Virtual 8th WASH in Schools International Learning Exchange

The 8th WASH in Schools International Learning Exchange (WinS ILE) was successfully held virtually on 16, 17 and 18 November 2021. It was hosted by UNICEF, GIZ and WaterAid.

The WinS ILE is an annual event that convenes governments and stakeholders from across South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific to strengthen commitment to ensuring that all schools have safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services, towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education) and 6 (water, sanitation and hygiene).

This year’s ILE focused on the theme “The role of WASH in support to safe reopening of schools”, where WASH, education and health government officials and practitioners shared good practices, lessons learned and challenges on WASH in Schools (WinS) progress towards safe schools reopening.

The event gathered 500 participants from 22 countries in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and South Asia via the Hubilo platform. Some sessions were open to the public on YouTube livestream and could be watched by an even bigger audience.

On Day 1, the countries shared updates and learning through videos on WinS progress from across Asia-Pacific followed by moderated discussion and Q&A. In the following days, technical sessions were organized on different topics including WinS and safe school reopening, monitoring and data management, menstrual health and hygiene/climate resilient WinS – the latest sessions were co-organised by the WinS Network. Lounge sessions were offered during breaks for networking and exchange.

You can watch the welcome remarks and keynote presentation on WASH in Schools- supporting safe school reopening via this link. The detailed event proceedings will be made available in an outcome development in early 2022.

You may also check the agenda and other related documents for the three-day event below.