Resilient Educational Infrastructure in Uruguay: Challenges and Solutions for Future Floods

Montevideo, Uruguay | November 1, 2023

In its mission to enhance the resilience of school facilities and the communities they serve, the World Bank recently brought Japan’s expertise to Uruguay for a workshop on November 1, 2023 to discuss Uruguay’s challenges and solutions for disaster risk management (DRM) of floods that can disrupt school activities. This workshop was the result of collaborative efforts between the World Bank’s Education Global Practice (EDU) and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery’s (GFDRR) Global Program for Safer Schools with Uruguay’s National Administration of Public Education (ANEP).

This Safer Schools-EDU engagement, financed in part with a Trust Fund from GFDRR, aims to promote climate-resilient, learning-oriented school infrastructure in planned investments under the “Strengthening Pedagogy and Governance in Uruguayan Public Schools Project.” It provided a platform for Uruguay and Japan to share experiences and underscore the importance of resilience in school buildings and physical learning environments amid increasing challenges posed by climate change.

The event commenced with opening remarks from Héctor Bouzon, Executive Director of Institutional Management at ANEP; Carolina Rendón, Resident Representative of the World Bank in Uruguay; Viviana Pesce, National Director of Water at the Ministry of Environment of Uruguay; and Mario Corrales, Director of ANEP's Infrastructure Division.

Joining the conversation were GFDRR’s Infrastructure Specialist Masakazu Miyagi and architect Nobuhiro Imai from the Gendaikeikaku Architectural & Planning Office in Tokyo, who shared Japan’s unique expertise. The Japanese specialists also conducted field visits before and after the workshop to better understand Uruguay’s public school facilities.

The workshop’s panels and discussions highlighted the need for adaptive planning and designing of school infrastructure to ensure efficient investments and better protection for schools. The shared experiences between Uruguay and Japan seek to facilitate smooth implementation of new projects. GPSS was represented by DRM specialist Juan Carlos Atoche, who mediated a Q&A session, addressing themes such as smart infrastructure choices conducive to learning.

Pedro Barran, Planning Lead of School Infrastructure Investments at ANEP’s Support to Uruguayan Public Schools Project (PAEPU), summarized the event's significance on LinkedIn: “Climate change is forcing schools to prepare for increasingly important challenges, and exchanging experiences with professionals from other countries is always beneficial.”

The event recording is available online and can be watched here.