Resilient Schools and Disaster Risk Reduction Education

This course will introduce the learner to resilient schools and education. It aims to strengthen disaster risk management by providing adequate training on school safety planning and implementation in the context of the commitments of the 2030 Agenda and Systemic Risk. The overall aim of the online course is to strengthen the preparedness, mitigation, recovery and response capacities of the education sector and communities to disaster risks through disaster risk reduction education, school disaster management and safe learning facilities. The course will be comprised of eight modules, each running over two weeks. The online course is structured around the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF), and is divided in 8 modules aiming to provide a wide-ranging overview of the challenges and opportunities to secure resilient schools and education. Each module consist of presentations, lecture notes, reading list, and related resources (such as videos, bibliography, reports, and study cases among others). The course will be delivered by renowned experts in resilient schools and education.

Learning Objectives

• To strength the understanding of resilient schools and education in the context of systemic risk and the Agenda 2030.
• To increase the capacity of policy makers and planners, related stakeholders, practitioners, and, other interested parties, to integrate DRR in their national education policies and plans, including the development and/or revision of national, regional and local disaster management plans;
• To train and guide decision‐makers, related stakeholders and practitioners, and other interested parties to improve the resilience of education facilities
• To improve the capacity of national authorities, related stakeholders and practitioners, and other interested parties to support school disaster management;
• To increase the capacity of curriculum developers, related stakeholders and practitioners, and other interested parties, to integrate DRR education in national curricula. As well as to increase these capacities on non-formal education modalities;
• To highlight the importance of multi-hazard assessment for the three pillars of the CSSF, and reinforce the capacities on technical and non-technical tools;
• To introduce the theory behind the VISUS methodology and its multi-hazard characterization, as well as its different phases and outcomes of the implementation;
• To highlight the importance of planning for and during emergencies with its specific particularities;
• To support the development of action plans for the implementation of the comprehensive school safety framework approach.

Work Load

The programme will consist of eight modules, each running over two weeks. The common structure across modules will be as follows:

• A formal lecture and videos will be presented towards the beginning of the first week (2-4 hours). At the end of the lecture, assignments and recommended reading will be set for the participants in preparation for the following week.
• Towards the end of the second week the participants will put up individual assignments and presentations related to the topic of the formal lecture (2-4 hours).
• Thereafter a group discussion will wrap up the specific topic and its general applicability across the SADC region (1 hour).
• Overall, the time engagement per module from participants is estimated at 4-5 hours per week.

Meet the Course Instructors

Dr. Jair Torres

Mr. Torres is an international senior consultant on disaster risk reduction, resilience, sustainability and adaptation. He worked at the International Hydrological Programme, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and the Unit for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, all at UNESCO; notably on the international activities related to the scientific, educational and policy aspects of natural hazards leading to disaster. He has been involved in activities concerning school safety, early warning systems, and promotion of scientific cooperation and capacity building for disaster risk reduction. Among others, he was responsible for the International Platform for Earthquake Early Warning Systems, the design and implementation of the VISUS Methodology for Assessing School Facilities and the UNESCO Programme for Measuring Resilience. He played an active role in the design and implementation of the International Platform for Reducing Earthquake Disasters, the programme for Reducing Earthquake Losses and the International Network for Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems. Mr. Torres played an important role in the consolidation of the Thematic Platform for Knowledge in the Education Sector that would later become the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES), for which he was the coordinator from 2013 to 2015, and from 2017 to 2019 he chaired it. Similarly, he has been a recognized expert on the implementation of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework, as well as, on the design and launch of the Worldwide Initiative for Safe Schools, and some regional Initiatives on the same subject. Mr. Torres is the Editor-in-Chief of the Special Issue on School Safety of the International Scientific Journal for Disaster Risk Reduction. Dr. Torres holds a PhD on Risk and Emergency Management at the Understanding and Managing Extremes Graduate School of the University School for Advanced Studies IUSS in Pavia, Italy. He acquired his master’s degree on Development Studies at the University of Paris III, Sorbonne Nouvelle and his bachelor diploma in Finances and International Relations at the Externado University of Colombia.

Professor Stefano Grimaz

Prof. Grimaz is the Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Intersectoral Safety for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience at the University of Udine (Italy). Director of Safety and Protection Intersectoral Laboratory (SPRINT-Lab) at the Polytechnic Department of Engineering and Architecture of University of Udine where he is Professor of Engineering Seismology and of Safety and Civil Protection at the Master Degree Courses of Engineering. He carries out research on safety and emergency management with a holistic and intersectoral approach for developing multi-hazard safety assessment and decision-making support tools. He is scientific consultant of national and international institutions and organizations working in the fields of safety, disaster management and resilience. He is author of more than 150 papers in the field of industrial, civil and territorial safety and risk prevention.

Dr. Petra Malisan

Dr. Malisan is a researcher at UNESCO Chair on Intersectoral Safety for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, SPRINT-Lab, at University of Udine (Italy), where she achieved her master’s degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Environmental and Energy Engineering Science. Her research focuses mainly on the definition and application of vulnerability-based methods for risk and safety analysis of public facilities, and in particular on the VISUS methodology for making technical triage with a multi-hazard prospective and defining decision-making support tools. She designs and develops tools for simplifying the multi-hazard safety assessment (pre and post event) and supporting the capacity building of users.

Ms. Lucille Anglès

Ms. Anglès has been working as the Coordinator for the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES) since May 2018. She has been coordinating the network first under the Chair of UNESCO and then under the Chair of UNICEF. Lucille Anglès has a Master in Physical Geography with a specialization in risk management and especially, flood risk (University Paris VII, Paris, France) as well as a Master in Sustainable Urbanism to better consider natural risks within our cities (UCL, London, UK). She worked as an Officer in an Emergency Management unit of a French Government Administration and did an internship at UNESCO in the DRR and Resilience Unit before working as the Coordinator for GADRRRES. GADRRRES is a multi-stakeholder mechanism composed of UN agencies, international organizations, and global networks. Representatives from regional networks are also affiliated members to the Alliance. The main purposes of GADRRRES are to strengthen global coordination, increase knowledge, and advocate on risk reduction education and safety in the education sector.