Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28 July 2026 – Ethiopia is advancing efforts to build more climate-resilient and inclusive education systems for pastoralist communities through the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI), a global initiative implemented in Ethiopia by the Ministry of Education with technical support from UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO).
Pastoralist communities account for an estimated 12–15 percent of Ethiopia’s population and inhabit more than 60 percent of the country’s land area. Increasing temperatures, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall are placing growing pressure on livelihoods while disrupting children’s access to education, underscoring the need for education systems that are flexible, inclusive, and responsive to the realities of mobile communities.
To better understand these challenges and identify effective responses, a comprehensive analysis was undertaken involving policy reviews, stakeholder mapping, interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory engagement with pastoralist communities. The process generated evidence on climate-related risks to education, existing policies, and promising practices to inform the development of strategic guidance that strengthens climate resilience while respecting pastoralist livelihoods, culture, and indigenous knowledge.
Building on this work, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education convened a two-day national workshop in Addis Ababa from 28–29 July 2026 to validate the findings and co-develop strategic guidance for inclusive, gender-responsive, and climate-smart education for pastoralist communities. The workshop brought together participants from the Ministry of Education, Regional Education Bureaus from Ethiopia’s four major pastoralist regions, UNESCO, IIEP-UNESCO, Save the Children, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, the Ethiopia Environmental Protection Authority, the National Education Cluster, UNICEF, FAO, the World Bank, the Pastoralist Forum of Ethiopia, and technical experts.
Opening the workshop, Dr. Abdoulaye SALIFOU Chief Education Sector at UNESCO Addis Ababa, emphasized that “education systems must adapt to learners, rather than expecting learners to adapt to systems that were never designed with their realities in mind.” Participants also reaffirmed that pastoralism is not simply a livelihood but a way of life rooted in mobility, resilience, and indigenous knowledge, and that education should build on these strengths rather than replace them.
Over the two days, participants reviewed and validated the mapping of stakeholders, policies, projects, and available data; examined the key climate-related challenges affecting education in pastoralist areas; identified promising practices for inclusive and climate-smart education; strengthened cross-sector coordination; and agreed on priority actions to guide the next phase of the initiative.
The workshop marks an important milestone in the co-development of Ethiopia’s strategic guidance for climate-smart education. The recommendations generated will support evidence-based education planning, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and contribute to building more resilient, inclusive, and culturally responsive education systems that ensure pastoralist children and young people are not left behind.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/advance-climate-smart-education-pastoralist-communities?hub=701
