In the early phases of the pandemic, we heard from teachers and administrators that they felt overwhelmed by the crisis, unsure of what to do, and very alone. As one teacher explained, “It feels like we are building the plane as we go.” Yet, we recognized that a large, international body of guidance and tools exists around the practice of education in emergencies. In response to this, the Global Center partnered with the other HLS Title VI Centers and the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) to run a four-part webinar series for teachers. This series brought educators from around the world with experience teaching in emergency settings. They shared their experiences, tools, and strategies for providing high quality education in crisis settings.

In the first webinar, teachers from countries including Ukraine, Italy, and Syria talked about their own experiences teaching during the COVID-19 shutdown. Educators in the second webinar had taught in a range of emergency settings, including during the ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. These educators spoke about the importance of teacher self care and strategies for supporting teacher well-being in an emergency. The third webinar focused on ways to support students during a crisis and included insights from Nigeria, Egypt, and Jordan and the fourth webinar highlighted the experiences of teachers in New Zealand, Korea, China, and Israel who returned to school after the COVID19 shutdown.

Participants in these webinars reported learning concrete skills and strategies that they have since implemented in their teaching practices. As one explained, “I appreciated hearing the various tools and techniques teachers used to support and communicate with students in their various contexts.” However, the most meaningful part of this professional development series was the sense of global community solidarity it forged among teachers, which provided motivation and inspiration. One teacher explained that “It was inspiring and comforting hearing that teachers in other parts of the world are experiencing the same things as me.” Another noted that “I love the global connected experience...I have never been a part of anything like this and feel inspired by the stories of teachers around the world. We talk a great deal about teaching students to be a part of a globally connected world but I have not been a teacher of a globally connected world. This was a gift.” This series provided a rare chance for teachers to hear the experiences of their peers around the world, centering the voices of teachers from the global south as experts. What resulted was a strong sense of community and solidarity in this global moment of crisis.