A version of this blog was published originally on the GADRRRES website.

Even as the dust was hardly settled over the village of Blatten, representatives from across countries and sectors descended on another part of Switzerland to discuss protection of people and communities from future crises.

The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025), co-hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the government of Switzerland, was held in Geneva from 2 to 6 June.

Thousands of delegates from the Caribbean to Comoros to the Cook Islands came together to act for resilience today – the theme of the Platform.

With thanks to the championing efforts of the co-hosts, one topic emerged as a clear focus: safe schools.

Here are 4 things we learned about safe schools at GP2025.

1. Global evidence shows the urgent need for accelerated action.

The annual impact of disasters on education is catastrophic. Research from UNDRR released immediately before the Platform highlights that disasters cost education systems an annual average loss of $35.9 billion.

The key findings from the Comprehensive School Safety Policy Survey 2024 add a human dimension to this financial loss. Governments in the survey recognized a wide range of hazards impacting education systems, with nearly nine in 10 governments highlighting health, bullying and violence, and climate change impacts as affecting schools.

However, responses are not as widespread as the impacts demand:

• just 12% of governments reported systematically funded upgrades of school buildings;
• nearly half of governments stated that educational continuity guidance was limited, poorly distributed, or poorly understood;
• less than one in five governments mandate teacher training on disaster risk reduction.

The need for scaled up action across the pillars of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework is clear.

2. Governments are acting for resilient education, but ambition should be scaled up

Despite a packed agenda, governments prioritized sharing their school safety initiatives at a Ministerial Roundtable on Safe Schools, held as part of GP2025.

Over 35 governments set out statements on the impact of disasters on education systems and the need to scale up action. Several statements included direct reference to the Comprehensive School Safety Framework.

Despite a strong display from governments, there remains a need to scale up ambition for safe schools across the globe. Wide ranging and compounding hazards, with their wide ranging and compounding impacts, demand more ambitious commitments to make every school safe.

Importantly, these commitments must be driven, implemented and monitored in partnership with ministries of education.

With interventions largely coming from national disaster management authorities, discussion fell in favor of infrastructure and less on other aspects of safe schools such as contingency planning, anticipatory action, teacher training and curriculum integration.

Meaningful and deliberate cross-sectoral action and strong coordination with local governments are essential to implement all aspects of safe schools.

3. Practical solutions are changing children’s lives across the globe

Across the Platform, practical action for safe schools was on show.

Government representatives from Saint Lucia, Kyrgyz Republic and Tonga spoke of national and regional efforts to deliver safe schools during the GADRRRES side event, titled Inclusive Comprehensive School Safety: Strengthening Resilience for Children and Youth in all hazards.

This side event also presented tangible stories and tools from GADRRRES members, including UNICEF, UNESCO, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Save the Children, and Plan International.

These resources and case studies, all built on the Comprehensive School Safety Framework, demonstrate how organizations are keeping children safe and learning across the globe.

At the Innovation Platform, VR technology, adolescent-focused games, and books for children were on display, showing how to bring disaster risk reduction to life for children.

4. Disaster risk reduction actors are calling for safe schools

The Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction offers this political commitment.

The document, which is the outcome of GP2025, recognizes the importance of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework as a key way to protect children, education systems and investments:

Risk-inform all investments: When disaster risks are ignored, even the most ambitious development projects are likely to fail. Public and private investments should be guided by a thorough understanding of disaster risk. For example, investment in the resilience of the education sector has a multiplier effect. Implementing the Comprehensive School Safety Framework will help protect children and youth from disasters.

We must now harness this political commitment to drive action at all levels.

So what’s next?

As always, conferences are only as powerful as the action they ignite.

GP2025 showed it’s time to join hands and efforts across sectors to drive school safety. We know what works, we have the mandate from the Geneva Call to Action, and we have the evidence we need to show that we need action, now.

GADRRRES encourages all governments and partners to endorse the Comprehensive School Safety Framework and use it to drive what comes next, including:

• Strengthening cross-sectoral work on school safety, establishing a national multi-stakeholder school safety coordination body.
• Integrating schools into efforts to establish Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems for All, ensuring appropriate investment and training.
• Protecting education investments through allocating financing for disaster risk reduction and resilience.
• Scaling up policy and infrastructure initiatives to build heat-resilient schools.

Finally, we must heed the call to action from Rio Ananda, youth activist from Indonesia, who said it best: "Include us. Empower us. Work with us. Together, we can ensure every children and youth learns in a safe and resilient school."