Youth present roadmap for Resilient Education at CDM Conference
Youth actively engaged in discussions on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilient Education
Bridgetown, Barbados, 09 December 2022 - Children and youth in the Eastern Caribbean are leading discussions on disaster preparedness and resilience planning to mitigate the impact of climate change and other natural hazards on education.
During the 12th Annual Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management, a Youth Declaration was presented as a roadmap to bolster regional responses to hurricanes, droughts, crime, and other threats .
The document was drafted by a cadre of Youth Delegates ages 15-25, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), and other key stakeholders.
Children more likely to be affected
UNICEF Representative for the Eastern Caribbean, Pieter Bult, declared that while virtually all humans were at risk of suffering the impacts of natural hazards, children, particularly those in poor communities, often bear the most significant burden.
“The Caribbean region is one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and the scientific evidence is clear: the frequency, intensity and duration of climate-related extreme events will only escalate if the current path of inaction continues. This will aggravate inequalities and will undermine the human development progress achieved over the last years,” said Mr. Bult.
“UNICEF is proud to be a partner of CDEMA, not only in emergency preparedness and response, but also in adaptation and building resilience across the region,” he added.
The UNICEF Representative underscored the importance of education in achieving resilience. Apart from ensuring that all children go to school, he said it was important that schools are safe and can withstand shocks.
The Caribbean Safe School Initiative is at the forefront of efforts by UNICEF, in concert with CDEMA and Ministries of Education across the Caribbean, to develop national strategies for school safety. The initiative supports Safe Learning Facilities and promotes School Disaster Management, Risk Reduction, and Resilience Education.
“Besides the Caribbean Safe School Initiative, I would like to highlight the importance of child participation,” said Mr. Bult.
"At UNICEF, we believe that efforts to sustain a liveable planet must not only account for the unique needs and vulnerabilities of young people; they must also include young people in finding solutions."
UNICEF’s online platform, U-Report, was one of the tools used to solicit the views of children and youth on existing measures to promote school safety and inform the Youth Declaration.
Youth Declaration at a glance
The Youth Declaration comprises three pillars: safe school facilities, disaster management and risk reduction education, and enabling systems and policies.
Pillar 1 focuses on a Safe Learning Environment. It calls for multi-hazard risk assessments to guide comprehensive safe school planning, the implementation of inclusive, resilient education systems and environmental sustainability, and the establishment of youth committees to monitor and measures the progress of the CSSI in schools.
Pillar 2 addresses School Safety and Educational Continuity. In this section, the youth called for national drills and simulation exercises, school safety units, engagement of youth leaders, and the inclusion of disaster risk reduction in school development planning.
Reduction and Resilience Education is the focus of pillar 3 of the youth declaration. In this pillar, youth advocated for more learning opportunities in areas like climate change, health promotion, child protection, conflict prevention and conflict resolution.
“We, as Youth Delegates of CDM 12, are taking a proactive approach towards building Education Sector Resilience with guidance from the Caribbean Safe School Initiative (CSSI) guided by the Regional Road Map on School Safety and the outcomes of CDM 12,” the delegates declared.
