UNESCO contribution to Gaza reconstruction and development – Director-General’s progress report

1. This document presents an update on the UNESCO response to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip since the 184th session of the Executive Board. It covers the period from January to July 2010.

2. A year and a half after the Gaza conflict (December 2008-January 2009), the UNESCO Antenna Office in Gaza remains in the UNDP compound, under the direct supervision of the UNESCO Ramallah Office. In addition to the existing programme staff (a National Liaison Officer based in Gaza, a part-time education specialist seconded from the Norwegian Refugee Council, a Monitoring and Reporting officer and a driver/logistical assistant), a full-time education specialist was hired in replacement of the outgoing Norwegian Refugee Council-seconded specialist.

EDUCATION

3. Implementation of all the five projects funded by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah’s Office (Qatar) is now well under way, namely: (i) emergency support to higher education institutions; (ii) training on the Inter-Agency Network on Education in Emergencies (INEE) Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies; (iii) provision of emergency secondary education in non-UNRWA schools; (iv) promotion of schools as safe zones; (v) crisis planning and management for affected school principals and district-level officials. In March and June 2010, the Steering Committee for the UNESCO/Office of Her Highness’ Partnership on Education in Conflict-Affected Areas met in Doha and gave a positive evaluation to the progress achieved in the implementation of the five projects. During the reporting period, the following activities were implemented.

4. Support to higher education. An assessment report regarding e-learning capacity in Gaza universities was completed in January 2010. Based on its findings, planning of activities to re-equip scientific university laboratories is under way, in line with the recent changes regarding access of goods to the Gaza Strip. Also under this project, fee waiver grants to support students in four universities (Al Aqsa, Al Azhar, Islamic University and Al Quds) are being finalized for the first semester.

5. Over seven hundred educational staff from the Ministry, NGOs and universities have been taking part in training sessions on the INEE minimum standards. The training led by master trainers (trained in 2009) will be completed in August 2010.

6. Under the provision of emergency secondary education project, 3,209 twelfth grade (final year) students benefited from two months of intensive Tawjihee exam preparation classes and 262 teachers were trained in 25 educational locations across the Gaza Strip. In addition to this, remedial educational classes (including a component of psychosocial support) were offered to over 1,500 students in tenth and eleventh grades of secondary school. Classes were led by 150 teachers who received 2 to 3 days of training in appropriate pedagogical methods prior to the beginning of the project. Planning is currently under way for summer camps that will take place in July and August 2010.

7. Schools as safe zones. A consultant has been identified to formulate a capacity development plan benefiting local organizations to strengthen their monitoring, reporting and advocacy around the Right to Education in the oPt. In addition, key issues regarding access and quality will be highlighted over the summer period in an education-related campaign conducted with other United Nations and INGO partners, with input from UNESCO.

8. Crisis planning and management. With a view to supporting the gradual recovery and strengthening of the education system, a psychosocial assessment on the impact of the Gaza crisis on the education system by the Colombia Group for Children in Armed Conflict was completed in June 2010. The study will now be promoted and integrated into project planning for the education sector for both UNESCO’s work and that of the broader humanitarian community.

9. In the area of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), an overall assessment of TVET opportunities for youth in Gaza with a particular focus on girls and women was conducted in late January 2010, which pointed out urgent needs and longer-term gaps to be addressed. These findings were presented at a stakeholder workshop held in Gaza in May 2010, which discussed how to best ensure a coordinated response to address these gaps.

CULTURE

10. In April 2010, on the occasion of the annual celebration of the World Heritage Day, UNESCO supported the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) in organizing the “Second International Conference on Architectural Conservation”. The conference focused on knowledge sharing in the field of conservation, rehabilitation and management of historic buildings and sites, as well as facilitating regional and international partnerships and networking. As part of this cooperation, the IUG Engineering Studies and Consultancy Centre submitted a proposal to UNESCO concerning the “Conservation of the site of Tell Umm Amer (Saint Hilarion Monastery)”, which was included in the “Inventory of Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites of potential Outstanding Universal Value in Palestine”. The proposal was subsequently presented to the French Cooperation, which, in June 2010, approved a fund of €80,000 to support the emergency activities for the protection of the site.

COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

11. The Communication and Information Sector has conducted several activities in response to the Gaza emergency. Under the initiative “Empowering the Isolated and Marginalized Young People in the Gaza Strip”, funded by UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassadors Ute-Henriette Ohoven and Marianna Vardinoyannis (for the total of US $55,000), training in blogging were carried out in the Gaza Strip for the benefit of journalists, women, academics and NGOs. Six workshops were conducted for 33 trainees and one workshop was addressed to AMIN’s staff in Gaza. A video-conference between bloggers in Gaza and the West Bank was also organized in June 2010.

12. As part of the project “Strengthening the safety and protection of journalists and the press freedom in the Gaza Strip” funded by Finland ($143,884) planning advanced for a safety training workshop to take place in September 2010. It will target 40 Palestinian journalists providing much needed psychosocial support and protective training allowing the journalists to identify the risks involved in various reporting situations, provide emergency first aid to fellow journalists following attacks and deal with stressful situations.