Blog

Adenike Oladosu is a leading Nigerian ecofeminist, climate justice leader and researcher.

In this interview, she says: “With education, the dreams of the 18 million girls and boys who are out of school could become a reality. They could become agriculturalists, providing climate-smart innovations to tackle hunger and climate change, or public health experts to tackle environmental health issues – even become the president of a country, leading the way in making better decisions that could position citizens and cities towards sustainability.”

Read the interview.

UNESCO and the African Union Commission are spearheading efforts to create a transformative STEM ecosystem by addressing barriers to STEM in areas such as unequal access, gender gaps, and limited resources.

In Africa, 30% of science professionals are women. Despite progress, women and girls continue to face significant barriers, including cultural biases, limited access to female role models, and insufficient supportive policies. These challenges contribute to stark disparities, exemplified by the fact that women constitute less than 15% of engineering and technology researchers in some West and Central African countries.

Beyond gender, consideration must be given to how socio-economic status, disability, and location impede access to STEM education. Systemic obstacles such as inadequate infrastructure, limited digital access, and financial constraints can marginalize entire groups, thereby limiting the pool of talent and ideas available to advance STEM in Africa.

Read the full article.

The international day against violence and bullying at school took place in November 2024. UNESCO uploaded an article together with further resources from the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children.

“This year’s [2024] theme builds on global commitments and underscores the urgency of addressing violence in and through education and investing in cross-sectoral partnerships. By amplifying learners’ perspectives and children’s voices, UNESCO calls on leaders to fulfill their commitments and promises to transform learning environments into safe and inclusive spaces where children can learn and thrive.”

Read the article and resources.

Transforming education and employment opportunities for children and young people with disabilities (Side Event, Action Day 1, Summit of the Future).

This video is from an event in September 2024: Sharing positive and practical solutions, speakers with lived experience outline how we can build inclusive systems so all children and young people can learn and access the workforce; and why assistive technology is crucial to this.

Watch the video (one hour and 21 minutes).

The World Bank has published a new ‘Inclusive Education Approach Paper’. This article introduces the paper:

Access, participation and achievement in education is still a challenge for learners with disabilities. Despite considerable progress worldwide to strengthen access to education and the quality of education, many of the most vulnerable and marginalized learners are still left behind. … The paper introduces four principles to support inclusion of any marginalized groups in education and focuses on applying these principles to disability inclusion in education.”

Read the blog.

“Disability should not be viewed as an inherent trait of an individual but as a result of societal barriers that prevent full participation. ..Trade unions representing teachers and education support personnel need to champion a new, inclusive model that actively breaks down these barriers.” writes Alan Hackett in this blog.

“When trade unions shift the focus from “what’s wrong” to “what needs to change,” they contribute to a truly inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and enables everyone to achieve their potential.”

Read the blog.

Following the COP29 in Baku, the World Bank has issued a video, blogs, a press release and a report on how education can equip young people to address the climate catastrophe and the impact climate change already has on education.

“Education is a key asset for climate action. Education reshapes behaviors, develops skills, and spurs innovation—everything we need to combat the greatest crisis facing humanity.”

Watch the video, download the report, and read the blogs and the press releases.

In an editorial and an opinion piece for The New Humanitarian, it is argued that aid agencies and development organisations in the Global North fear speaking out about war crimes in Gaza and become thereby complicit in them.

Read the editorial.

To read the opinion piece.

The city of Benguerir in Morocco has been awarded the UNESCO Learning City Award 2024. It has received the prize for its transformative approach to lifelong learning, including its approach to creating inclusive educational opportunities for out-of-school learners and for children with disabilities.

The “Second-Chance School” focuses on equity and inclusion to support marginalised youth to re-enter the education system. For children with disability, the city has a specialised centre for non-verbal children to foster an inclusive education model. This model has achieved a 100% integration rate for nonverbal children in state schools, where they learn alongside their peers.

Read the story.

Read more about the other awardees.

Save the Children has shared the analysis of their case management data which shows that 43% of children are suffering from psychosocial distress.

“The war in Ukraine is taking an increasingly heavy toll on children’s mental health with some developing speech defects and uncontrollable twitching, while others have terrible nightmares and scream in their sleep, according to Save the Children.”

Read the article.