Every day, classrooms in conflict zones become battlegrounds. Yet children keep learning.
Reshaping Action was an exhibition marking the sixth observance of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack by the Education Above All Foundation, blending photojournalism, art, and installations to show the devastating impact of war on education. The exhibition showcases the courage of children and teachers who refuse to surrender their right to learn.
The Anatomy of a Stolen Childhood
An X-ray installation transforms the impact of war into a visual metaphor: a child handed a weapon instead of a textbook, stripped of classroom, childhood, and future.
The installation confronts us with a chilling truth: when education is attacked, children are not just displaced from school; they may be recruited, manipulated, and subjected to significant physical and emotional harm. Asking us to reckon with what remains when education is denied: lost potential and lives destroyed. Reintegrating these children back into education can give them hope and a new future
The Right to Learn: Stories from the Frontlines
A photographic journey across the frontlines of today’s urgent crises. From the bombed schools of Gaza and Sudan, to underground lessons in Ukraine, and makeshift classrooms in Rohingya refugee camps, these images reveal the quiet courage of children and teachers learning amid war and conflict.
Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Rohingya camps… the images trace quiet courage amid conflict.
- 222 million children worldwide need urgent educational support.
- Over 14 million children are out of school in Sudan.
- In Gaza, more than 625,000 children are denied education.
- In the DRC, 240,000 displaced children live without formal schooling
Gaza: Teaching Among Ruins by Mahmoud Abu Hamdah | 2025
In Gaza, a teacher holds class among rubble. Over 80% of schools are damaged or destroyed, yet the will to teach survives.
Cambodia: Education Under Shelter by Sopheak Srey - AEA | 2025
Six-year-old Vanna studies in a hammock in an informal settlement. Schools are closed, but learning finds fragile spaces.
Afghanistan: A Future Forbidden by Valentina Sinis | 2024
In Kabul, a young girl is determined to learn despite the existing barriers to education.
Gaza: No Classroom, No Peace by Mahmoud Abu Hamdah | 2025
Children gather in broken spaces, their education suspended by war, yet still clinging to hope that schooling will return.
Ukraine – Lessons Beneath the Bombs by Vlada Liberov | 2022
Metro tunnels become classrooms. Education becomes resistance.
Education Under Attack
Colombia: Education Under Fire by Milena Ayala - NRC | 2024
Communities raise white flags to protect schools from armed groups. Learning requires protection.
Venezuela: Education No Longer Guaranteed by Nathalie Sayago | 2019
Schools lack electricity, water, and safety. Education is now a privilege, not a right.
Gaza: Empty Bowls, Empty Classrooms by Anas-Mohammed | 2024
Children line up for food instead of lessons. Hunger replaces homework.
DRC and Rohingya Camps: Learning Against All Odds by Moses Sawasawa | 2024
In Congo’s camps, one teacher may face eighty children. Education becomes survival
Rohingya: Pages of a Stateless Life by Mohammed Imran | 2024
A Rohingya girl quietly reads. Stateless and displaced, her book is both fragile and powerful.
DRC: The Displaced Classroom by Moses Sawasawa | 2024
Here, schools are now shelters. For many, the classroom exists only in memory.
Glimpses of Hope
Gaza: Shielded by Hope by Mahmoud Abu Hamdah | 2024
Two girls smile behind a blackboard turned shield. Even in ruins, they protect themselves with
Gaza: A Swing Between Airstrikes by Mahmoud Abu Hamdah | 2024
A girl swings with arms wide open. Amid bombardment, she claims one fleeting moment of freedom.
Resilience and Renewal
Nepal: A Quiet Corner of Hope by Smita Sharma | 2017
In rural Nepal, a small learning space offers safety and possibility. Against disaster and poverty, education grows again.
Sudan: The Right to Learn, Unbroken by Faiz Abubakr | 2021
Overcrowded benches, no resources, yet determination fills the room. Their courage is the lesson
#UniteToProtect to #ProveItMatters Children's Voices on the Frontlines of Education in Crisis
Commemorating the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, this installation draws attention to one of the most devastating consequences of armed conflict: the deliberate targeting of schools, students, and teachers. Education is not only a fundamental right but a lifeline for children affected by conflict and a foundation for peace. When classrooms are destroyed and learning is disrupted, children’s futures and their hopes are put at risk.
This collaboration between EAA Foundation and the OSRSG-CAAC amplifies the voices of those on the frontlines, proving that education is not only a lifeline but also a foundation for peace.
The messages and artwork on display were collected in Qatar, Colombia and India through the support and collaboration of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Education Above All Foundation and Fundación Pies Descalzos. They reflect the lived realities, dreams, and demands of children who continue to advocate for a safe education and a better future, even amid adversity
No child’s classroom should disappear into silence. Together, we can #UniteToProtect. Together, we can #ProveItMatters.
