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World Humanitarian Summit: GBC-Education event on education in emergencies

Education funding, Education in emergencies

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󾱱from the Central African Republic ata learning and protection space at the Borgop site for refugees in CameroonPicture: UNICEF/Rich

On the first day of the historic World Humanitarian Summit, the (GBC-Education) is hosting an event on delivering education to children caught up in humanitarian emergencies.

At the summit in Istanbul, the event 鶹APPStepping Up in Crises: Finance, Delivery and Innovation in Education 鶹APP has attracted more than 150 high-­level representatives from businesses, philanthropic organisations, governments, UN agencies and multilateral groups.

It will highlight the leading role of the private sector to build effective partnerships, develop innovative solutions, and mobilise additional resources and financing to deliver education at the onset of an emergency 鶹APP including wars and natural disasters.

The event is hosted by Sarah Brown, Executive Chair of GBC-Education, and the keynote speaker is United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

This blog will bring you updates, pictures and social media messages from the event.

With the greatest number of people displaced by disaster and conflict since World War II 鶹APP more than half of them children 鶹APP the international community must step up to take urgent action to ensure the new Education Cannot Wait fund delivers schooling to those it need it most.

You can from the World Humanitarian Summit here.

Sarah Brown has also discussed the plight of out-of-school children in a podcast for The Guardian website. Click on the link below to listen.

The guests arrive for the event. They are here to addressthe challenge of how to prevent millions of children and young people falling through the net during a crisis.

Sarah makes the opening remarks for this GBC-Education event in Turkey. She tells how the coalition was founded four years ago to bring together the business community to focus on supporting education across the world.

Now it has more than 100 member companies and network businesses working to make sure child and young people has an education and opportunity.

Sarah says: 鶹APPGlobally, 75 million children and young people are finding their education interrupted because of conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies and crises.

鶹APPAnd later today, one of the Oslo Summit on Education for Development commitments will be realised as the Education Cannot Wait fund for education in emergencies will be launched to bridge the gap between humanitarian and development support.鶹APP

She then introduces UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban Ki-moon on a visit to a school in South Sudan Picture: OCHA

He thanks UN agencies for their collaboration and work with other partners to launch the fund for education in emergencies.

Mr Ban says education is dear to his heart 鶹APP personally and professionally. Without education, you cannot achieve anything.

He adds: 鶹APPWe are failing too many children and young people for too long.鶹APP On the 75 million children out of school due to humanitarian emergencies, he says: 鶹APPWe have to bring them back.鶹APP

The Secretary-General says the private sector can play its part in protecting children and young people and calls on those in the room to commit to the fund.

Sarah then announces the private sector is to mobilise $100 million of backing for the Education Cannot Wait fund.

She then introduces Tom Fletcher, former British ambassador to Lebanon and now GBC-Education鶹APPs Director of Global Strategy. He will be running the next section of the event, which is a panel discussion.

The panellists are Hikmet Ersek, CEO of Western Union; Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Commissioner from the International Commission on Financing International Education Opportunity; Dr. Fuat Oktay, President of the Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority President; and Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General.

Mr Ersek says the business world is not about words but about results. He adds: 鶹APPI hope we see concrete actions that will change children鶹APPs lives forever.鶹APP

MsThorning-Schmidt says children in emergency situations should not be out of school for longer than a month. If leaders make that pledge, the question then is how to fund it.

Syrian refugee children at a temporary education centre in Istanbul

Dr Fuat talks about the situation facing Turkey, which is the largest host of Syrian refugees. He says:鶹APPThe present humanitarian crisis will create future crises if immediate action is not taken.鶹APP

There are more than 950,000 school-age refugee children in Turkey and the goal is to get 460,000 of them into classrooms by the end of this year. But his country cannot do this alone 鶹APP it needs help from the global community.

UNESCO chief Ms Bokova talks about the importance of children feeling part of their communities. She says the business community can bring innovation and new approaches.

She says child labour is on the increase in emergency situations and mothers have told her they want to 鶹APPsell off their girls to make sure they are safe鶹APP.

Tom Fletcher then hands back to Sarah Brown to moderate the next part of the meeting from the floor.

A student in a tented classroom at the Al-Takya Al-Kaznazaniya school in an IDP camp, near Baghdad, IraqPicture: UNICEF/KHUZAIE

She talks toHanzade Dogan-Boyner, Founding Chairwoman of Dogan online and an active leader in non-profit, business and trade organisations.

Asked what the business community in Turkey can do, Mrs Dogan-Boyner says: 鶹APPI believe that every person in a privileged position can put a refugee child into school.鶹APP She says that before the funding there needs to be a roadmap 鶹APP with a clear plan 鶹APPwe can add a zero to your millions鶹APP.

Christos Stylianides is European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. Sarah introduces him and says the EU has been an inspiration for donors in investing in education in emergencies.

Annemiek Hoogenboom from the People鶹APPs Postcode Lottery UK is asked about the work it is doing with the children鶹APPs charity 鶹APP in Lebanon.

She says PPL is very proud to help support the double-shift school system for Syrian refugees and local children and adds: 鶹APPWe have seen with our own eyes, in the Bekaa valley and elsewhere, how much education can make a difference.鶹APP

Per Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation, talks about the need to try to find innovative solutions to education in emergencies 鶹APP 鶹APPusing smart gaming technology to learn faster and more efficiently鶹APP.

He adds: 鶹APPIt鶹APPs not only about getting more money, it鶹APPs also about finding smarter solutions to the crisis.鶹APP

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, is asked how the most marginalised children 鶹APP especially girls 鶹APP can be reached.

She replies: 鶹APPEducation cannot wait, because if girls don鶹APPt have access to education, really bad things happen to them.鶹APP

She says a comprehensive approach is needed that includes basic rights and reproductive health as part of the solution.

Sarah says the Hilton Foundation has been admirable in its risk-taking and asks why they chose to be so innovative in this area.

Edmund Cain, the foundation鶹APPs Vice President, says it believes it is funding scalable projects that make a difference on education in emergencies.

He adds: 鶹APPIt is important to ensure that the needs of the youngest and most vulnerable children are met, and this means a hope that early childhood development is not neglected in this fund.鶹APP

Britain鶹APPs Department for International Development (DFID)has been a leader in raising funds for Syrian refugee children.

Nick Dyer, DFID鶹APPs Director-General for Policy and Global Programmes, tells the event:鶹APPInvesting in education is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.鶹APP He adds that 鶹APPwe need bold and innovative solutions鶹APP and 鶹APPbeing bold and being innovative is what the business sector is good at鶹APP.

After some more contributions from the floor, the event is rounded off with a rousing address from Gordon Brown, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, who has been a champion of the education in emergencies fund.

He says the fund is the first bridge between humanitarian and development aid and calls it 鶹APPa fund that has the chance to change the lives for millions鶹APP.

Mr Brown says this is the first time that business has led the way with the $100 million contribution through GBC-Education.

He adds:鶹APPIf we cannot bring people together in an innovative way to deal with the crises of the world, we are failing humanity.鶹APP

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