Toward disaster-resilient education. UNESCO supports safer schools in Türkiye

A key milestone was Türkiye's first application of the master-framing retrofitting method for earthquake-resistant school construction. Ismet Inonu Middle School in Bayındır, Izmir, served as the pilot site. The school's principal, students, and teachers joined the ceremony virtually, sharing how these safety measures enabled uninterrupted learning, a testament to the project's real-world impact.

Throughout the ceremony, participants stressed the critical importance of disaster safety in education and the need for stronger international and institutional cooperation. They also echoed Türkiye's progress in enhancing school safety through risk assessments, retrofitting programmes, and policy reforms.

The event further reflected on the findings of the Expert Regional Dialogue on Retrofitting and Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies , held in April. Discussions centred on improving earthquake preparedness in the education sector, strengthening policy frameworks, and integrating scientific evidence into school safety planning, while also building stronger bridges between science, policy, and communities for inclusive risk governance.

The project made one thing clear: coordinated, evidence-based global action drives real change. Its conclusion marks not an end but a launchpad - fuelling ongoing cooperation, capacity-building, and knowledge exchange to keep schools safer for generations to come. UNESCO reaffirmed its commitment to education systems that are inclusive, adaptive, and resilient to future disasters.