ISLAMABAD (APP) - The three-day International School Safety Conference concluded here on Saturday. International participants presented a set of practical recommendations to the Federal Government as well as private stakeholders to build safe Schools to ensure protection and safety of our future generations. The conference was organized as part of Golden Jubilee celebrations commemorating fifty years of Imamat of Prince Karim Aga Khan in which a number of initiatives, programmes and developmental projects are being organised both nationally and internationally. Participants of the conference included representatives of agencies of United Nations, the World Bank Group, BASIN Network, ADPC, the Swiss Development Agency, Austrian Development Association, Institute of Architects Pakistan, Ministry of Education, various agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network, as well as participants from local, international and government agencies. Deliberations of the conference proposed that governments should develop mechanisms to provide technical, financial and capacity support as needed to design and implement School Safety Action Plans. Communities, civil society and private organizations should then play a critical role as partners in the implementation of these plans. At the closing ceremony, Salvano Briceno, Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), said schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructures need to be systematically upgraded and retrofitted in earthquake prone areas if we want to save lives, vulnerability to earthquakes still being a main cause of deaths in disasters. Also at the closing ceremony, Markus Peter, Swiss Ambassador to Pakistan, said that "a safer, child-friendly environment is not only a technical matter; it also starts by supporting and enabling a stable family and an accommodating home atmosphere". Having highlighted just some aspects of a more comprehensive understanding of the term Safe Schools, I come to the conclusion that we can only create safer schools by involving all Aga Khan Planning and Focus Humanitarian  Building Service, Pakistan Assistance, Pakistan parties concerned, i.e. the engineers, the students, the teachers, the parents, the state, the architects, the environmentalists to just name a few. They all have to agree if, how and when a school is safe.? The Chief Guest, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, conveyed his gratitude to the Aga Khan Development Network for organizing an International Conference on School Safety and also acknowledged the international speakers and participants for sharing their expert knowledge and best practices. He affirmed that the conference proposals on enhancing school safety would be of immense significance and a source of reference in designing future policies for safer schools. He further stated that, the plethora of recommendations would mean institutionalizing the concept of school safety, integrating it as part of policy, embracing technical recommendations, developing skills for executing safer buildings, integrating disaster risk management in formal and informal education as well as ensuring that communities are prepared for disaster. In his concluding remarks, Hafiz Sherali, Chairman Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, highlighted the work of the Aga Khan Development Network and its experience in handling challenging situations and building partnerships with civil societies and government. The participants also observed a moment of silence in memory of those who have lost their lives in recent earthquakes. Addressing the audience, Sherali said, in order to transform the recommendations of the conference made by the experts into action, I would like to announce that in collaboration with East Midland Housing Limited, a private Foundation in United Kingdom, this year "we plan to retrofit five schools and 40 houses in rural communities". The organizers of the conference the Agha Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan and Focus Humanitarian Assistance, thanked their sponsors, government and non-government partners for their commitment, support and encouragement in making the conference a success.  They reiterated their conviction for taking the school safety initiative forward in their institutional programming across Pakistan and neighboring regions.