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President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has called for regional action on attacks on education in West Africa. Nana Akufo-Addo made the call, Friday 9 September, at the UNESCO HQ in Paris, France at a ceremony to mark the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, where leaders from the education and development world gathered together to discuss tangible solutions to rising attacks on education.
Describing education as “the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world” and acknowledging that “we cannot eliminate poverty if citizens are uneducated”, the Ghanaian president reminded other guests at the event that “if we do not act now some half of the world’s current population will not have the skills they need for the future.”
While highlighting the particular problem of attacks on education across West Africa, he called for three courses of action on a global scale – to enhance advocacy for action to garner political will; to underline political commitment, particularly through the establishment of regional coalitions for action so momentum is transformed into action; and by mobilising finance, calling on parties to support diverse funding channels and make education a national priority.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) maintains that global attacks on education are on the rise, with African countries particularly affected. There were more than 5,000 documented attacks on education between 2020-2021, with more than 9,000 students and educators abducted, arrested, injured, or killed. DRC, Mali, and the State of Palestine were the countries most affected, while Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Nigeria also witnessing an increase. The military use of schools and universities more than doubled.
Chairperson of the global education foundation, Education Above All (EAA), Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who performed a key role in the observance of the third International Day, underlined the importance of using innovative methods learned during the pandemic to reach out of school children, and urged the global community to move the conversation forwards.
“In the absence of international action, how do we move the global needle?”, she asked, citing the need for concrete action to hold perpetrators of attacks on education to justice.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, reinforced the message that “politicians should match political principles with action”, and called on nations to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 2601, which was passed last year and reaffirms the right to education and calls on states to provide protection.
She also underlined the key role of data in tackling the scourge of impunity, saying, “Data collection to inform policymaking is fundamental…data on grave violations informs the Secretary General every year to list or not list parties for attacks on schools and to take relevant action.”
The event also saw the unveiling of the Track Attacks on Education (TRACE) Data Portal, a new tool designed to fill a global gap for reliable quality data created by a partnership between the EAA, UNESCO, KoBo Toolbox and in close collaboration with GCPEA and the QCRI. TRACE, an easy to use, single point, open access portal, will collect, visualise, and provide curated analysis of data on attacks on education, generating reliable, timely data on attacks on education to be freely shared.
Participants and contributors to this year’s observance, titled ‘Act Now to Protect Education from Attack,’ included H.H. Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of EAA, SDG Advocate; His Excellency Nana-Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO; Her Royal Highness Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador; Catherine M. Russell, UNICEF Executive Director; Virginia Gamba, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict; Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education; Yalda Hakim, Australian broadcast journalist, news presenter; Rosario Diaz Garavito, CEO of The Millennials Movement.
The International Day to Protect Education from Attack was established in 2020. Co-organised by EAA, the Qatar Mission to the United Nations, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), UNESCO and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the observance brought together global and UN leaders, youth advocates, policy makers and academics to discuss how to protect education and build sustainable peace.
EAA’s appeal to the global community comes as part of its three-year #UniteToProtect global campaign to end education on attacks through the collection of data on attacks as a basis for evidence generation, accountability, grassroots advocacy and sustainable peacebuilding.
International Day to Protect Education from Attack
Established by UN General Assembly resolution (A/RES/74/275), following a call to action by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the International Day is a global platform for decision-makers to focus on safeguarding education in conflict and building peace. It draws attention to the plight of more than 75 million 3-to-18-year-olds living in 35 crisis-affected countries that need urgent educational support.
Education Above All
The Education Above All (EAA) Foundation is a global foundation established in 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. EAA aims to transform lives through education. It believes that education is the single most effective means of reducing poverty, creating peaceful and just societies, unlocking the full potential of every child and youth, and creating the right conditions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Through its multi-sectoral approach, unique financing models, focus on innovation as a tool for social good, and partnerships, EAA aims to bring hope and real opportunities to the lives of impoverished and marginalised boys and girls.
EAA is comprised of: Educate A Child (EAC), Al Fakhoora, Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC), and Innovation Development (ID).
