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Welcome to the Brains in Gear series, or as we like to call it, the BIG series, brought to you by the International Education Funders Group.

Every year, this podcast takes one theme that matters to education funders and works through it in conversation. This year, the theme is school violence.

By the World Health Organization's count, up to 1 billion children experience violence every year. One in three students aged 13 to 15 reports being bullied. Programs that work have cut violence incidents by 20 to 50 per cent, yet education funders rarely name school violence as part of their work. Over six episodes, we tackle the questions funders ask in private. Why does school safety get so little attention from education philanthropy? Is it possible to reach learning goals without it? Where can a funder start within their budget and mandate that they already have?

Each episode begins in Francopore, a fictional country, and asks grantmakers what they would do there. They then tell us what they have actually done and what is actually possible in the world. Whether you fund education, work in a ministry, or run programs in schools, this podcast is for you. You will leave with a step you can take this year and the words to explain it to your board.

Children learn more when schools are safe.

This series launches in the second week of November.

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You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

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How can education philanthropy make a real difference? Throughout this series, we have examined strategic approaches and critical entry points for education philanthropy to effectively engage in climate education. From identifying leverage points and supporting teachers on the front lines, to fostering cross-portfolio integration and building partnerships with climate-focused funders, the path forward is becoming clearer.

In this final episode, we present concrete examples - individual, collaborative, and innovative - of education funders who are already demonstrating meaningful impact in advancing climate education. These cases illustrate the potential of strategic philanthropy to drive systemic change at the intersection of education and climate.

Hosted by Sally Vivyan from Gower Street, you will hear from:

• Veronika Blach - TUI Care Foundation: Veronika is Head of Environmental Programmes at the TUI Care Foundation, where she is part of the programmes team that looks for and co-creates projects with global partners. In this role, Veronika developed over 60 projects in over 25 countries, including several environmental education projects that follow the TUI Junior Academy Programme model.
• Sophie Marple - Gower Street: Sophie is the co-founder of Gower Street, which supports education and climate work in the UK and Ghana. In 2020, she also helped set up Impatience Earth, a philanthropy consultancy offering pro-bono advice to people looking to give in the climate sector and the grassroots organisation Mothers CAN (Climate Action Network). In 2022, Sophie became the Chair of The Climate Coalition.
• Jorge Manhique - Disability Rights Fund: Jorge Manhique is a disability inclusive development practitioner, a disability rights advocate and PhD candidate at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Lisbon.
• Emma Gremley - International Rescue Committee: Emma is an international education and development expert with over 20 years of experience leading policy, programming, research, and implementation. Based in Nairobi, she currently serves as Senior Director for Education, Economic Recovery and Development at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where she leads two of the organisation’s five global focus areas across more than 30 countries.

Resources

• Investing in Disability-Inclusive Climate Justice: A Guide for Funders
• Risk Financing in Education scoping paper

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

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How often do you engage with colleagues across different portfolios? Have you ever considered how your Education and Climate portfolios could collaborate to generate shared impact? Many don’t, but this episode invites you to start that conversation.

In this compelling new episode, hosted by Kevin Marinacci, CEO of the Fabretto Children’s Foundation, we bring together key voices from IEFG members Porticus and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), to explore the practical realities of cross-portfolio collaboration. What are the barriers? What’s needed to spark meaningful cooperation? And what does a successful future of integrated strategy look like?

From CIFF:

• Eunice Ogolo, Director, Girl Capital – Africa
• Terri Wills, Climate Director

Sharing insights on the opportunities and challenges of bridging climate and education priorities.

From Porticus:

• Luis Felipe Serrao, Senior Programme Manager, Education
• Daniela Prioli, Senior Programme Manager, Climate

Discussing why collaboration between education and climate portfolios matters, and how a bold shared vision can shape the future.

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg