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Save the date! Webinar on the impact of climate change and displacement on the right to education in Central America and the Caribbean region | Articles

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Save the date! Webinar on the impact of climate change and displacement on the right to education in Central America and the Caribbean region

Past warnings from scientific communities have become reality: the effects of climate change are no longer isolated emergencies but have become the new global norm. In 2022 alone, 32,6 million people were displaced globally due to natural disasters (IDMC, 2023). At the Transforming Education Summit (TES) of 2022, the UN Secretary-General confirmed that education must be transformed globally to respond to a multitude of climate and environmental crises

UNESCO launched in 2020 a global initiative investigating the impacts of climate change and related displacement on the right to education. Following the completion of the first phase of the initiative, which consisted in the publication of a policy paper, the second phase was undertaken with the conduct of country case studies and the drafting of regional reportsin some of the world's most sensitive regions to the effects of climate change.

In particular, the Central American and Caribbean region is vulnerable to the effects of climate change and population displacement due to its socio-economic characteristics and geographic location. Country case studies were carried out in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Jamaica, to examine not only specific vulnerabilities to climate change and related mobility, but also the impacts of climate change on the right to education in the region.

The regional report, based on these country case studies, is one of three reviews published by UNESCO under this initiative (the other two reports focus on Asia-Pacific and Southeast Europe respectively). The three reports analyze regional trends exploring the resilience of education systems to climate change. The regional reports also serve as the basis for a global report with policy recommendations, adapted practices, and guidance for all countries, to be launched in late 2023

The research carried out as part of this initiative in Central America and the Caribbean showed that people in this region face significant climate-induced barriers to education, both directly and indirectly. One of the major barriers to education identified is a lack of financial resources following disasters and/or displacement due to climate-related events.

In this context, the purpose of this webinar is to:

- Share the key findings from the review to enable a better understanding of the specific challenges and trends in this region;

- Promote dialogue on climate change and related displacement patterns and specific barriers to education it poses in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as discuss common and context-specific emerging challenges;

- Introduce recent initiatives on Greening Education Partnership;

- Discuss operational policy recommendations and key actions on how to ensure the protection of the right to education in this region from climate change and displacement.