1st Caribbean Ministerial Forum on School Safety

The first Caribbean Safe School Ministerial Forum was held from 3 to 4 April 2017 and hosted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Antigua and Barbuda. It was organized in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The organization of the Forum was possible thanks to the financial support by the Austrian Development Agency, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and South Korea. The Forum targeted Ministers of Education in the Caribbean and their technical advisors, as well as representatives from regional and United Nations organizations, youth, donors and media that will be able to support the implementation of the three pillars of School Safety in the Caribbean.

The main objectives of this Forum were to:

1. Promote and raise awareness on the three pillars of School Safety of the Worldwide Initiative on Safe Schools (WISS) in the Caribbean.
2. Identify national and joint regional achievements and priorities regarding School Safety.
3. Ministers of Education validate and adopt the Caribbean Declaration and Road Map on School Safety, and commit to its implementation.

Expected outcomes:

1. Awareness on the three pillars of school safety and WISS raised.
2. National and regional priorities regarding school safety identified.
3. Caribbean Declaration on School Safety approved and signed.
4. Road Map on School Safety defined.
5. Caribbean Safe School Initiative launched.

Caribbean Regional Roadmap on Schools Safety (2017)

The Caribbean Regional Roadmap on School Safety stems from an effort starting ahead of the event. Through consultations, ministries of education were invited to review their national priorities regarding school safety, which was further addressed during the Forum.

Ministers and representatives agreed on two regional priorities for each of the Comprehensive School Safety Pillars, plus its “Enabling Environment”:

1. Develop enabling policies and National plans/strategies
2. Human and Financial resources

1. Enhance and implement a standardized school safety assessment
2. Develop a safe school standard

1. Review and develop multi-hazard school safety plans and guiding documents
2. Improved coordination among stakeholders

1. Review and update DRM components in curriculum
2. DRM training school staff, family and community

For each priority, key regional and national-level activities were identified. The complete Roadmap can be found in the “Annexes to the Forum Report”.

Documentation CONCEPT NOTE Download   FORUM REPORT Download Report   ANNEXES TO THE FORUM REPORT Download Annexes