Education as a right takes centre stage at New York event
By Steve Snider, Senior Consultant to the General Secretary Head Office, Education International
From: Global Education First Iniciative
On Human Rights Day (10/12/2013), and as the United Nations continued work on the next stage of global development goals, Education International (EI) and the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) gathered education advocates in New York to stress the critical importance of universal education as a continued international objective – and highlight the work that remains to be done to ensure the right to education for all.
More than 100 representatives of educators, civil society organizations, member states and UN agencies gathered to make clear that the right to quality education is the basis for the fair and just development of any society.
“Yes, a quality education enables all other goals and ripples through our vision of tomorrow,” said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. “But UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also has stated that it must be a goal in and of itself. It must be high quality, it must be free and it must be universal.”
Vibeke Jensen, Director of the UN Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative, noted that GEFI “has set a bold vision for a post-2015 world” with education at the forefront of economic development and world citizenship.
Ambassador Antonio Gumende, Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the United Nations, illustrated the benefits of a sharp focus on education, noting that girls' participation in education in his nation had increased significantly in primary, secondary and post-secondary between 2004 and 2013. “Mozambique is an active partner of the Education First initiative and continues to play a role as a champion of this United Nation’s effort,” said Gumende.
The UN Open Working Group (OWG) composed of representatives from more than 70 nations is continuing its series of sessions designed to recommend a set of sustainable development goals to the UN General Assembly here next September.
Education advocates have raised concerns that education faces diminished status as a development goal and have been urging leaders and constituent groups to work together and ensure universal quality education is included as a standalone development goal into the future.
Attendees to the advocacy session said they are committed to significantly raising the profile of the right to education within the context of the global development agenda. In October, EI launched the Unite for Quality Education Campaign, focusing its affiliates’ 30 million members in some 170 nations on advocating for quality teachers, tools and learning environments for every student.
Global Campaign for Education President Camilla Croso reminded the audience that the right to education has its modern roots in the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and plays a vital role in encouraging peace. “Education is not neutral,” she said. “It is purposeful. It requires collaboration and brings to the forefront the need to eliminate discrimination in every form.”
Hugh McLean, Director of Education at the Open Society Foundation and a South African native, opened the event with a moment of silence on the day world leaders gathered in Soweto to honor and mark the passing of Nelson Mandela.
“It’s very important for us as we continue to think about and work on behalf of the aspirations of our people that we see the great significance of education as did Nelson Mandela,” said McLean.
Said van Leeuwen, “For those of us who have dedicated our lives educating children, youth and adults, we have watched the search for silver bullets in education yield no results. There is no Bednet that protects kids from the sting of vanishing opportunities or vaccination against every type of ignorance. We have decided, at this crossroad, we must act differently. We as a planet must do better in terms of educational quality and equality.”