The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education

When wars break out, international attention and media reporting invariably focus on the most immediate images of human suffering. Yet, behind these images is a hidden crisis. Across many of the world’s poorest countries, armed conflict is destroying not just school infrastructure, but the hopes and ambitions of generations of children.

On March 2, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings hosted the Washington, D.C. launch of UNESCO’s 2011 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education. Kevin Watkins, director of the Global Monitoring Report, was joined by experts to discuss the salient issues related to armed conflict and education, including the culture of impunity surrounding attacks on schoolchildren and schools and strategies for strengthening the role of education in peace-building.

After the program, the panelists took audience questions.