The Coalition for Educational Development successfully conducted a capacity-building programme for youth on “Education in Emergencies”. This workshop was held at the Grand Shasha Hotel, Ratnapura on February 7, 2025. 22 youths that represented the communities who vulnerable to frequent floods and landslide that resulted in closing schools for many days participated for this programme.
Why is this important?The main goal of this programme is to enhance the knowledge and skills of the youth that could be utilize to ensure learning continues even in crisis situations by advocacy and lobbying the authorities
Through this program, we aimed to:
Equip youth with the skills to support education in emergencies Raise awareness about disaster preparedness and resilience Build stronger, disaster-ready communitiesIn this initial program, Mr. Shantha Kulathunga (National Coordinator, CED) provided an insightful explanation of the INEE Standards for education in emergencies. Mr. Chaminda Piyasekara (Treasurer, CED) highlighted the impact of disasters on education in Ratnapura, while Mr. Ranjith Wikcramasinghe (Sabaragamuwa Provincial Director, CED) shared critical insights into disaster challenges in the Sabaragamuwa Province. Ms. Lakmali (Program Coordinator, CED) facilitated the group interactive discussion that identify the issues and explore the potential actions to address the issues
The Deputy Director (Disaster) at the District Secretary Office in Ratnapura also participated to this event and discussed their interventions to mitigate the risk of natural disasters. The participants had the opportunity to meet each other and discuss their concerns and share their experiences. The director explained the available opportunities for community engagement in the DRR planning and invited the youth to take part in the process.
This is just the beginning! We are excited to announce that a second program is in the works to continue empowering youth and strengthening education in emergencies.