In order to share the outstanding research and governance experiences of the biosphere reserves (BRs), facilitate the capacity building of member countries and enhance the influence of the East Asia Biosphere Reserves Network (EABRN). From 1 March to 10 May 2023, the EABRN Secretariat will organize a series of online training workshops and, with the advice of the Steering Committee members, will invite experts and academics in relevant fields to act as trainers for the training webinars, focusing on a range of topics in the field of environmental conservation and reserve area management. Please find the themes and arrangements at the end of this article.   We would like to invite all EABRN members, students and experts from universities, research institutions and UNESCO Chairs to join us in the webinar. The webinars will be in English. Please find the registration access below. The participants will be awarded a training certificate by the UNESCO Beijing office on the successful completion of each of the training sessions.

In the framework of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, UNESCO organizes following meetings in presential with online access at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris:      “Exchange Day” on major current issues concerning underwater cultural heritage (12 June 2023, Room XI, Fontenoy Building, from 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm);  Ninth session of the Meeting of States Parties to the 2001 Convention (from 13 to 14 June 2023, Room XI, Fontenoy Building, from 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm);  Fourteenth meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB) (15 June 2023 Room XI, Fontenoy Building, from 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm).     A meeting of the UNITWIN Network for Underwater Archaeology and a meeting of the accredited NGOs will take place on 16 June 2023 in room VII and VIII bis, respectively (exact time, agenda and rooms will be communicated subsequently).         Documents will be uploaded gradually.    

The UNESCO Beirut Office, in cooperation with King Salman Center Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), is organizing a closing ceremony for the Education is Peace project. The closing ceremony aims to review the project's objectives, activities, major achievements and results, and future aspirations in view of building on the project outcomes and originating new activities and projects related to education for peace. As the lead UN agency on SDG4-Education 2030 Agenda, UNESCO, and more specifically the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States (UNESCO Beirut), implemented a regional project funded and supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) in the Arab region. The project, called “Education is Peace”, was launched towards the end of 2019 with the aim of developing regional resources and providing capacity-building opportunities to support teacher trainers, teachers, educators, education practitioners and policy- and decision-makers and help them overcome the many challenges they face to ensure quality education for all with a special focus on supporting Arab countries in crises through Education in Emergencies (EiE), and promoting peace, tolerance and social cohesion in the region. The project also aimed to expand inclusion in education for vulnerable populations, with attention to persons with learning difficulties, including disabilities, and crisis-affected populations. The primary goal was to promote sustainable change in education, especially in emergencies, and to build peaceful and resilient societies . Over the course of three years, the project evolved to address emerging challenges that hindered the ability of education sectors across the region to provide quality education and progress toward SDG4. In fact, changes were made in the list of planned resources to include a number of packs that address the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which encompass protracted school closures and major shifts in the field of education (e.g. shift from traditional to distance/blended modalities), and that guide teachers and build their capacities to adapt their teaching methods, learning materials and contents to fit distance/blended learning modalities. The project also considered the needs of education policymakers and school administrators in adjusting and adapting their policies and decisions in the COVID-19 era. The resources were developed in Arabic with several regional partners, e.g. ESCWA, and Arab experts, including Saudi expertise. They cover several areas, such as multigrade teaching, inclusive education, distance learning, adult education and early childhood education, in view of offering inclusive and alternative education opportunities to ensure quality education for all and achieve SDG4. Training was also provided on the developed resources to guide beneficiaries on how to use them and maximize their benefit. For more information on the project and access to the resources: https://en.unesco.org/node/357715 FORMAT The closing ceremony will be held virtually via Zoom on Thursday, 9 February 2023, from 11:00 to 12:00 Beirut time. UNESCO National Commissions, representatives of Ministries of Education in the Arab region, and persons concerned with the educational sector from the Arab region and elsewhere will be invited, in addition to regional educational centers, such as the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS), the Regional Center for Educational Planning (RCEP), the Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education (RCQE), and other regional centers. The closing ceremony will be held in Arabic. To Register: https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3f2RUghaQeWa7bRKtBClOQ