The theme of the 2022 International Day of Education, "Changing Course, Transforming Education", thus alerts us to the challenges and the need to devise means for delivering education.
Summary: The role of education for peace and development in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Description: Virtual event organized by the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and of El Salvador to the United Nations in New York in collaboration with the Permanent Observer Mission of the University for Peace to the United Nations.
The role of education for peace and development has faced unprecedented challenges because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While innovative means have been developed to deliver education through virtual means, the lack of internet connectivity and technology in some parts of the world make the task extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Day of Education, 24 January 2022.
As we mark the fourth International Day of Education, our world stands at a turning point. Glaring inequalities, a damaged planet, growing polarization and the devastating impact of the pandemic present us with a generational choice: continue on an unsustainable path or radically change course. Education can help us solve all of these issues – but it faces serious challenges. We have yet to deliver on our commitment to ensure the right to quality education for all. COVID-19 disruptions have only exacerbated an educational crisis that, even before the pandemic, excluded 268 million children from school, especially girls. As a result of this exclusion, millions of children, youth and adults are exposed to poverty, violence and exploitation. In these exceptional times, business as usual is no longer an option. If we are to transform the future, if we are to change course, we must rethink education. This means forging a new social contract for education, as called for by the UNESCO report on the Futures of Education, released last November. We need to repair past injustices and orient the digital transformation around inclusion and equity. And we need education to fully contribute to sustainable development – for instance, by integrating environmental education in all curricula and by training teachers in this field. To do this, we need to support education financially, keeping in mind that it is not an expense, but an investment. This is why our Member States reaffirmed their commitment to devoting at least 4% of GDP, or at least 15% of public spending, to education, in the Paris Declaration adopted during UNESCO’s Global Education Meeting last November. We also need to strengthen international aid and global cooperation, because this pandemic is a stark reminder of just how fragile and interconnected our societies are. We can only effect this change together, through solidarity and cooperation. This calls for a broad movement encompassing governments, civil society, educators, students and young people to mobilize our collective intelligence and reimagine our future together. This is our message for this International Day of Education – because education is a common good, a fundamental right and the foundation of a sustainable future.
Audrey Azoulay.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos in education worldwide.
Some 1.6 billion school and college students had their studies interrupted at the peak of the pandemic -- and it’s not over yet.
Today, school closures continue to disrupt the lives of over 31 million students, exacerbating a global learning crisis.
Unless we take action, the share of children leaving school in developing countries who are unable to read could increase from 53 to 70 percent.
But the turmoil in education goes beyond questions of access and inequality.
Our world is changing at a dizzying pace, with technological innovation, unprecedented changes in the world of work, the onset of the climate emergency, and a widespread loss of trust between people and institutions.
Conventional education systems are struggling to deliver the knowledge, skills and values we need to create a greener, better and safer future for all.
Education is a preeminent public good, and an essential enabler for the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The international community cannot afford to be agnostic about its provision, quality and relevance.
That is why I am convening a Summit on Transforming Education later this year.
The time has come to reignite our collective commitment to education.
That means investing in comprehensive plans to help students recover from learning losses.
It means putting education at the heart of broader recovery efforts, aimed at transforming economies and societies and accelerating progress on sustainable development.
It means financial solidarity with developing countries.
And it means embarking on a process of reflection and analysis to identify how national education systems can evolve and transform between now and 2030.
The Summit on Transforming Education will be the first time that world leaders, young people and all education stakeholders come together to consider these fundamental questions.
On this International Day of Education, and as we prepare for the Summit later this year, I call on everyone to unite around education as a public good and a top political priority for the recovery and beyond.
António Guterres.
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