COVID-19 forced school closings for 90 per cent of the world’s students. And as humanity continues to grapple with the pandemic, Western’s Prachi Srivastava – an expert in global education – is seeking answers on how we can build resilient school systems as part of the recovery.
Srivastava, professor in Western’s Faculty of Education, is set to lead a special event of the Think 20 (T20) Summit to inform the G20 on the colossal effects lockdowns, quarantines and physical distancing have imposed on global education – and what countries need to do to recover. The T20 is an official Engagement Group of the G20.
In a special YouTube livestream event this Thursday, Nov. 5, Srivastava will join collaborators from CIPPEC Argentina, UNESCO–IIEP, UNICEF and the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, to present recommendations and mobilize knowledge in advance of the G20 Summit Nov. 21-22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The recommendations are from a policy brief Srivastava led and drafted for special T20 Task Force 11, COVID-19: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Complex Problems. A number of recommendations formed part of the high-level T20 Saudi Arabia Calls for Commitment Education intended for G20 leaders and education ministers.
COVID-19 and the Global Education Emergency: Planning systems for recovery and resilience will be live streamed Thursday, Nov. 5 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. EST by Western at https://youtu.be/QSsQMhdTQ6g. All are welcome to attend.
During the live moderated discussion, Srivastava and her collaborators will address the following questions:
- What are the key recommendations for building more resilient systems in view of the pandemic?
- What key interventions seem potentially critical in addressing some of the challenges?
- How can countries respond to the education crisis with regards to systems planning and delivery?
“This event comes at a crucial time as most countries continue to experience disruptions to regular and continuous education provision, and many have entered a second academic year affected by the pandemic,” said Srivastava.
“G20 countries face serious challenges in their own contexts. Some among them are also official development aid donors and must support regional and global cooperation – which is even more crucial now. As part of a ‘club’ of influence, the policy actions of G20 countries will have regional and global impact on education recovery.”
