Portal will allow for greater accountability to protect education in conflict as attacks continue to increase
Education Above All Foundation (EAA) and its partners are unveiling TRACE, the Track Attacks on Education (TRACE) Data Portal , a new tool which applies humanitarian technology to generate reliable, timely data on attacks on education to be freely shared. Advocates, policy makers, journalists, as well as humanitarian and development workers and communities will be able to use the tool to better understand the challenges of safeguarding quality education during conditions of conflict. The unveiling takes place on Friday, during the 3rd Observance of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack in Paris, which brings together leaders from the education and development world to discuss tangible solutions to rising attacks on education.
Through a partnership established in 2021 with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), KoBo Toolbox and in close collaboration with GCPEA and the QCRI, TRACE was designed to fill a global gap for reliable quality data. It is an easy to use, single point, open access portal that collects, visualizes, and provides curated analysis of data on attacks on education. As such, TRACE helps to ensure that quality data is available in an easy-to-use form to hold attackers accountable, advocate for the protection of education, and respond to attacks in a timely manner.
“We must do all in our power to hold those who perpetrate attacks on education accountable. When criminals strike schools they strike the very heart of a community and its culture and children’s futures are destroyed,” said EAA Chairperson and Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who is giving a keynote address at the high-level event in Paris.
According to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) – of which EAA is a founding member – there were more than 5,000 documented attacks on education between 2020-2021, with more than 9,000 students and educators abducted, arrested, injured, or killed. DRC, Mali, and the State of Palestine were the countries most affected, while Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Nigeria also saw an increase. The military use of schools and universities more than doubled.
Data is fundamental in any endeavour to counter such trends. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2601 (UNSCR 2601), which was adopted in October last year, encourages enhanced monitoring and reporting of attacks on education and calls for all parties to collect and share data on attacks on education.
The International Day to Protect Education from Attack was established in 2020, and is increasingly important as students, teachers and schools continue to suffer an increased number of attacks globally. This year, the day is being held in-person for the first time in two years, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and will provide a forum to discuss issues relating to attacks on education. Co-organised by EAA, the Qatar Mission to the United Nations, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) , UNESCO and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the observance will bring together global and UN leaders, youth advocates, policy makers and academics to discuss how to protect education and build sustainable peace.
Participants and contributors to this year’s observance, titled ‘Act Now to Protect Education from Attack,’ include H.H. Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of EAA, SDG Advocate; His Excellency Nana-Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO; Her Royal Highness Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador; Catherine M. Russell, UNICEF Executive Director; Virginia Gamba, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict; Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education; Yalda Hakim, Australian broadcast journalist, news presenter; Rosario Diaz Garavito, CEO of The Millennials Movement. Her Royal Highness Princess Caroline of Hanover, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, will also attend in observance.
EAA’s appeal to the global community comes as part of its three-year #UniteToProtect global campaign to end education on attacks through the collection of data on attacks as a basis for evidence generation, accountability, grassroots advocacy and sustainable peacebuilding.
Source: Education Above All