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Central America and the Caribbean regional synthesis: climate change, displacement and the right to education Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO From rising sea level to drought and increasingly frequent natural disasters - the effects of climate change are well-known today. However, its effect on human mobility is just coming to the forefront of the political discussion. In 2020 alone, 30.7 million people globally were displaced by natural disasters. Central America and the Caribbean region is prone to the effects of climate change and displacement due to its socioeconomic characteristics and geographic location. Country case studies were carried out in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Jamaica to examine the impacts on the right to education in the region. The research shows that climate change directly threatens education through the destruction of schools and property. It also leads people across borders where their legal residency and right to education are not guaranteed. This report aims to guide policy-makers on how to ensure education is protected in the face of climate change and displacement. The report is one of four being developed and will contribute to UNESCO’s global initiative on climate change, displacement and the right to education. It will inform the development of a Global Report with policy recommendations. 
2021-2023 World Heritage Map Published Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO World Heritage Convention The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the World Heritage Centre and Geo4Map with the generous support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, can now be ordered from the World Heritage Centre website.The featured image on the map presents the Ḥimā Cultural Area World Heritage property in Saudi Arabia, country hosting the next session of the World Heritage Committee in September 2023.This poster-sized wall map features all 1,157 World Heritage properties and is illustrated with magnificent photos and explanatory captions. It also presents brief explanations of the World Heritage Convention and its related Marine, Earthen Architecture and other conservation programmes. 
Cracking The Code: Girls’ and Women’s Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Year of publication: 2017 Corporate author: UNESCO Despite significant improvements in recent decades, education is not universally available and gender inequalities persist. A major concern in many countriesis not only limited numbers of girls going to school, but also limited educational pathways for those that step into the classroom. This includes, more specifically,how to address the lower participation and learning achievement of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. STEM underpins the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and STEM education can provide learners with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavioursrequired for inclusive and sustainable societies. Leaving out girls and women in STEM education and careers is a loss for all. This report aims to ‘crack the code’, or to decipher the factors that hinder or facilitate girls’ and women’s participation, achievement and continuation in STEMeducation, and what can be done by the education sector to promote girls’ and women’s interest in, and engagement with, STEM. 
Freinet Pedagogy Adapted to French as a Foreign Language (FLE) Year of publication: 2021 Author: Alice Lenesley | Marianne Viader Corporate author: Culture FLE Interview with Alice Lenesley, who presents the Freinet method adapted to French as a Foreign Language (FLE) classes. In this video, she presents the teaching tools developed by Célestin Freinet, a teacher who adapted his way of teaching to his pupils and their physical constraints. Here are the tools presented in the video: getting out into nature, the "quoi de neuf", non-masterly teaching, the unexpected and spontaneity, autonomy, free text and little books. 
Her Atlas: Interactive Advocacy Tool on Girls’ and Women’s Right to Education Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO Many girls and women cannot exercise their right to education due to gender inequality and discriminatory practices. Poverty, early marriage, and gender-based violence are just some of the many reasons behind the high percentage of global female illiteracy and school drop-outs. Strengthening the right of girls and women to quality education is key to eliminate discrimination and to achieve equal rights between genders. This cannot be achieved without solid national legal frameworks that are rightsbased, gender responsive and inclusive. This is where HerAtlas comes in. HerAtlas, is a first of its kind online tool that maps the right to education of girls and women. It aims to enhance public knowledge and monitor the status of national constitutions, legislation and regulations related to education rights for girls and women to encourage countries to take action, strengthen their laws and policies, and lead to long term change. Concrete changes are already apparent. In 2019, 4% of countries were explicitly restricting the right to education of married, pregnant, and parenting girls. This has dropped to 2% in 2022, benefiting millions of girls who can now legally attend school when they marry or become pregnant. 
Protect Her Rights, Strengthen Your Laws: Her Atlas; Status Report on Girls’ and Women’s Right to Education Year of publication: 2022 Corporate author: UNESCO UNESCO’s Her Education, our future initiative, Her Atlas was launched in 2019 with the aim to enhance public knowledge and monitor the status of national constitutions, legislation and regulations related to girls’ and women’s education rights in order to encourage countries to take actions to improve their legal frameworks. Three years after its launch, the research phase has been completed: overall, the legal frameworks of 196 countries have been thoroughly analyzed to evaluate the level of protection of girls’ and women’s right to education around the world. In an interactive world map format, Her Atlas uses a color-coded scoring system to monitor 12 indicators of legal progress towards gender equality in the right to education. This report marks the completion of the first research phase and intends to highlight some key trends outlined by the research work, and to emphasize examples of legal provisions regarding some aspects of girls’ and women’s right to education guaranteed by States’ domestic laws. 
World Heritage Online Map Platform: Technical Note on the Provision of Geospatial Data Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO UNESCO’s World Heritage Online Map Platform (WHOMP) is a Geographic Information System (GIS) developed with the support of the Government of Flanders (Belgium), aiming at the creation of a comprehensive and accessible geodatabase for World Heritage properties worldwide. This platform is hosted and managed by UNESCO which ensures that the data presented correspond exactly to the boundaries of the World Heritage properties and their buffer zones as inscribed in the World Heritage List, including any changes adopted by the World Heritage Committee after the initial inscription of a property. 
An Ed-Tech Tragedy? Educational Technologies and School Closures in the Time of COVID-19 Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO Charting a new course for the transformation of education in a digital age An Ed-Tech Tragedy? is a detailed analysis of what happened when education became largely reliant on connected technology during school closures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest global disruption to education in history.Many claim that this experience was chiefly one of forced progress and transformations that have, however haltingly, helped propel education into desirable digital futures. Others underline an experience of imperfect salvation – technology saving the day in an emergency and preserving learning continuity for significant numbers of students, even if not all students were helped. But the global evidence reveals a more sombre picture. It exposes the ways unprecedented educational dependence on technology often resulted in unchecked exclusion, staggering inequality, inadvertent harm and the elevation of learning models that place machines and profit before people. This publication examines the promises of educational technologies against the reality of what was delivered during periods of pandemic school closures, which stretched for various durations from early 2020 to the end of 2022. Dedicated sections consider alternate possibilities that had the potential to be more inclusive and equitable.The analysis extracts lessons and recommendations to chart new and more humanistic directions for the development, integration and use of technology in education. 
Arts Education: An Investment in Quality Learning Year of publication: 2023 Author: Vivek Venkatesh | Lydia Ruprecht | Martha K. Ferede Corporate author: UNESCO This paper reviews key research on the impact and outcomes of Arts Education (AE), with the objective of demonstrating how AE and its conceptualizations, methodological approaches, theoretical foundations and applications are closely aligned with the objectives and expectations of quality education as notably envisioned by Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education. For UNESCO (2006), AE is understood to include two different approaches: o the teaching of art as an individual study subject and AE as developing learners’ artistic skills, abilities and sensibilities; o the mobilization of the arts, its tools, methods and stakeholders as a pedagogical approach, also referred to as 'arts in education' or 'learning through the arts.”The evidence gathered in this paper points to six main conclusions. • Arts education contributes to the humanistic outcomes associated with quality education as captured in Target 4.7 of SDG 4 on education, namely the promotion of values grounded in global peace, sustainability, justice and respect for cultural diversity and the development of social and emotional skills such as empathic concern and perspective-taking, all of which support personal and collective well-being and indices associated with increased societal happiness1 such as healthy life expectancy, freedom and generosity. • The evidence demonstrates that the “learning of the arts” positively impacts learning in ways that are relevant to broader academic and non-academic outcomes(see Tables 1 and 2).It has been associated with improvements in mathematics performance, writing skills, reading achievements, creativity, student engagement and attendance, as well as perseverance in pursuit of educational goals and classroom behaviours. • Arts education fosters teacher innovation and collaboration, positively impacting school culture and can help students gain a sense of mastery and accomplishment and engage with their communities. • By linking formal and non-formal learning settings, including both in-person and digital cultural spaces such as museums, festivals, performance venues and cultural centres, AE supports the capacity-building of artists and cultural bearers, while expanding the pedagogical role of cultural institutions and spaces. • Considering the nature of local and Indigenous knowledge in spanning language, cultural practices, land use practices, social interactions, ritual and spirituality, AE holds the potential to support knowledge revitalization for Indigenous peoples, which have been historically compromised or delegitimized within traditional education settings. • Last but not least, by building on the economic potential of the arts and creative industries, AE creates opportunities for employment and economic growth, which cannot be underestimated. • On a methodological note, the review of existing research highlights the limitations of quantitative methods and the absence of evaluation mechanisms to assess the contribution and impact of AE to learning. 
UNESCO Guidance for the World Heritage ‘No-Go’ Commitment: Global Standards for Corporate Sustainability Year of publication: 2022 Corporate author: UNESCO UNESCO World Heritage properties are cultural, natural and mixed sites of outstanding universal value (OUV) that exemplify some of humanity’s most exceptional heritage and treasures on our planet. They cover over a thousand properties in all regions of the world and it is the duty of the international community as a whole to cooperate on their protection. UNESCO World Heritage sites provide major benefits to our society and help safeguard ecosystem services and cultural resources vital for human well-being. Yet the threats to UNESCO World Heritage sites have been rising steadily for decades, including those arising from harmful industrial and infrastructure projects, extractive activities such as mining, oil and gas and large hydropower projects, among others. In view of these significant threats, several leading companies and financial institutions have committed to protect World Heritage by respecting them as ‘no-go’ areas. UNESCO World Heritage sites are protected under international law as humanity’s legacy to future generations and, as such, merit particular attention in corporate policies and business conduct. However, there is wide variation in the nature and strength of sustainability policies and due diligence processes. This guidance was developed to assist companies to develop comprehensive strategies for World Heritage as part of their efforts to measure and manage environmental, social and governance risks.