At the global level, the Education Sector has reinforced its functions as a global platform for policy dialogue between countries of the South and mobilizer of development partners from the private sector and civil society.  In November 2014, the Sector led the organization of the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, which reviewed the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and showcased innovative education practices, actors, networks and ideas inspired by the DESD.

In May 2015, the World Education Forum (WEF 2015), again led by UNESCO and hosted by the Republic of Korea in the city of Incheon, will further mobilize the international community to define the post-2015 development agenda, with the WEF’s outcome fully aligned to the education goal and targets of the global development agenda to be adopted at the UN High-Level Summit in September 2015.

The Sector continues to work collegially with its international partners through the UN Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).  The fruits of UNESCO’s own advocacy and resource mobilization efforts are evidenced in the creation of a number of multi-stakeholder partnership frameworks, including ‘Better Life Better Future’ which promotes gender equality in education by increasing learning opportunities for adolescent girls and women in their communities.

The Sector has also recently initiated a number of cross-regional coordination frameworks such as BRICS  and the International Task Force on Teachers for EFA and continues to facilitate international networks and communities of practice, such as the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme and the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet).