With opening addresses from

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
Chairperson of Education Above All Foundation and UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate

Mr. António Guterres
Secretary-General United Nations

HE Prof Tijjani Muhammad Bande
President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly

and other high-level speakers.

September 9th, 2020

This commemoration comes in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Education has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with – according to UNESCO data – at its peak 1.6 billion learners forced out of school, representing about 90% of world learners in more than 190 countries. Children and youth in under-resourced communities and in conflict zones remain among the most vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19, as many have been left without distance learning infrastructure and connectivity. COVID-19 has highlighted the structural inequalities that exist in education, and the urgency to address them.

The International Day to Protect Education from Attack offers a unique annual opportunity to galvanize awareness and global advocacy to protect education from attack and ensure accountability for the continued, deliberate attacks on education and the prevalent armed violence experienced by learners and education staff worldwide. Attacks on education destroy the hopes and ambitions of the whole generation of learners and impacts negatively on sustainable development, sustaining peace, and human rights.

The International Day to Protect Education from Attack is a call for accountability as it depicts global consensus that all countries have responsibilities to prevent attacks on education in conflict settings. Attacks on education must come to a halt and the perpetrators must be held to account. Furthermore, on this day, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to recommit to SDG 4, to ensure that everyone, everywhere has equal access to quality education.

Agenda

Introduction
Opening film
Opening address by nominated youth representatives

HIGH-LEVEL OPENING ADDRESSES

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
Chairperson of Education Above All Foundation and UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate 

HE António Guterres
Secretary-General United Nations

HE Professor Tijjani Muhammad Bande
President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly

Film 'United To Protect'

GLOBAL ACTION TO PROTECT EDUCATION FROM ATTACK

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar

HE Philippe Goffin
Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Defence, Kingdom of Belgium

Peter Maurer
President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

David Beckham
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and founder of the 7 Fund for UNICEF 

PANEL DISCUSSION: Promoting effective policy choices and public action in the era of COVID-19

Henrietta H. Fore
Executive Director, UNICEF 

Stefania Giannini 
Assistant Director-General, UNESCO 

Virginia Gamba
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict 

Hassan Al Thawadi
Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) of the State of Qatar 

Howard Taylor
Executive Director, End Violence Partnership

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) and Sustainable Development Goals Advocate of the Secretary-General 

Diya Nijhowne
Executive-Director, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack 

Muzoon Almellehan
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador