UNESCO is participating in the emergency response to the fires in the Valparaíso region, Chile

At the Ministro Zenteno School, in the commune of Viña del Mar, Valparaíso region, UNESCO participated in the delivery of more than 774 books donated by the SM Foundation in Chile to the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Education (SEREMI) of Valparaíso, which was coordinated alongside the National Board of School Aid and Scholarships (JUNAEB).

The donation was made within the framework of the distribution of school textbooks carried out by the Ministry of Education nationwide. Its main beneficiaries will be children and adolescents from the sector most affected by the fires, a disaster that claimed the lives of more than a hundred people and consumed more than nine thousand hectares of the central region of Chile, among which were populated areas and part of the Lago Peñuelas national reserve, some of which has been recognized by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve.

The educational establishments in Viña del Mar that will receive part of the texts are: Arturo Prat Chacón School, Villa Independencia School, República del Líbano Basic School, Darío Salas Basic School, Miraflores School, John Kennedy Basic School, Canal Beagle School, Chorrillos Basic School, Patricio Lynch School, Santa Julia Basic School, and the Gastón Ossa Saint Marie School.

Likewise, in the commune of Quilpué, texts will be distributed at Theodor Heuss School, Jorge Rock Lara Basic School, Darío Salas Basic School, Fernando Durán Villareal School, Manuel Bulnes Prieto School, Mannheim Technical Professional Lyceum, and the Gastronomy and Tourism Lyceum. The El Patagual School in the commune of Villa Alemana will also receive copies as part of the donation.

Alejandro Vera, head of planning and monitoring at the UNESCO MultiSectoral Regional Office in Santiago, mentioned that this donation "is an effort to provide concrete help in times of crisis by delivering children's and youth literature in the affected areas. This action primarily aims to strengthen the emotional well-being of the children and adolescents impacted by the recent events."

The director of the SM Foundation in Chile, Rafael Gómez, commented: "From our project 'Pages for Dreaming,' we make this donation of children's and youth literature books, with the intention of favoring and enhancing a school that positions itself as a privileged space for dialogue, meetings, and trust; to favor socioemotional development and reframe the school's capacity in its relational and transformative scope."

The SM Foundation plans a follow-up plan after the book donation, adding more actors and institutions for the reconstruction in the educational communities affected by the fires.

For her part, the Undersecretary of Education of Chile, Alejandra Arratia, referred to the initiative: "we want to thank the donation from the SM Foundation, thanks to the coordination of UNESCO. These support materials will enrich and renew the CRA school libraries in the schools of the area."

UNESCO highlights that, in emergencies and crises, educational communities play a central role: they are protective, offer stability, and allow for a sense of future beyond the crisis. Thus, education and different educational actors can save lives.

That is why the organization will continue its work to strengthen educational systems through training. The first instance in this regard are two webinars organized together with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF in Chile, on school safety and resilience of the educational sector, with the aim of strengthening educational communities. The seminars particularly address the role of psychosocial support and socioemotional education during emergencies and prolonged crises.

These events are aimed at different educational actors, including education sector professionals, school directors, teachers, communities, and families. The first seminar, which took place on March 19th, featured the participation of international expert Janaina Hirata, coordinator of the UNESCO Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Educational Sector.