"Today, with the Education 2030 Framework for Action, Governments from across the world have agreed on how to translate a promise on paper to change on the ground,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova at the launch event.

The Education 2030 Framework for Action was adopted by more than 70 Ministers, representatives of Member States, the United Nations, multilateral and bi-lateral agencies, civil society, regional organizations, the teaching profession, academia, youth and the private sector.

Ministers and Heads of Delegation took the floor throughout a day-long meeting, which will end with closing addresses by Kishore Singh, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, and the Prime Minister of Cook Islands, Mr Henry Puna.

The FFA, the result of an unprecedented consultative process, provides guidance to countries for the implementation of the Education 2030 agenda. It aims to mobilize all stakeholders around the new global education goal and targets, and proposes ways of implementing, coordinating, financing and reviewing the 2030 education agenda—globally, regionally and nationally—to guarantee equal educational opportunity for all.

“Never before has the world consulted in such depth on a new goal in education, bringing all voices to the table. Never before has the world agreed on such a detailed road-map for the implementation of a new goal,” said the Director-General.

Addressing the opening session of today’s event, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, France’s Minister of Education, Higher Education and Research, said that her country endorsed the four principles of the Agenda: the right to free and compulsory quality education; the affirmation that education is a public responsibility; the need to give adults lifelong learning opportunities; and the priority given to gender equality.  

“The conviction guiding our policy is that inequality is not a matter of fate. We have the responsibility to act to ensure that students’ background does not determine their educational prospects and future opportunities.” She also emphasized the importance of education for global citizenship, referring to the fundamental role of schools in countering extremism and promoting values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination.

The essential elements of the FFA were agreed upon at the World Education Forum in Incheon, Republic of Korea, in May this year. The resulting Incheon Declaration represents the firm commitment of countries and the global education community to a single, education agenda—Education 2030—that is holistic, ambitious, inclusive and aspirational. The Declaration entrusts UNESCO, as the United Nations’ specialized agency for education, to continue its mandated role to lead and coordinate the Education 2030 agenda.

“The Education 2030 Framework sets bold benchmarks…This calls for new funding, to bridge the annual US$ 40 billion funding gap, to invest where needs are most acute. We need every country to meet the target of allotting six percent of Gross Domestic Product to education,” said Ms Bokova “We need to reach the overall goal of directing 0.7 per cent of all Official Development Assistance to education. To leave no one behind, we need more investment and smarter investment, backed by stronger policies.”

The event is organized by UNESCO jointly with the co-convenors of Education 2030—the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Populations Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and the World Bank. During the event, it was announced that the International Labour Organization would become the eighth convenor of Education 2030.