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UNICEF Japan Ambassador Agnes Chan visited children in the earthquake-devastated area of Miyagi, where 378 children lost their lives and 191 are still missing as a result of the disaster in March.

By Rudina Vojvoda

GENEVA, Switzerland, 13 May 2011 – Last year, children bore their share of natural disasters and the economic crises that followed. Millions of children suffered as a result of floods in Pakistan and the earthquake in Haiti.

These disasters have prevented children from accessing a quality education.

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This week, the Children in a Changing Climate Coalition hosted an event on safe schools as part of the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. UNICEF Japan Ambassador Agnes Chan gave a keynote speech on the critical role of school safety and education in reducing the impact of disasters.

Safe schools save lives

Before the event, Dr. Chan spoke with UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello about her latest visits to earthquake-devastated areas of Japan, where she met with children and teachers who survived.

Despite an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, followed by a 10-metre high tsunami, most schools in Japan are still standing due to their sturdy construction and higher ground locations.

“Because the earthquake occurred at 2:45 p.m. when most of the school children were still at school, and because they have regular drills and teachers are well prepared, a lot of children survived the disaster,” said Dr. Chan.

Highlighting the importance of disaster risk reduction education and preparedness, Dr. Chan said that in some schools children had initiated the evacuation by themselves, saving their own lives and that of teachers.

These examples clearly demonstrate that children’s lives can be saved through safe school constructions, disaster risk reduction education and school preparedness plans.

Committing to school safety

However, the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction shows slow progress over the last few years, with only seven per cent of the 75 participating countries marking significant advances.

“These procedures are very cost effective and they really can save lives,” said Dr. Chan, as she encouraged other governments to advance their agendas in disaster risk reduction.

Dr. Chan added that financial commitment should go hand-in-hand with political commitment. “We also need commitments from the educators to educate themselves and children to be prepared,” she said.

Related link:

Children’s Charter

Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

UNICEF Disaster Risk Reduction and Education

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For more on children and climate change visit:
Children in a Changing Climate

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Left homeless by the cyclone, children gather outside a school that serves as a shelter near the town of Kundangon, Myanmar.

By Rudina Vojvoda

NEW YORK, 8 May 2011 – More than 175 million children are likely to be affected each year by climate-related disasters. While coping with climate change is becoming quintessential for our society, so is preparing the future generations to deal with the aftermath of disasters and adapt to the ever-changing climate.

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The Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, a forum that brings together stakeholders and experts committed to reducing disaster risk worldwide, gathers this week in Geneva under the main theme, “Invest Today for a Safer Tomorrow”. In the lead up to this event, podcast moderator Amy Costello discussed the importance of education in protecting children and communities with Ben Wisner, a research fellow at the Oberlin College and University College London and Marla Petal, the co-founder of Risk Red, a virtual organization working to increase the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction education.

Building safely, saving lives

Recent disasters around the globe have demonstrated how heavily our modern society depends on critical infrastructure; yet, the regulations are often overlooked.

For Marla Petal, building safe schools is not only a matter of funding. “It doesn’t cost even 10 per cent more than building unsafely”, said Ms. Petal. Expanding the conversation, Mr. Wisner said that only pressure from society would ensure the implementation of safe schools. “Governments don’t give full accountability willingly, people have to demand it”, concluded Mr. Wisner.

Women, a creative force in bringing communities together

When disasters strike, women are often responsible for securing food, water, and energy in homes. As a result, they harbor a vast yet underutilized knowledge on accelerating communities’ resilience to natural hazards. ”All over the world women are the ones who are more proactive in communities after disaster in bringing together people, establishing social networks, said Mr. Wisner.

Future agenda for Disaster Risk Reduction

Referring to the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva from the 8 -13 May 2011, Ms. Petal said: “I’d like us to put the same diligence and science to work into finding out how to communicate disaster prevention and how to be most effective in disaster prevention education”.

Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

UNICEF Disaster Risk Reduction and Education

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© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-2184/Ricardo Pires
Closing of the Children's Climate Forum in Copenhagen-Dec.'09.

NEW YORK, USA, 11 December 2009 – Architect Carlos Vasquez designs child-friendly schools for UNICEF. This past week, he had the opportunity to give presentations about his schools, which are built to withstand disasters caused by climate change, at the Children’s Climate Forum in Copenhagen.

In one of Mr. Vasquez’s presentations, he surveyed children about whether they had ever personally experienced a climate-related disaster. He found that nearly 100 per cent of the children from western industrialized countries had not experienced one firsthand; but that nearly all of the children from developing countries had.

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Listen to a pocast of Architect Carlos Vasquez who designs UNICEF’s Child Friendly Schools

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“That’s pretty tangible evidence of the social justice issue of climate change, that rich countries emit the most carbon dioxide, yet poor countries are the ones that suffer the most,” he said.

Creating safe environments

Mr. Vasquez said that some of the countries that are more vulnerable to climate change are already working to make schools more resilient. But he added that these countries also need help from those in the developing world to create alternative technologies and designs for school environments that will be better able to withstand natural disasters.

“That’s why we we’re there, to show them how – with the same amount of money or materials – you can actually be more effective at mitigating climate change and disasters and creating environments that are safer for children,” he said.

One of Mr. Vasquez’s goals is to educate stakeholders on the need to design schools with climate change in mind.

“A school that is not designed properly – in a flood or an earthquake zone – if you don’t do your due diligence, you’re putting your children at risk and we cannot afford to do that,” he said.

Using the right materials

In order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of having universal access to education for all children, many thousands of schools remain to be built. Mr. Vasquez believes that those who design these schools have a responsibility to make sure they do not work against another Millennium Development Goal, which is protecting the environment.

“If we’re going to build 350,000 schools out of wood, we’re not protecting the environment because we’re increasing deforestation,” he explained.

This would be especially true in regions like West Africa, where deforestation levels are already high.

To that end, Mr. Vasquez and his colleagues are looking into new technologies of construction that use compressed earth blocks as a building material. Such buildings would have a very low carbon footprint, and not contribute to deforestation.

“We have to be very careful of how we make our next moves, because we want schools to address the issue of the environment and climate change,” he said.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2006-0553/Noorani
Children play outside a child-friendly school in Sudan.

By Pi James

NEW YORK, USA, 10 December 2009 – This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet challenges remain in ensuring that its promise becomes a reality for all of the world’s children.

UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello spoke with two experts – Prof. Roger Hart and Rebecca Chandler – about the role of ‘Child-Friendly’ schools, spaces and communities in protecting the rights of children in crisis situations.

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Click here to listen to podcast – Protecting Rights through Child-Friendly Schools

Prof. Hart teaches at the Graduate Centre of the City University of New York and is Director of the Children’s Environments Research Group. Ms. Chandler is the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Coordinator for Child and Youth Protection Programmes in Emergencies

Prof. Hart stressed that individualism is an important factor in protecting child rights, speaking to criticisms that the Convention emphasizes ‘western’ notions of individual autonomy over the more collectivist views of many cultures.

“The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” he said, “and its emphasis on children’s capacity to be independent actors and thinkers, has really been important for helping them to protect themselves and … develop more completely, and to be prepared for situations like conflict and war.”

‘The trees of our future’

Ms. Chandler spoke about the importance of fostering education for children in conflict-affected areas such as Darfur.

“[We’ve heard] one of the community leaders say that children are the trees of our future. If we cut them down too early, no one is going to provide us shade when we’re old,” she said. “So however they conceptualize it, I think, especially in Darfur, they’re really seeing education as a way to move up in society.”

Prof. Hart agreed, citing this point as “another example of where a school begins as something which is dealing with the conflict and protecting children, but moves on to more long-term sustainable goals for the society in dealing with future conflicts.

“We should not only be concerned with what we have, but the conflicts to come, and child friendly schools are ones that help children to deal with the changes that so many communities are going to experience,” he added.

Tackling climate change

Both guests emphasized the need for child-centred development in combating the effects of climate change.

“Climate change will result in more displacement than we’ve had,” Prof. Hart said. “There’ll be more disasters, there’ll be a growth of this problem before we resolve it, so that does concern me and we need more children more ready to deal with this.”

Ms. Chandler spoke of Myanmar and Darfur as two countries that are being directly affected by climate change. “In Darfur, the less resources you have, the more chance people are going to fight over those resources, [and] children are involved in a lot of ways. They are the ones collecting water, they are the ones who are affected by disease,” she said.

Since Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar in May 2008, according to Ms. Chandler, the focus has been on disaster risk reduction, rebuilding schools and finding ways to “make children feel safe.”

Prof. Hart noted that child-friendly schools foster resourcefulness and flexibility in children. If they are raised in communities and schools where they feel confident to take initiative themselves – and competent to work together to solve problems – their communities will likely to become more flexible and better able to adapt to change.

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UNICEF Climate Ambassador Toriqul Momen, 15, from Bangladesh delivered a presentation on the effects of climate change in his home country during Youth Day at COP15 in Copenhagen.

By Joan Howe

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, 10 December 2009 – Hundreds of children, including eight UNICEF ‘Climate Ambassadors’, wore vibrant orange-and-green t-shirts celebrating ‘Youth Day’ at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) here today.

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Youth Day activities at the UN Climate Change Conference

Youth-focused side-events took place outside the closed-door negotiations of government parties, turning the spotlight on the concerns of young people from around the world. The message of the young delegates was clear: “It is late, but not too late.”

Youth Day sessions covered topics from education as a catalyst for action to agriculture and intergenerational dialogues on disasters.

Climate Ambassadors from Bolivia, Haiti, Zambia and Bangladesh spoke passionately about the impact of climate change on the lives of people in their countries. The young people agreed that decisions made over the next week will have a lasting impact on future generations.

“The earth is not a gift but something borrowed, and we have to give it back to future generations,” said Darwin Peña, 17, from Bolivia.

Youth taking action

Marie Moïse Louissaint, 16, from Haiti and Kondwani Banda, 17, from Zambia are part of a youth movement that has helped raise awareness and involved affected communities in taking concrete steps – such as tree-planting – to mitigate the devastating effects of deforestation and over-farming.

“I believe that we, the children, can do a lot for our respective communities,” said Kondwani. “Let’s get out there and spread environmental information. It may just be turning off a light bulb or telling one friend about climate change but it is a step – a step towards a beautiful, sustainable and renewed future. Thus I urge you to start now. Let’s not wait for the leaders because it begins with us!”

Government representatives at the conference confirmed that the voices of young people are making a difference in the fight against climate change.

Maldives Environment Minister Mohamad Aslam praised the public demand for leadership expressed by the “voters of tomorrow.” He credited young people for inspiring COP15 to focus on agreements that highlighted positive targets and what can be done.

‘The defining issue of our time’

To a standing ovation, Ruchi Jain, 23, a member of the Indian Youth Climate Network, described the strength of people coming together to raise their voices and bring a message to governments around the world. She spoke about the “fragile and honest” trust she had in the leaders gathered in Copenhagen.

Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Yvo de Boer pondered quietly before replying that trust needed to be earned.

The Director of the UN Climate Change Support Team, Janos Pasztor, confirmed that for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, climate change is “the defining issue of our time.” Because future generations will be the most affected, he said, young people need to be heard by leaders at COP15.

In the deeply felt push to galvanize efforts against climate change, Thomas Spencer, a youth delegate from Germany, told the panel of leaders “the first ever global generation” recognized the gravity of the challenge. He added that they also know positive change is possible.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-0383/David BerkwitzOn 30 April 2009, (on large screens) Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Dr. Rajendra Pachauri of India addresses participants via video

By Pi James

UN and UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello is hosting a series of podcast discussions with Nobel Peace Prize winners. This is the second in the series of reports in those conversations.

NEW YORK, USA, 17 July 2009 – In 2007, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, along with former US Vice President Al Gore.

At the time, the Nobel Committee said it was “seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind.”

The committee went on to say: “Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control.”

Youth and education

Two years on, Dr. Pachauri spoke with UNICEF Radio’s Amy Costello about the role of youth and education in reducing the impact of climate change.

“I think this is a very unequal world and my concern is largely centred on children who are in poor countries or in poor homes even in rich countries…. It’s the poorest sections of society who are the worst affected, and children are the ones who are likely to suffer the most,” said Dr. Pachauri.

He added that children and education are central to addressing the impacts of climate change.

‘Urgent and effective action’

“Children must understand how human actions have influenced the climate of this planet,” said Dr. Pachauri. “They must understand the terrible impacts that are likely to take place if we don’t do anything. And finally they must understand what can be done to solve the problem.

“If we don’t do anything about climate change and we don’t take urgent and effective action to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gasses,” he continued, “then in the future, the impact of climate change will be much worse – and that clearly is going affect the future of children.”

Click here (Real player) to listen to the UNICEF Radio podcast discussion with Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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Click here to listen to a conversation with Dr. Rajendra Pachauri

Click here to listen to other podcast in the “BEYOND SCHOOL BOOKS” series.