Geneva Call’s President attended a high-level meeting in Qatar on protecting education from attack

In November, Elisabeth Decrey Warner, Geneva Call’s Executive President, was invited to participate in a panel discussion during a plenary session of the World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha, Qatar. The session, entitled Education, Violence and Conflict – from Daunting Challenge to Effective Response, was organized by Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC).

Other panelists included such well-known personalities as Graça Machel, who dedicates her life to the protection of children, and Jean-Paul Laborde, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate.

Elisabeth Decrey Warner highlighted the need for multi-stakeholder and complementary efforts to protect children and education from attacks during armed conflicts. She shared Geneva Call’s experiences of engagement with armed non-State actors on the protection of children, schools, teachers and the whole education system.

Answering a question about whether Geneva Call would be prepared to engage with any kind of group, she replied, “We have to engage in a dialogue with both the good and the bad parties to conflicts. It doesn’t make sense to engage only with those parties that already exhibit good behaviour.”