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Education stakeholders have issued a statement criticising the failure to make education a key part of the agenda of the pact to be agreed by the UN Summit of the Future in New York (22-23 September) at which world leaders will forge a new consensus on how better to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.
The Education & Academia Stakeholder Group (EASG) said: “The current Pact for the Future has regrettably overlooked the integral role of education, training, and public awareness – encapsulated as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).”
The EASG consists of human rights-based education civil society organisations and academia organisations and networks that work on the right to education.
It said: “ESD is not only a core element of quality education but also serves as a cross-cutting foundation in achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
During the summit the world leaders will adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations as annexes.
The EASG urged participants to “refocus on placing education at the heart of global discourse”.
The Pact for the Future is an inter-governmental action plan on:
• Sustainable development and financing for development;
• International peace and security;
• Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation;
• Youth and future generations; and
• Transforming global governance.
The Pact is billed by the UN as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to mend eroded trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively achieve agreed goals and tackle emerging threats and opportunities.
It promotes a “multilateral system that reflects the realities of today and that delivers for everyone, everywhere”, the UN said.
Currently the Sustainable Development Goals are “badly off track”, according to the UN. The Summit of the Future will build on the 2023 SDG Summit to try to create the conditions in which implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can more readily be achieved.
Michele Griffin, policy director of the Summit of the Future, said the summit is “designed for the leaders of the world to take a look at the whole global architecture of international cooperation and how we do it better. The most important ingredient is trust”.
The EASG, whose organising partners are the Global Campaign for Education, the International Council for Adult Education and the Global Students Forum, monitors and reviews the SDGs as an official UN stakeholder group, said the transformative power of education must be harnessed to advance sustainable development, peace, and equity.
“Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), as an integral part of quality education, deserves explicit recognition in the overarching framework of the Pact for the Future.
“A renewed emphasis on education will not only act as a means of SDG implementation but will also serve as a guiding priority that influences all themes of the Summit of the Future,” the EASG stated.
They added that “in shaping the future, the active involvement of civil society, students, teachers, and educational stakeholders is essential”.
The explained: “Civil society provides diverse perspectives and insights that reflect the needs of communities worldwide.
“Students and teachers, being at the forefront of the education experience, possess unique knowledge and lived realities that are crucial for shaping policies and practices for sustainable development.”
Education barely mentioned in draft pact
The zero draft of the pact noted “with deep concern the existing disparities between developed and developing countries in terms of conditions, possibilities and capacities to produce new scientific and technological knowledge and to generate innovation”.
But no reference is made to investing in higher education to address this issue.
And no reference is made to the power of education and education policies to contribute to peace and security.
The sole mention of education concerns one paragraph offering recognition that generating decent work and quality employment for young persons is one of the biggest challenges that needs to be tackled.
“We therefore emphasise that investment in universal, accessible, quality and inclusive education, at all levels, and professional training, both formal and non-formal, is the most important investment that States can make to ensure the immediate and long-term development of youth,” the zero draft stated.
There is a notable absence of understanding of the key role that education in general and education for sustainable development in particular can play as an enabler of achievement across all the SDGs, other than SDG4, Quality education and lifelong learning.
The EAG says the Summit of the Future is a critical moment for global governance and the international community to collectively address the complex challenges facing our world.
“In a time marked by profound environmental, social, economic, and political shifts, the Summit represents an opportunity to build a renewed vision for global cooperation.
“The Pact for the Future, which is expected to emerge from the Summit, aims to set the course for multilateral action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and uphold the principles of peace, justice, and human rights,” it stated.
“However, as preparations for the Summit progress, it is critical to emphasise that achieving these aspirations requires placing education at the centre of global discourse,” it cautioned.
“Education is the driving force behind societal transformation, equipping individuals and communities with the knowledge and skills necessary to address today’s interconnected global challenges.
“It is therefore imperative that the Summit fully recognises and prioritises the transformative power of education, particularly Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), within its outcomes and action plans,” it explained.
The EASG stressed that The United Nations General Assembly has consistently recognised ESD as a key enabler of the SDGs, emphasising its importance in a series of resolutions and frameworks, notably in the context of achieving SDG 4 on Quality Education (UNGA Decisions 72/222, 74/223, 76/228, and 78/219).
It argued that ESD fosters the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation and it empowers individuals and societies to contribute effectively to sustainable development.
“ESD’s role extends beyond education; it enhances capabilities, transforms mindsets, and promotes holistic approaches to address complex challenges across various SDGs,” it noted.
The EASG said that with the world witnessing only modest progress towards the SDGs at the midway point of the 2030 Agenda, the breakthroughs from the 2022 Transforming Education Summit must be further elevated to position the crucial role of quality education as a cross-cutting accelerator for all 17 SDGs.
“Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education (SDG 4) equips learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, and agency to tackle interconnected global challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, unsustainable resource use, and increased inequality,” it stated.
It emphasised that higher education institutions (HEIs) can act as facilitators, bringing together various stakeholders by combining teaching, research, and community engagement to form collaborative partnerships.
“Participatory knowledge building, sharing and mobilisation are at the core of the higher education mandate,” it stated.
“UNESCO’s 2022 World Higher Education Conference (WHEC) Roadmap also underscored the critical role of higher education institutions: to achieve their own targets for SDG 4, contribute to learning quality and inclusion throughout the education system, and serve as a bridge for achieving all SDGs through interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches,” it noted.
You can read our coverage of UNESCO’s 2022 World Higher Education Conference (WHEC) here.
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