RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has teamed up with UNESCO to launch an educational resources program for teachers in a bid to promote peace building in the Arab states.
UNESCO’s regional bureau for education in Beirut on Thursday announced the publishing of resource packs in Arabic for teachers.
“The packs aim to build and develop their capacities, in order to foster peace building and drive social cohesion in the Arab states within the context of SDG4,” according to a joint statement.
“These resources, grouped under the project titled ‘Education is Peace,’ will benefit Arab children and youth, particularly out-of-school, at-risk children in crisis-affected countries, as well as marginalized communities, by meeting their diverse educational and development needs.”
SDG4 is one of 17 sustainable development goals established by the UN in 2015. Its aim is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
The reference guides for the “Education is Peace” project were developed in collaboration with experts from the Arab region, with support and funding from KSrelief.
The resources include guides on general policy and strategy in the education sector in disaster and conflict areas, inclusive education, catch-up education and teaching in multi-grade classes, distance learning and education, as well as education on citizenship and common human values.
To maximize the benefits of the resources, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization organized training sessions for 30,000 teachers and education practitioners.
More than 15 million children in the Arab region need assistance to ensure continuous learning.
Fadi Yarak, UNESCO’s senior regional adviser for education in the Arab states, said: “Children and youth living in difficult circumstances have diverse socioeconomic conditions. Their educational needs are diverse and their challenges require innovative and personalized solutions.
“However, the current educational systems should make use of these resources to meet their psychological, social or academic needs.”
Dr. Hana Omar, director of community support at KSrelief, said: “Access to learning opportunities during crises is lifesaving and life-sustaining.
“KSrelief, in partnership with UNESCO, works to ensure that inclusive and equitable quality education remains a priority in humanitarian response and recovery assistance for the students with disabilities, the elderly, migrants, refugees, internally displaced people, returnees and host communities.
“Part of that work is in preparing a pack of resources produced for teachers that will meet their diverse education and development needs that compete with the requirements of crises in the Arab regions to build peace and to face hazards, mitigate their impacts and build the educational system’s resilience.”
