Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi to speak at GEFI high-level event
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2014 Nobel Laureates, Malala Yousefzai and Kailash Satyarthi, are joining the chorus of Government, UN agency, education and youth leaders at the Global Education First Initiative’s (GEFI) high-level event - highlighting education as the catalyst for realizing each and every one of the 17 ambitious new Sustainable Development Goals.
The #EducationFirst for Sustainable Development event takes place in New York on September 26, against the backdrop of the UN Summit for the adoption of the Post 2015 development agenda, where world leaders will commit to a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
High-level speakers include the First Lady of China and UNESCO Special Envoy for the Advancement of Girls and Women's Education, Peng Liyuan, UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova, Presidents of Croatia and the Republic of Korea, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Park Geun-Hye, and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, and Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Australia, Ethiopia, Norway and Tunisia.
They will be joined by Global Partnership for Education Board Chair, Julia Gillard, Education International President, Susan Hopgood, and representatives from the World Bank, GEFI Champion Countries, and GEFI’s Youth Advocacy Group.
Participants will draw attention to the unfinished business of the Education for All and MDG agendas, particularly the number of children and youth who remain out of school, continued gender discrimination and the rising impact of conflict on education.
These speakers will outline political commitments for increased financing, as well as effective policy and global partnerships. They are also expected to reaffirm their commitment to quality lifelong learning as the key to ending poverty and hunger, protecting our environment, and building more inclusive and peaceful societies.
GEFI and its partners have played a major role in bridging the MDGs to the SDGs, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all remains high on global agendas. In April 2000, the education leaders agreed to the Education for All (EFA) goals; in May 2015 they agreed to the Incheon Declaration, and finally in September 2015, they will celebrate the adoption of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development which includes a transformative and powerful education goal.
For more information on the event:
GEFI event builds a bridge between the MDGs and SDGs for Education 2030
Concept Note
Read the GEFI YAG Call to Action
Watch the event: