Launch of Global Library of School Infrastructure (GLOSI) under the Global Program for Safer Schools

Schools are important infrastructure in communities where innocent and vulnerable-age children spend most of their day time. Moreover, these facilities are used as shelter by the communities in the aftermath of a disaster: such as after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal; 2013 Bohol earthquake and typhoon in Philippines. Thus, the structural safety of school infrastructure against natural and manmade hazards is of paramount importance.

Funded by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS) was launched in 2014 to deliver large-scale investments to improve the safety and resilience of school infrastructure at risk from natural hazards and contribute to enhance the quality of learning environments for children.

On 29^th October 2019, the ‘Global Platform for Resilient School Infrastructure’ was launched in an event ‘Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS): Paving the Way Toward Safer and More Resilient Schools’ organized by the World Bank in Washington, D.C. The major product on the platform is the Global Library of School Infrastructure (GLOSI), the largest and most comprehensive technical repository of evidence-based knowledge and data on school infrastructure.

GlOSI is the outcome of the analytical framework and continued research work on school infrastructure safety, led by Prof Dina D’Ayala, supported by Rohit Kumar Adhikari (PhD candidate) from CEGE-EPICentre, in collaboration with Prof Luis Yamin and his research team from Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.

GLOSI represents a global benchmark reference, including a global catalogue of school building types, a comprehensive framework for seismic vulnerability assessment and solutions to improve safety and resilience of school infrastructure at scale.  All the components and tools developed within GLOSI are now available online, for use by governments and all stakeholders interested in the disaster resilience of school infrastructure around the world.

Links

• Global Library of School Infrastructure (GLOSI)
• Global Program for Safer Schools (GPSS)
• EPICentre
• Improving the Disaster Resilience of School Infrastructure
• EPICentre Courses
• EPICentre 360 Library
• MSc Earthquake Engineering with Disaster Management
• UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering