Governments supported a single, overarching education goal in the post-2015 development agenda based on principles of access, equity and quality and the perspective of lifelong learning for all, at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Leaders' Forum.
The ministerial-level Forum is part of the 37th Session of UNESCO's General Conference, taking place from 5-20 November 2013, in Paris, France.
12 November 2013: Governments supported a single, overarching education goal in the post-2015 development agenda based on principles of access, equity and quality and the perspective of lifelong learning for all, at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Leaders’ Forum. The ministerial-level Forum is part of the 37th Session of UNESCO’s General Conference, taking place from 5-20 November 2013, in Paris, France.
The Leaders’ Forum, which took place on 6 November, focused on the theme, ‘UNESCO mobilizing for and contributing to the post-2015 agenda through education, the sciences, culture and communication and information.’ Governments agreed the post-2015 agenda on education should build on Education for All (EFA) achievements, complete unfinished business and integrate lessons learned from national assessments of EFA and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) experience.
During a panel debate, ministers and NGO leaders supported placing education at the center of sustainable development. Participants highlighted, inter alia: equity and quality concerns, including disparities between public and private education; and the need to foster complementarity between education and sectors that benefit from education progress, such as culture and health.
Participants said education should contribute to employment and underscored the importance of technical and vocational skills. David Edwards, Education International, emphasized skills for life in addition to skills for work, and that education should facilitate “the ability to … understand and analyze, to form one’s own opinion, speak out and act.”
Participants supported the EFA’s continued relevance for the post-2015 framework. As Qian Tang, UNESCO, explained, “UNESCO is not suggesting ending the EFA agenda…UNESCO is supporting a broadened EFA vision within the international development framework.” Member States requested UNESCO to continue to facilitate the global debate on education, with the aim of adopting a common position on education in the post-2015 agenda at a Global Education Conference in the Republic of Korea in Spring 2015. This common position will be forwarded for adoption by the Heads of State and Governments Summit in New York, US, in September 2015.
At a meeting on education for sustainable development (ESD), also held during the General Conference, ministers supported ESD’s role in the post-2015 agenda, noting ESD’s role in accelerating sustainable development progress and in promoting attitudes, behaviors and values that build sustainable societies. Participants shared ESD achievements during the UN Decade of ESD and suggested activities for the Global Action Programme on ESD, which will be launched at UNESCO’s World Conference on ESD in Nagoya, Japan, in November 2014.
In addition, the Conference elected Irina Bokova for a second term as UNESCO’s Director General. Bokova has focused UNESCO’s programmes on two overarching objectives: promoting sustainable development and forging a culture of peace. [UNESCO Press Release on Leaders Forum] [UNESCO Press Release on Future of Education] [UNESCO Press Release on ESD] [World Conference on ESD] [Proposal for a Global Action Programme on ESD] [UNESCO Press Release on Bokova Election]