Keeping Schools Open in a Changing Climate: Build It Before It Breaks
About the Session
Climate change is becoming an education crisis.
Extreme heat, floods, storms, droughts, and other climate-related events are disrupting schools and learning with increasing frequency. For children already at greater risk of being excluded from education, particularly girls and students living in vulnerable communities, even temporary disruption can have lasting consequences.
The challenge is no longer simply how schools respond after a disaster. Education systems need to be designed for a climate in which disruption is increasingly part of the operating environment. That means preparing schools physically, strengthening the capacity of teachers and school leaders, using technology and data to maintain learning when classrooms close, and embedding climate preparedness within government education systems rather than relying on temporary emergency responses.
Many of the solutions do not have to be expensive or complicated. Locally informed risk planning, stronger school leadership, coordination across government departments, foundational learning, and practical measures that help schools prepare for extreme weather can make education systems significantly more resilient. The challenge is getting approaches that work adopted and financed at scale.
This session will explore what it takes to keep children learning through a changing climate. How can governments build climate adaptation into education systems? What particular protections are needed to keep girls learning during crises? How should education financing account for growing climate risk? And how can governments, donors, communities, and education partners invest now so that the next climate shock does not automatically become an education emergency?
Discussion Group Leaders
Catherine Salina Asego is Senior Advocacy and Partnerships Officer at Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), advancing advocacy and partnerships that expand education opportunities for girls and women across Africa.
Luke Stannard is Director at Can’t Wait to Learn, expanding access to quality learning opportunities for children affected by conflict and displacement.
Samantha Ross is Executive Director Programmes and Partnerships at Link Education International, advancing foundational learning, inclusive education, teacher development, and climate resilience through strategic partnerships and programs.
What to Expect
A practical conversation about building education systems that can anticipate, withstand, and recover from climate disruption. Participants will examine approaches ranging from school-level preparedness and community knowledge to technology, data, government capacity, and sustainable financing.
The emphasis will be on solutions that can work within public education systems at scale, including low-cost approaches that help schools stay open and learning continue when climate events occur.
Who This Is For
This session is for education leaders, governments, funders, Education in Emergencies practitioners, climate and adaptation organizations, girls' education advocates, technology partners, school leaders, and others working to protect learning as climate risks grow.
What You Will Get Out of It
Practical approaches to making schools and education systems more climate-resilient
Strategies for sustaining learning during heat, floods, storms, droughts, and other disruptions
Perspectives on protecting girls' education during climate-related crises
Ideas for embedding climate adaptation within government education systems
Approaches to financing scalable, locally informed education resilience