[Video Message]
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure to address the conclusion of this Global Education Meeting.
I commend UNESCO for its continued leadership in education and for inspiring multilateral and multistakeholder actions to accelerate the achievement of SDG4.
Access to quality education is deeply interlinked with many aspects of sustainable development, both as an enabler and outcome.
It is therefore of great concern that in low- and middle-income countries, the proportion of children living in ¡°learning poverty¡± could possibly reach 70 per cent. This number is even greater among some marginalized groups.
But the global community remains committed to addressing these challenges.
This meeting is taking place just after the G20 Education Ministers¡¯ Meeting, where equity and inclusion were emphasized.
At the Summit of the Future held last month, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future, highlighting education as a fundamental right, critical in achieving sustainable development and a key driver for peace, security and conflict prevention.
The Secretary-General, through the UN development system, has acknowledged education for its multiplier effect, listing it among six development transitions that serve as key investment pathways for accelerating our achievement of the SDGs.
Quality education enables upward socioeconomic mobility and reduces inequalities. If properly implemented, it can build capabilities and knowledge to tackle global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss and move us more fairly through the green and digital transitions.
But we need greater investment in education systems to make them more responsive to the needs of today and to ensure that they reach those who have been left behind.
Next year, the world will convene the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development and the Second World Summit for Social Development. The two conferences can work together to bring education the policy attention and investments it needs.
As Secretariat for these conferences, DESA will ensure that your inputs inform these processes and help to shape a truly people-centred approach to development with education as a central component.
Thank you.