IN celebration of Human Rights Day on December 10, the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), will hold “The Right to Equitable Access to Education: Learning Continuity in the Philippines Amid Covid-19” webinar on December 9 at 10 a.m. and will be streamed live on the EU in the Philippines Facebook Page.
The right to education—recognized in international instruments such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the EU, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights—has been hampered worldwide because of the pandemic. It has exacerbated pressing learning issues in the Philippines, and threatened to widen further the gaps in education. Many children and young Filipinos have experienced severe and long-term effects of prolonged in-person learning disruptions, while others are struggling with distance learning.
The virtual dialogue aims to answer the question: “How do we move toward the future of learning and teaching?” The two-hour activity will provide a platform to discuss learning continuity in the Philippines during the public-health emergency, ways the country will move forward to resuming in-person classes and ensure equitable access to quality education for all children.
The event falls under the EU’s and UNICEF’s advocacy for the rights of children to have access to education despite the contagion.
“The…pandemic has had a major impact on children: from education to sexual exploitation and abuse,” said EU Ambassador Luc Véron. “More than ever, the EU is at the forefront [of upholding] the rights of children, and this will remain one of our human rights’ top priorities for…years to come.”
“I look forward to the resumption of in-person classes, [as well as continue] to exchange views and best practices on how the EU and the Philippines ensure learning continuity,” Véron added.
“[The pandemic] is a child-rights crisis. We at UNICEF stay committed to providing the support needed to safely resume in-person classes and successfully implement the Department of Education’s (DepEd) learning continuity strategy,” said UNICEF Country Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov. “Together with our partners, relevant agencies and stakeholders, we continuously work to provide a better and brighter future for our children.”
Véron and Dendevnorov will deliver the opening messages during the webinar. Ambassadors Jana Šedivá (Czech Republic) and Juha Pyykkö (Finland) will provide the European perspective.
Panelists who will discuss the transition to in-person classes and the future of education are Roger Masapol, director of DepEd’s Planning Services; UNICEF Philippines’s Chief of Education Isy Faingold and Health Specialist Mariella Castillo; National Philippines Parents-Teachers Association President Willy Rodriguez; Regional Subcommittee for the Welfare of Children’s student leaders Aujel Orosco (Region V) and Lien Wence Castro (Region VI); as well as Aral Pilipinas Lead Convenor Regina Sibal.
Interested parties may register via https://forms.gle/vPD8QyEvdTrbJ6gc8. Further updates are available at the @EUDelegationToThePhilippines on Facebook.