Education is peace : Developing Resources Packs and Training for Peace Building within the context of SDG4

Funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) and implemented by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States (UNESCO Beirut), and launched towards the end of 2019, Education is Peace is a regional project that aims to develop regional resources and build the capacities of teacher trainers, teachers, educators, education practitioners and policy- and decision-makers to ensure quality education for all with a special focus on supporting Arab countries in crises through Education in Emergencies (EiE), and promoting peace, tolerance and social cohesion in the region. The project also aims to expand inclusion in education for vulnerable populations, with attention to persons with learning difficulties, including disabilities, and crisis-affected populations.

Over the span of 3 years the project evolved to address the existing and emerging challenges in the region that prevented education sectors from delivering quality education and advancing towards SDG4. In fact, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid its ensuing protracted school closures and major shifts in the education sphere, the project was amended to include a number of packs that address the repercussions of the pandemic and meet the needs of teachers and guide them to build their capacities and equip them with tools to adapt their teaching methods, learning materials and contents with distance/blended learning modalities. The project also took into consideration the needs of education policy-/decision-makers and school administrations to adjust and adapt their policies and strategies for responding to the rapidly changing education and health-related developments.

This has not only highlighted the need for reference and guidance resources and capacity-building trainings, but also underscored the necessity of online capacity-building platforms and interactive training courses that offer teachers flexible professional development and knowledge sharing opportunities based on their needs and interests.  

In light of the above, a series of training educational electronic resources and platforms guides and packs were produced in collaboration with the donor, KSRelief, who provided invaluable feedback and helped review and finalize the resources, and several partners, e.g. the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), and regional and Saudi experts.

Among the developed packs, UNESCO Beirut supported KSRelief in developing its Strategy for Education in Emergencies and a repository of case studies and best practices.

The project was concluded in 2022 and resulted in the creation of the Kodrat platform and the following list of resources: