The annual meeting of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition highlighted the critical role that the Coalition can play in creating synergies to help rebuild education systems globally and working towards digital transformation. Since March 2020, at least 400 million learners and 12 million teachers have benefitting directly or indirectly from the actions of Global Education Coalition members.
The hybrid event - Acting for Recovery, Resilience and Reimagining Education - took place on 12 November 2021 on the sidelines of the 41st session of UNESCO’s General Conference with some delegates attending in-person in Paris and others joining the conversation online. In support of the event, UNESCO published the annual report of the Global Education Coalition, highlighting partner collaborations and actions since March 2020.
At the event, ministry representatives from member states and partner organizations reflected on the successes and lessons learned so far as well as the challenges that remain, and shared ideas for the future of the Coalition.
Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares which was one of the founding members of the Global Education Coalition, praised UNESCO for its “bold decision” to establish the Coalition in March 2020 and its role in unifying governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society in tackling the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for education systems around the world.
The pandemic has accelerated unity in the fragmented space of education, according to Al Gurg, but he urged Coalition members to align and take further action in starting partnerships and collaborations.
Borhene Chakroun, Director of the Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning and Coordinator of the Global Education Coalition, said that the conversation highlighted that the Coalition is needed and reiterated UNESCO’s commitment to nurture it as an agile platform to achieve SDG4. He called on Coalition members and member states to “continue working together to unleash the full potential of the unique partnership that we have through the Global Education Coalition [for which] the digital transformation remains the main focus.”
Mr Chakroun also noted that the needs of the Coalition are evolving as efforts shift from emergency response to recovery and building resilience in education systems globally.
Together for impact at scale
In discussing the future direction of the Coalition, some partners highlighted the need to prioritize foundational literacy and numeracy, skills opportunities for youth, and early childhood education. Alexa Joyce, Digital Transformation and Skills Director at Microsoft, said that the insights and experience of the Coalition’s partners from both the public and private sector can support ministries of education around the world in driving deeper digital transformation. She encouraged members to continue to provide advice, training, tools, and infrastructure at no or low cost for those who need it in education.
Meanwhile, Serena Brown, Global Head of Corporate Citizenship at KMPG International, called for a collective action plan for impact at scale and said, “we need to always ask ourselves which of the other Coalition members could help us reach more students and achieve greater impact.”
With more than 200 member organizations, the Global Education Coalition is deploying cross-country missions and conducting large-scale data collection and advocacy in 112 countries, with digital learning at the centre of its actions. So far, at least 400 million learners and 12 million teachers are benefitting directly or indirectly from these actions.
Examples of actions
The annual report demonstrates how partner collaborations and innovations are being implemented on the ground. In Africa, for example, Imaginecole.africa - an initiative funded by the Global Partnership for Education - is working to strengthen the national educational system of 10 French-speaking countries and has established a regional online learning platform with more than 600 educational resources for immediate use. Through virtual classes, trainers or trainers are being equipped with knowledge of digital education and through a cascade training model this information will reach at least 1,000 teachers per country.
In the Caribbean, a partnership between UNESCO, Blackboard and the Caribbean Centre for Educational Planning (CCEP) at the University of the West Indies is providing training to teachers in blended learning and online strategies. The Peruvian component of the project offered distance learning and training through a non-formal virtual course on digital skills, as well as socio-emotional well-being content, for 3,000 Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Peru.
And, since its launch in August 2020, the Keeping Girls in the Picture campaign, part of the Coalition’s Gender Flagship, has reached more than 400 million people through sensitization activities which highlight the importance of girls’ returning to school. Lynda Eunice Nakaibale, a youth activist for the Gender Flagship’s Keeping Girls in the Picture campaign in the Kamuli district of Uganda, said “seeing how involved and dedicated the different stakeholders are in championing the right to education for girls in their different spaces, gives me hope for a better future for girls in Uganda."
- Read the full Acting for recovery, resilience and reimagining education: the Global Education Coalition in action report to learn more about the Coalition’s actions and achievements.