vietnam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Papua New Guinea with programme expansion to  Fiji & Tuvalu as well as in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka starting later this year. For more information contact: [email protected]

In December, 2011 SEEDS along with UNICEF and other national NGOs launched the first national children’s DRR platform in India.

Children in DRR

Plan and Save the Children will jointly organize the Event “Children as drivers for change” at the CBA6 conference in Hanoi 16-22nd of April on how to promote children’s role in climate change adaptation. The event will showcase work by Plan on the Child Centred Approach to Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management, and the use of participatory videos as a mechanism for accountability and action in support of CCA. Save the Children will be sharing their work on developing and communicating the role of Social Protection and Resilient Livelihoods in CBA to inform policy and practice. For more information please contact: [email protected]

EVENT: "Children as drivers of change” - CBA6 conference in Hanoi 16-22nd April

Girls practice first aid Source: Plan International

SRI LANKA: MEDIA KIT ON DISASTER SAFETY EDUCATION Learning about natural hazards in school can be quite boring, therefore the National Institute of Education, supported by GIZ, developed an attractive media kit. It introduces secondary school students into Disaster Safety - how to prevent hazards and what to do in an emergency. They can learn individually and in groups by exploring an interactive DVD – which also enhances their IT skills - and using a booklet. 7 main hazards affecting Sri Lanka are presented through stories, maps, photos, video clips, survival tips and quizzes. The section School Safety includes Fire Safety and mini-hazards. Teachers will find all DM related topics of the syllabi, furthermore posters, lesson plans, newspaper articles, books and much more. For more information please contact Dr Patrizia Bitter [email protected]

SEEDS has also performed innovative work in Myanmar

using Mobile Knowledge Resource Centers in the form of a modified truck and boat that reach out to remote communities especially in the delta region. In India, private corporations have come forward to support programmes on school safety in earthquake-affected Sikkim and in the capital city. For the first time a large school network has invested in training of teachers and students, introducing signage and other non-structural measures for earthquake safety in their schools. SEEDS work with schools has spread across eleven states of India and nine Asian countries, covering over 500,000 children including a project at 12,000 feet, perhaps the highest elevation for a school based DRR work in the world! To see the video click the following link:http://www.saferworld.in/StepUp.html By Sujoy Sen, www.seedsindia.org

such as human rights, respect and tolerance, but also environmental and hygiene education. In the Solomon Islands, the resulting Policy S tatement and Gu ide l ines fo r D i sa s ter Preparedness and Education in Emergency Situations in Solomon Islands 2012-2015 dovetails with the National Education Action Plan (NEAP) 2013-2015, and contains measures to improve access, quality and management. The strategy puts forward actions that are to be taken before, during and after an emergency, ranging from teacher training and curricula revision, adaption of school infrastructure norms and localization, the development of contingency plans within school districts and ensuring that the Education Management Information System (EMIS) reflects risk. For more information please contact Ms Leonora MacEwen IIEP-UNESCO [email protected]

DRR & Sustainable Development in Education Planning Planning for prevention and preparedness can contribute to ensuring equal access for all to quality education. FEATURED CASE STUDIES: Burkina Faso and the Solomon Islands are amongst those countries that have gone through a process of developing more comprehensive national education plans and strategies. After the ad hoc response to the 2009 floods in Burkina Faso, the need to integrate prevention and preparedness measures in education sector plans and policies became an imperative for the Ministry of Education. The strategy was developed during 2011 in collaboration with IIEP-UNESCO and UNICEF reinforcing school infrastructure, redeploying food stuffs and strengthening the management capacity of the parent associations in zones affected by food insecurity. The strategy also provides for the development and revision of curricula (for both students and teachers) to ensure that programmes cover topics

“Educating for a Sustainable Future” – Coming up!

UNESCO is the lead organizer in association with the Interagency Committee for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (composed of 20 UN entities, including the UN/TPKE), the Government of Sweden and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

MAIN EVENTS: Rio+20 Summit (June 2012) and the Second World Forum on Education for Sustainable Development (Japan, 2014)

An Inter-Agency Committee for the Decade on Education for Sustainable Development was created in January 2012.

A side-event on “Educating for a Sustainable Future” will be organized at Rio+20.

It was created on initiative of UNESCO and will serve as a steering committee to guide and help raise the profile of Education for Sustainable Development in forthcoming major ESD related events, mainly the Rio+20 Summit (June 2012) and the Second World Forum on Education for Sustainable Development (Japan, 2014). The IAC/DESD includes approximately 20 partners from the UN (including the UN Thematic Platform on Knowledge and Education) and community practitioners involved in sustainable development related matters, which contribute to the

The event will represent an opportunity to launch the latest report on the UN Decade of ESD and to show-case concrete examples and success stories of the Decade from different stakeholders.

ESD discussions from their respective angle of expertise such as environmental protection, combating drought and desertification, disaster risk reduction education etc.

Submitted by Mr Bernard Combes, UNESCO/ESD [email protected]

How K-12 School District and University Officials Anticipated and Responded to National Weather Service Tornado Warnings: Spring 2011 Case Studies by Amy C. Nichols and Stephanie Hoekstra. Summary: Assessing and addressing the needs of people responsible for the safety of large groups, such as universities, is an important new direction in meteorological software development. These case studies explore the trend of moving from a technologically driven to a user driven approach. For more information please visit: http://www.sip.ucar.edu/news/focus6.php

What's next? CONFERENCES & TRAININGS

�  Rio+20, UN Conference on Sustainable Development 20-22 June, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) http://www.uncsd2012.org

�  Association of European Schools of Planning 26th Congress 11-15 July Turkey (Ankara) http://www.aesop2012.org

�  33rd General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission (GA ESC 2012) 19-24 Aug Russian Federation, Moscow http://www.esc2012-moscow.org/

�  International conference on hazards & disasters 2012 20-21 Sep 2012 Sri Lanka (Negomb) http://www.globaldisasters.org

Call for support

Featured Publications

The aim of the project is to involve schools and relevant stakeholders in adaptive learning in tsunami awareness, mitigation, preparedness and response which will lead to disaster risk reduction and practical school safety measures. It will be implemented in four selected schools in Malta in the low-lying areas and about 400 school children will participate. The project will be coordinated by the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and local partners. For more information please contact: [email protected]

PROJECT: “Adaptive Learning for Tsunami Awareness, Mitigation and Preparedness for Selected Schools in Malta”

New versions of Riskland Game are coming up soon! Several partners have expressed interest and sought UNISDR's authorization to facilitate the translation or adaptation of the successful Riskland game for children jointly developed by UNISDR and UNICEF into German and Vietnamese, and for adaptation to the Solomon Islands context. Current versions of the game are already available in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu (by the Centre for Environmental Education), Quetchua (Visión Mundial), Nepalese (NSET, USAID) and Haitian Creole on PreventionWeb. For more information, please visit: www.preventionweb.net

New Riskland Games

The following two new publications were published in the Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management (AJEDM) Volume 3 Number 2 (2011): •  Disaster Education System in Yunlin

County, Taiwan •  Disaster Education Policy - Current and

Future by Quiru Gwee, Yukiko Takeuchi, Jet-Chau Wen and Rajib Shaw. Summary: Both publications address how disaster risk reduction and the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) can be integrated as part of the education sector. A questionnaire survey targeting more than 120 public elementary and secondary schools was conducted by a research team from Kyoto University, and actions and/or guidelines by the national government were studied so as to enhance disaster risk education in Taiwan. For more info please contact: [email protected]