コモン・アジェンダに関するテーマ協議第一回会合における教育フレンズグループ合同ステートメント

令和4年2月10日

President of the General Assembly Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

I am honored to make this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning which is Co-Chaired by the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Czech Republic, Japan, Norway and Kenya, and comprised of 22 Member States from all regions of the world. We thank you for your briefing today and wish to express the Group’s appreciation of your proposal to convene the “Transforming Education Summit” in September 2022, as outlined in the Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda” Report.

Convinced of the key importance of education for peace, human rights, and development, the Group has championed for the advancement of global education commitments at the United Nations in New York and globally. We are driven by the understanding that education is a key sector contributing to individuals’ empowerment, gender equality, sustainable development, nations’ economic growth, social cohesion, and improved protection of the planet.

The COVID-19 pandemic hasfurther highlighted the importance of education to children and society’s development. Investing in education and lifelong learning is the game-changer needed to drive progress across all Sustainable Development Goals. We must build resilient education systems that provide inclusive, equitable, quality education for all, including through scaling up digital learning and skills. This could have a strong impact on addressing deep inequalities globally, where over 258 million children and youth are out of school, and more than half of those who are in school are far from reaching the minimum proficiency levels in reading and numeracy.

Today’s world is also marked by continued environmental damage and climate change, widening inequalities, rapid scientific and technological change, as well as uncertainties about the future of work that are stirring up the incentive to modernize education and learning.

Global labor markets and the need for innovation have also driven the demand for certain competencies and skills such as language, mathematic reasoning, scientific knowledge – all of which are associated with higher levels of education and would require further modernization of our education systemsto ensure improved quality and relevance. Secondary and tertiary education should be accessible and inclusive to all, especially adolescent girls who need to be supported in the completion of their education. True transformation is only possible if no-one is left behind.

Consequently, the “Transforming Education Summit” should mobilize greater political will, commitment, and action to modernize and improve the relevance of education for all globally. Preparing for the summit, it will be important that we step up international collaboration to place education and lifelong learning at the center of the recovery efforts and transformation towards more inclusive, safe, and sustainable societies.

This process should be guided by the need to secure political will along with long-term domestic funding and national ownership by member states. 3 There is need to build on existing global structures, such as the renewed Global Coordination Mechanism for Education supported by UNESCO and aim to galvanize synergies among all relevant stakeholders, including the voice of youth.

Young people should be able to meaningfully engage and have their voices and ideas be heard – not as a separate notion but fully integrated in the preparations for and during the Summit. After all, it is about their future.

Only through strengthened multilateralism and international collaboration on sustainable development can the international community respond efficiently to persistent global challenges and the timely focus on the need to transform education worldwide is most welcome.

We thank you, Secretary-General for your leadership on thisimportant issue. We remain committed to support the advocacy on education for all and amplify the call for concrete actions to modernize education systems as we engage in the intergovernmental process leading to the “Transforming Education Summit”.

I thank you Mr. President.