January 2013: The online discussions for the global thematic consultations on education in the post-2015 development framework are now in progress. The consultations are supported by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Four phases of e-discussion are taking place between December 2012 and February 2013, on the topics of: equitable access to education; quality of learning; global citizenship, skills and jobs; and governance and financing for education.

Other key events during the consultation process will include a global meeting on education in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 March 2013, and the finalization of a synthesis report on 31 March, summarizing input to the online discussions.

Other meetings are taking place alongside the online discussions. The Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution has reported that the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advocacy Group (YAG) met in December 2012 to plan contributions to the UN’s “Education First” initiative, which aims to raise the political profile of education, strengthen the global movement to achieve quality education, and generate additional and sufficient funding through sustained advocacy efforts, as discussions intensify. The YAG developed a plan of action to bring the perspectives of young people into the debates over the next three years, around meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and developing a new agenda post-2015.

The public consultation on education is one of 11 themes to be addressed in the post-2015 consultation process led by the UN Development Group (UNDG). The other themes are: governance; growth and employment; health; inequalities; environmental sustainability; hunger, food security and nutrition; conflict and fragility; population dynamics; water; and energy. [Online discussion on education] [Concept note] [Brookings Institution Press Release on Youth Advocacy Group] [Education First website]