Regional Meeting Explores Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction into Educational Curricula

As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the role of education in building more resilient communities against disasters, the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED) participated in the regional expert meeting on integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) concepts into educational curricula in the Arab region. RAED took part in the meeting in its capacity as the representative of the Major Group of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The meeting, held on 11–12 August at the kind invitation of UNESCO’s Cairo Office, brought together the UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States, the League of Arab States and other stakeholders. Its aim was to develop a roadmap that positions education as a core component in strengthening community resilience to disasters.

Participants reviewed the draft concept note outlining the objectives and vision of the proposed framework, as well as its key pillars, in line with the Arab Prioritized Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025–2027. These included enhancing regional cooperation in DRR, mainstreaming DRR into educational curricula and public awareness, supporting both formal and non-formal education, building a new generation of experts and establishing a framework to reinforce education as a fundamental driver of community resilience.

The meeting also discussed the draft implementation plan for pre-university and university-level education in DRR, focusing on mechanisms to advance the conceptual framework and scientific content. This included the preparation of educational and interactive materials, strengthening teacher capacity to address DRR themes in curricula, creating a network of experts, promoting the role of Arab media in awareness-raising and setting up mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the educational and outreach impact.

During its intervention, RAED highlighted models from its regional and national initiatives, underscoring the ability of civil society organizations to reach a wide range of beneficiaries across different groups through diverse methodologies. This, RAED emphasized, contributes to empowering local communities and making them more resilient and adaptive.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of integrating DRR concepts into educational curricula as a vital and necessary step, while also providing spaces, championed by civil society organizations, to localize these concepts in practical ways. This includes knowledge exchange, capacity building and specialized awareness-raising activities on disaster risk reduction.

The meeting gathered experts from Egypt, Algeria, Oman, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, along with representatives of relevant national institutions.