On 9 September 2025, Action Education will take part in the event "Challenging Narratives, Reshaping Action: Protect Education from Attack" (1).The event was held in Geneva as part of the 6th International Day for the Protection of Education against Attack. Established by the United Nations in 2020, this day is a reminder of the urgency of defending the fundamental right to education in a world where armed conflicts and crises keep millions of children out of school.

Alongside a number of influential figures - including Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, founder of the foundation Education Above AllNataša Pirc Musar, President of Slovenia, and Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Action Education will be represented by Samphors Vorn, our Country Director in Cambodia. He will be talking about recent emergency actions in the north of the country following violent clashes on the border with Thailand. Photographs from these emergency operations will also be on display at an exhibition organised in conjunction with the event.

In particular, a school was bombed, depriving hundreds of pupils of a safe place to learn. In the camps for displaced persons, our teams quickly set up temporary educational spaces and distributed school equipment to enable children to find their bearings and a normal life as quickly as possible. 

"Growing up in fear, deprived of access to school and basic needs, leaves lasting emotional scars", says Samphors Vorn, Director of Action Education in Cambodia.

A global crisis: education under attack

In many countries affected by conflict or crisis, education is often among the first to suffer.  

According to the report " Education under Attack 2024 "from Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA)published in June 2024:

• Approximately 6 000 attacks on education (including cases of military use of schools and universities) have been recorded in 2022-2023, an increase of around 20 % compared with the previous two years (2020-2021). 
• These attacks resulted in more than 10 000 victims among students, teachers and academics, whether through injury, death, kidnapping, arrest or other harm.

Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo - no continent has been spared. According to a United Nations report from December 2024Nearly one child in six (more than 473 million) now lives in a conflict zone - a figure that has doubled since the 1990s. The United Nations recorded 32,990 serious violations against 22,557 children in 2023, and more than 52 million children are deprived of education as a result of conflict.

Education: a priority for crisis-affected populations

Faced with the threats to the right to education, Action Education is taking action in many countries to guarantee free, public, inclusive and quality education for all. In Cambodia, but also in Burkina Faso, Togo and Niger, we are stepping up our actions with the communities we support throughout the year, when they find themselves further weakened by a context of crisis or instability.

Our actions include setting up safe spaces, distributing school kits, training teachers in psychosocial support and providing direct support to vulnerable families.

These interventions help to limit educational breakdowns and reduce the lasting impact of violence, insecurity and lack of basic services. Thanks to the commitment of our teams, partners and supporters, we can respond quickly with appropriate solutions.

Our conviction is clear: without access to safe, continuous and inclusive education, there can be no lasting peace or development. School is much more than a place of learning: it is a place of protection, hope and reconstruction for children and their communities.

Would you like to find out more about this topic? Check out episode 4 of our podcast "Inclus.e? : "How to educate in conflict situations?"