The impact is widespread. Schools have been damaged or destroyed, forcing around 500,000 children out of classrooms, while over one million learners across all levels of education have had their studies disrupted. Seventeen schools have been destroyed and more than 100 damaged.
Cultural heritage is also under threat. Damage has been confirmed to key sites, including the World Heritage site of Tyre, Beaufort Castle and Chama’ Citadel, all under enhanced protection, while strikes have been reported near other protected locations. At the same time, cultural institutions and creative work—central to identity and livelihoods—are facing severe disruption.
The crisis is also affecting how people access information. Six journalists have been killed and more than 65 displaced, while media institutions have suffered damage and loss of equipment. Misinformation and hate speech are rising, as access to reliable information becomes more difficult.
Crises do not only destroy buildings, but they also fracture minds, silence voices, and erase identities. In Lebanon, keeping a child learning, supporting a filmmaker, or protecting a journalist is not secondary to humanitarian relief; it is what prevents a temporary emergency from becoming a permanent collapse.
Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Assistant Director-General for CultureAt the event convened by UNESCO with Member States on 8 June to share information on the situation in the country.
Working with national authorities and local partners in response
In response, national authorities are leading efforts across sectors, with UNESCO and partners working alongside them to sustain essential systems and support recovery.
In education, efforts focus on ensuring learning continuity while strengthening the system. UNESCO, together with Lebanon’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education, has:
- provided psychosocial support to more than 10,000 learners
- supported 32 public schools across affected areas
- enabled learning through digital solutions and social cohesion activities
- trained over 4,000 teachers in crisis-sensitive approaches
- supported 100 school leaders through crisis-sensitive leadership frameworks
- contributed to a national response targeting more than 1.6 million students
- enabled 20,000+ learners to benefit from four digital learning rooms equipped at the Lebanese University
- delivered Grade 12 intensive academic support through four hubs, strengthening exam readiness and providing targeted learning remediation
Protecting culture is also a priority. Across Lebanon, UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and the Directorate General of Antiquities have:
- placed 73 cultural sites under enhanced protection
- implemented emergency measures to secure and relocate artefacts
- provided support to cultural professionals and creative industries, including seven initiatives in Tyre and Baalbek
- delivered capacity-building for heritage professionals.
Efforts extend as well to the information environment. In collaboration with the Ministry of Information and national partners, UNESCO has:
- reached more than 1.3 million users through awareness campaigns to combat misinformation
- distributed 4,050 creative learning kits to displaced children across the country
- trained 275 youth and NGOs representatives in South Lebanon through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) programmes
- strengthened fact-checking capacities, enabling 20 fact-checks in 40 days
- provided psychosocial and operational support to 18 journalists
As needs continue to grow, sustained engagement remains essential. UNESCO stands ready to further scale up its response, supporting recovery and resilience across Lebanon.
read more: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-steps-support-lebanons-crisis-unfolds?hub=701
