UoB and UNDP hold virtual symposium

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The University of Bahrain (UoB) in co-operation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) organised a symposium entitled ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Education.’

It was part of a development programme provided by the United Nations to assist Arab countries in their efforts to enhance the prospects for inclusive growth, job opportunities and livelihoods at both levels.

The event provides local and international information, studies and skills, while building on them and making use of them to consolidate sustainable development values.

UNICEF Gulf Area Office senior education adviser Kimberly Parekh reviewed via the virtual broadcast platform the implications of the education process and its sustainability in light of the pandemic.

Parekh presented practical experiences in education during the pandemic, the most important educational tools, teacher training, and professional development for teachers around the world.

She discussed a primary focus on in-service teacher training, higher education operations, and technical assistance to organisations such as UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Global Partnership for Education.

In turn, the education programme specialist at the UNESCO Gulf and Yemen Office, Danilo Padilla, spoke about the experiences of other countries in the sustainability of education through communication platforms, and explained how students are evaluated at different universities during the pandemic.

“We aim to assist Arab countries in their efforts to enhance prospects for inclusive growth, job opportunities and livelihoods at the national and local levels, through economic recovery and building resilience to crises and post-crisis contexts, with a focus on empowering women and youth, the most vulnerable in the Arab region,” Padilla said.

UNDP works to support change and connect countries with knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It works in 177 countries as it helps them develop solutions to meet local and global development challenges.

Likewise, it assists Arab countries develop their integrated, transformative and scalable solutions to address the interrelated challenges of poverty, vulnerability, inequality and exclusion in ways that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.