Of the 121 million children and young adolescents that are out of school, half are in conflict-affected contexts. Yet tools for conflict and disaster prevention, preparation and mitigation exist. Crisis-sensitive educational planning contributes to preventing conflicts and disasters. Given the widespread occurrence of such crises, which jeopardize the social needs of the population in general and children and youth in particular, education planners and officials must address the risks of conflict and disaster so that education systems and their actors are able to prepare for, prevent and mitigate the impact of these risks. Each step of the planning process, from education sector diagnosis to cost and financing a plan, should address the risks of conflict or disaster.

IIEP has been engaged in crisis-sensitive planning for many years, and together with partners such as UNICEF and Protecting Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC), has contributed to raising awareness about the importance of addressing the risks of conflict and disaster in education sector plans and policies. This is necessary to improve cost effectiveness of investments made in the sector, but also to instill knowledge, skills and behaviour in children, youth and school communities that can minimize risk and even save lives.

An e-learning course on educational planning for conflict and disaster risk reduction has been designed for senior staff of ministries of education and their counterparts from development partner organizations who are directly involved in the planning and management of the education sector. The course demonstrates how each step of the planning process, from the education sector diagnosis to the costing and financing of the sector plan, can effectively address the risks of conflict and disaster, and gives participants the opportunity to reflect concretely on how this can be done in their country. Individuals and country teams are welcome to sign up for the course which will take place from 26 October – 11 December 2015. Please contact plan4cdrr@iiep.unesco.org for more information.
E-learning course on Educational Planning for Conflict and Disaster Risk Reduction
http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/educational-planning-conflict-and-disaster-risk-reduction-2786

Guidance Notes for Education Planners http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002286/228650e.pdf

Guidebook for Planning Education in emergencies and Reconstruction http://www.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/guideboook_eie.pdf

Additional resources: http://publications.iiep.unesco.org/Equality-education-targeted-groups/Emergencies-reconstruction