Breaking barriers in education
The 2019 Strategic Debate series is dedicated to breaking barriers in education. During the course of the year, IIEP will welcome an array of speakers to come and explore questions such as, what will it take to remove all barriers and finally get all children and youth learning? What kinds of collaboration, innovation, and evidenced-based planning and policy-making can finally open the door to equal opportunity in education for all? The debates take place in Paris, France, at IIEP, in either English or French with simultaneous interpretation. All debates are also livestreamed online and available on our website and on YouTube after the event.
Join our Strategic Debates
- 24 October 2019: Taking the right to education seriously
with Sylvain Aubry, from the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Delphine Dorsi from the Right to Education Initiative, Peter Colenso, Senior Adviser for the Global Schools Forum (discussant) and Hugues Moussy, from IIEP-UNESCO, (moderator).
Watch the video of the debate | More information
View our past Strategic Debates
- 14 May 2019: Reforming the French secondary school and its flagship diploma
with Pierre Mathiot, Director of Sciences Po Lille (speaker), Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills (discussant), and Michaela Martin, programme specialist at IIEP (moderator).
Watch the video of the debate | More information - 13 February 2019: Education for 21st century children
with Tracey Burns, senior analyst at OECD (speaker), Riel Miller, head of Futures Literacy at UNESCO (discussant), and Michaela Martin, programme specialist at IIEP (moderator).
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- 5 March 2019: Learning at the bottom of the pyramid
with Dan Wagner, UNESCO Chair in Learning and Literacy and professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania (speaker), Jordan Naidoo, Director of the Division for Education 2030 Support and Coordination at UNESCO (discussant), Suzanne Grant Lewis, Director of IIEP-UNESCO (moderator).
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2018 Strategic Debates
In 2018, IIEP's Strategic Debate series was on 'Meeting SDG 4’s learning objectives: looking beyond the obvious.' There is widespread recognition of the global learning crisis, with millions of children and youth unable to perform basic skills in reading, writing, and math. What is less clear is what children need to learn and how we can foster all-inclusive quality education for a rapidly changing future. In pursuit of SDG 4, we must look beyond the obvious and debate new ideas and strategies that will ultimately redefine learning while ensuring accessibility for all.
23 February 2018: Social and emotional skills and the Education 2030 agenda
with OECD’s Dirk Van Damme, IIEP’s Hugues Moussy (moderator) and Carmel Gallagher, from UNESCO IBE (discussant).
Watch the video of the debate | Read the highlights12 March 2018: Higher Education as a common good
with Simon Marginson, Professor and Director of the Centre for Global Higher Education at the University College of London, Michaela Martin, Programme Specialist at IIEP-UNESCO (discussant) and Suzanne Grant Lewis, Director of IIEP-UNESCO (moderator).
Watch the video of the debate | Read the highlights19 April 2018: The secrets behind the success of the world's education superpowers
with author Lucy Crehan, on her recent book Cleverlands, Michaela Martin, Programme Specialist at IIEP-UNESCO (moderator) and Sonia Guerriero, Senior Education Specialist in the Section for Teacher Development at UNESCO (discussant).
Watch the video of the debate | Read the Highlights "Three surprises in the world’s top education systems"2 May 2018: Overcoming Africa’s learning crisis
with the World Bank.
Watch the video of the debate | More information- 15 May 2018: Artificial Intelligence – Can Education Systems Anticipate the Challenges Ahead?
with Stuart Elliott, Henry David Visiting Scholar, U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Steven Vosloo, Senior Project Officer, Section of Youth, Literacy and Skills Development, UNESCO (discussant) and Suzanne Grant Lewis, Director, IIEP-UNESCO (moderator).
Watch the video of the debate | More information - 25 June 2018: It takes a village - and technology - to educate a child
with Madhav Chavan, co-founder Pratham Education Foundation, Valtencir Mendes, Project Officer working on ICT in Education at UNESCO (discussant) and Suzanne Grant Lewis, Director of IIEP-UNESCO (moderator).
Watch the video of the debate | More information - 15 November 2018: Lessons in educational policy-making: perspectives from two education ministers
with Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the former Education Minister for France, Stefania Giannini, former Education Minister for Italy, who is now the Assistant-Director General for Education at UNESCO, and Suzanne Grant Lewis, Director of IIEP-UNESCO (moderator).
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