As of mid-April 2020, 191 countries had shut down all schools and institutions of higher education. The shift to online learning has been uneven. Some systems were able to train teachers, roll out online learning, and put in place learner support services in less than a week. Others are still struggling, constrained by the lack of access to technology and expertise.
Even in times of crisis, education matters. Delivering quality instruction is clearly a challenge in current circumstances; the magnitude of the challenge, however, varies widely. UNITAR has been able to roll out synchronous and asynchronous online learning, and to partner with the leading institutions in the humanitarian and academic sectors to continue improving global capacities for a more peaceful and prosperous post-pandemic world.
The renewed and expanded partnership between UNITAR Division for Peace and the World Humanitarian Forum (WHF) aims to address the limitations imposed by the pandemic to ensure training and development can be delivered uninterrupted and more importantly, to ensure that no one is left behind.
As part of the project, UNITAR and WHF deploy webinars that focus on education and training challenges faced in highly complex and unstable environments. Each time, we invite special guests and experts from the international sector, field operations, non-profit sector, academia or media to share their experience and knowledge with our international audience. The webinars are free and open to everyone interested.
In addition to that, in May, the two partners launched WHF Learning – an online platform that intends to increase the awareness of available free distance learning opportunities for professionals in the international community and beyond. WHF Learning is a part of the broader WHF Digital Series that includes open interactive webinars, online courses and podcasts.
As we continue working together on the provision of relevant, convenient and accessible learning and knowledge-sharing opportunities, we invite you to keep an eye on the related pages linked above not to miss any new development!
Go to our webinar page to watch past recordings and see what is upcoming: https://bit.ly/unitarwebinars