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Business aid for education in emergencies: GBC-Education event live blog

Education in emergencies, The Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education)

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More than 263 million children and adolescents are out of school across the world 鶹APP and many of those who are in education are not learning the skills they need to fulfil their potential.

The number of long-term humanitarian emergencies, such as conflicts and natural disasters, means the international community must harness the power of the private sector to deliver education.

The is hosting an event in New York today which will examine how to do that successfully.

TitledBusiness Leads in Education: Driving Innovation and Partnership, it will bring togetherdevelopment agencies, business leaders and foundation representatives. They willfocus on how to bring about greater innovation, partnership, and commitment to education in emergencies.

This blog will bring you the highlights of the GBC-Education event, which starts at 7am local time.

THE BACKGROUND

About 75 million childreneach year are affected by humanitarian emergencies 鶹APP half of them by conflicts, the rest by natural disasters, disease outbreaks and other crises.That includes one million Syrian refugee children living in neighbouring countries.

In May at the historic World Humanitarian Summit in Turkey, the Education Cannot Wait fund was launched. Its aim is to raise $1.85 billion to finance the education of more than 13 million children in the next five years.

With the number of protracted crises and emergencies on the rise, the international community must draw on the unique leadership, ingenuity and core assets of business to urgently transform humanitarian action.

THE EVENT

Today鶹APPs event will be a lively, fast-paced conversation featuring key partners from foundations, NGOs, multilaterals and businesses.

GBC-Education is a coalition of more than 100 businesses worldwide. It believes the skills, influence and leadership of the private sector can be powerful tools to increase the number of children and youth who are in school and learning 鶹APP especially when combined with peer companies, government, foundations, civil society and the educational community.

OPENING REMARKS

The event begins with opening remarks from Sandy Thomas, Global Managing Partner of Reed Smith. He introduces Gordon Brown, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

He says: 鶹APPThis has been an extraordinary year where the business leaders have been directly involved in the creation of the Education Cannot Wait fund.鶹APP

Mr Brown, who is chair of the Education Commission, adds: 鶹APPOn Sunday we at the commission . We found astonishing facts that challenged us to do more.

鶹APPIf we do nothing, by 2030 800 million 鶹APP half of the children of the world 鶹APP will leave education with nothing approaching secondary school standards.

鶹APPWe can be the first generation where every single child is at school and learning 鶹APP and we need your help to do so.鶹APP

NowSarah Brown, Executive Chair of GBC-Education, sets the scene for today鶹APPs discussions. She says: 鶹APPThis has been a very important year for education. It鶹APPs the first year of the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] and we鶹APPve been able to see them get up and running and the impact of education already.

鶹APPI am happy that the business community is going to take a leadership role around the SDG goal on education.鶹APP

SECTION 1 鶹APP The Education Cannot Wait fund and Emergency Database

First we look at how to develop the fund as a way to deliver business support to those children most in need of education in emergencies.

This section is being introduced by Tom Fletcher, former British Ambassador to Lebanon and now Director of Global Strategy for GBC-Education.

He announces the launch of the REACT (Rapid Education Action) database, whichwill match the private sector to where their help is most needed in a crisis. .

Now for another exciting announcement fromKristian Jensen, Danish foreign minister 鶹APP who reveals his country will give $11.3 million to the Education Cannot Wait fund.

He says: 鶹APPWe need to ensure that children have hope that they can create a better future. To invest in education is a trickle-down effect 鶹APP it gives people a better outcome, a higher sense of the world and ensure girls stay longer in schools and have better health as mothers.鶹APP

Gus Schmedlen, Vice President of Worldwide Education for HP also makes some announcements.

He says: 鶹APPWe, partnering with Microsoft and Intel, would like to offer six HP learning studios for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. These will offer refugee children the opportunity to learn literacy and numeracy.鶹APP

He also pledges $1 million of HP printers to Teach For America and offers to donate to GBC-Education a predictive algorithm code that can forecast the economic and social output 10 or 15 years in the future.

Now we hear fromElias Bou Saab, Lebanon鶹APPs Education Minister. He tells how, while on his way to work, he would see two little girls at a street corner.

He adds: 鶹APPThe first time, they had a book that was torn and one girl was teaching another out of the book. The second time I asked the driver to stop and I spoke to them.

鶹APPI asked why they were not in school and they said they didn鶹APPt have enough money to eat. The 12-year-old girl was teaching the six-year-old to read and write. While they were on the street begging, they were still hungry to learn.鶹APP

Mr Bou Saab adds: 鶹APPEducation is how we start to solve these problems and we should invest more in education.鶹APP

Now we have two speakers from the European Union. First isChristos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

He says: 鶹APPWe are delivering on our committment to devote at least 4% of the EU鶹APPs humanitarian budget to education in emergencies and at least 2.3 million children will be supported through this. And next year we will try to step up this allocation for education in emergencies.鶹APP

Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, offerstechnical and vocational training, which he says is hopefully matched by the needs of the business sector.

He adds: 鶹APPWe need to cooperate to identify what is necessary and needed.鶹APP

Wendy Woods, Senior Partner and Managing Director, Global Leader Social Impact Practice, Boston Consulting Group, says: 鶹APPWe are working on developing an M&E [monitoring and evaluation]framework for education tech deployed in crisis settings.

鶹APPToo often technology is the way to reach these children but we haven鶹APPt paid attention to the ways we are using it and how well we are using it.

鶹APPBusinesses can do many things that don鶹APPt even have costs. There is so much that we can do that is using our core assets and the core skill sets of our people.鶹APP

Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugee children.Mehmet Bilden is Head of AFAD (by proxy), Prime Ministry Disaster & Emergency Authority (AFAD for Turkey.

He tells the event: 鶹APPI have three children who are now school-aged 鶹APP I cannot imagine them being out of school for even one year. All of the world is talking about this issue but still 600,000 children just in Turkey are out of school today.鶹APP

Gayle Smith, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is next up.

She says: 鶹APPWe fully believe that the private sector has to be part of our humanitarian and development agenda. It has to work.

鶹APPWe have mobilised $10 billion from the private sector for food security. We are not asking for CSR [corporate social responsibility], kindness and donations. We are asking you to be part of the system.鶹APP

Imad Najib Fakhoury is Minister of Planning and International Cooperation for Jordan 鶹APP another country hosting a huge number of Syrian refugees. He said the crisis has cost Jordan $8.6 billion.

He says: 鶹APPWe don鶹APPt want to have a lost generation of refugees in Jordan. We have about 150,000 Syrian boys and girls in our schools, we are adding another 50,000 and another 25,000 in a catch-up programme.

鶹APPThe challenge forward is we need to be as innovative as possible. We believe in partnerships with the private sector.鶹APP

The People鶹APPs Postcode Lottery is the third largest private donor in the world with about $650 million raised every year.

Country DirectorAnnemiek Hoogenboom says: 鶹APPWe invest in education in emergencies and we always want to be loyal, long-term partners, with flexible funding. We want to be part of the solution.

鶹APPWe are determined to find with our partners how we can bring a solution. We want to look at funding and at what needs to be done additionally.鶹APP

A long-time supporter of education has been Dubai Caires. Its CEO Tariq Al Gurg talks about bridging the gap between the private sector and the implementation on the ground.

He adds: 鶹APPWe are very open to the private sector鶹APPs alternate models, whatever they have in terms of mechanisms and technology that hasn鶹APPt been tested. We support these programmes financially to test them and come up with new models that help get children in school.

鶹APPYesterday we launched our $10 million research envelop for education in emergencies called 鶹APPE cubed鶹APP. We invite all the private sector who want their models tested to apply to this fund.鶹APP

Toni Townes-Whitley, Microsoft鶹APPs Corporate Vice President, says: 鶹APPMicrosoft applauds the urgency of the Education Cannot Wait fund and we are honoured to be a part of it. We want to move the conversation from education to learning to reach a much larger population beyond K-12.

鶹APPWe have to make this a part of our business strategy, not just part of our CSR (corporate social responsibility).鶹APP

SECTION 2 鶹APP longer-term development

Sarah Brown introduces this next section and calls on some speakers whose companies or organisations are making great strides through their programmes.

First to speak is Aliko Dangote, head of the Dangote Group. He tells how his company has given about $5 million to help replace schools destroyed by Boko haram in Nigeria.

He adss: 鶹APPWe have realised that in northern Nigeria, most of the children are stunted, so when they go to school they don鶹APPt learn anything. Through a partnership with the Gates Foundation, we have together given $100 million over the next few years for malnutrition support.鶹APP

Pierre Krähenbühl is Commissioner General of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. He says the combination of humanitarian aid and devleopment was the biggest surprise to him in his role.

He adds: 鶹APPYou approach young people not just as victims but as actors for their own destiny and invest in their education. During my last trip to Damascus, I was impressed to see that we were able to bring out 120 boys and girls from Yarmouk camp to sit their national exams.

鶹APPIt shows the attachment of young boys and girls to pursue their educations so there is nothing more important for us to do than support them to do that.鶹APP

Kate James, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pearson, tells how her company is looking todouble its commitment to education in emergencies 鶹APP including the partnership with Miscrosoft.

She says: 鶹APPWe cant have an impact and be truly successful unless we do this together.鶹APP

She says: 鶹APPAs we heard earlier, education by itself is not enough. Creating an environment for children to be in school, whatever it takes, is crucial.

鶹APPIn this day and age, it is time to incorporate co-existence and tolerance into our curriculum. Especially for education in emergencies, we are dealing with children who are emotionally scarred and reconciliation itself is a crucial path in their lives.鶹APP

Amrita Patwardhan, Tata Trust, Head of Education, tells how the trust has been investing in education for 100 years.

She says: 鶹APPMany of us have spoken about the economic role of education and the need for education that equips youth for their economic participation in society.

鶹APPEducation is the only way we can create an inclusive and tolerant society.鶹APP

Save The Children International鶹APPs CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt is our next speaker. She says: 鶹APPWhen we asked children in emergencies what they want, they say very clearly that they want an education. We have asked 9000 children in 17 different settings and, for 99% of children, the top of their list is education.鶹APP

Our final speaker is former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, the Board Chair of the Global Partnership for Education and a member of the Education Commission.

She says: 鶹APPResearch shows that a strong education system in a low income country can outperform a weak education system in a higher-income country.

鶹APPThink about your strategy for advocacy. You don鶹APPt need to do it from a charitable place, but from a hard-headed business perspective.鶹APP

On that note, the event ends with some words of thanks from Sarah. We鶹APPve had some throught-provoking contributions from this high-powered group of speakers. .

Following this event, there was a rountable discussion hosted by Sarah Brown and Julia Gillard.

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