EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Briefing by the DSG on Transforming Education Summit

Thank you chair. I deliver this statement on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

We would first like to extend our sincere thanks to the Deputy Secretary General and her team, as well as the Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Transforming Education Summit all their efforts in the preparation of this Summit. We would like to thank the DSG for this briefing and for giving us this opportunity to share with you our thoughts on UN SG Guterres draft Vision Statement. 

As an integral part of Our Common Agenda, the Transforming Education Summit is a timely initiative: As the UNSG rightly points out, education is in deep crisis and education systems are no longer fit for purpose. UNESCO’s 2021 report on Futures of Education called for a new social contract for education and we consider the draft Vision Statement a very solid basis and excellent way forward to mobilising political will and resources, ahead of the 2024 UN Summit of the Future, for achieving SDG4 and reimagining education for the 21^st century.

In response to your call for reactions to the draft vision, the EU and its Member States would like to underline the following messages:       

• Education is a fundamental human right and a public common good. It is an enabler of sustainable development, reducing poverty and inequalities, including gender inequalities.  Universal, equitable and inclusive access to quality education for all is key to addressing concurrent crises and challenges we face; for societal, economic, and technological progress and achievement of not only SDG4 but also all SDGs across the board.

• We face a global education crisis exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, increasing inequalities in access to and disparities in education, also deepening of the financing gap, the gender and digital divides.

• All must step up efforts and do more and better.

• We stress the need for enhanced coordination between the different education instruments and programmes. This does not just require a commitment from the donors, but from all Member States.

• The EU and its Member States, in a Team Europe approach, welcome the Transforming Education Summit, a milestone of Our Common Agenda. Our European Education Area is a basis for strong partnership and a coherent approach in and beyond Europe.

• We welcome the thematic action tracks approach, which places a spotlight on five areas that require greater attention and action. The EU and its Member States pursue the same goals:

• We focus on inclusion, embracing a rights-based, future-looking, holistic and learner-centred framework for action and investment in quality education for all;

• We focus on gender equality in and through education. Girls and young women are still among those left the furthest behind when it comes to education;  

• We also stress commitment to gender responsive education and disability inclusive education for all. The (EU) remains committed to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and to the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the outcomes of their review conferences and remains committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in this context. Having that in mind, the EU reaffirms its commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual to have full control over, and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, free from discrimination, coercion and violence. The EU further stresses the need for universal access to quality and affordable comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education, including comprehensive sexuality education, and health-care services.

• We also prioritise the most vulnerable, as well as those in emergencies, crises and conflict, including displaced and refugee children. Access to education is further interrupted in those settings. 10% of EU humanitarian aid goes to Education in Emergencies. Indeed, the vision statement addresses the right to education denied by displacement, during and after emergencies, conflicts and protracted crises, such as in the Horn of Africa and in Sahel. However, we feel it fails to capture the gravity and impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its consequences, directly and indirectly, to education and its continuity in Ukraine and beyond.

• We also focus on the quality of education - improved learning for all, from the earliest years and throughout life, including in basic, social, digital and green skills and competences, highlighting the importance of teachers as agents of change, and their pivotal role for quality education.

• We also need to provide education that will empower learners with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to be resilient, adaptable and prepared for the future of employment. We would like to see an explicit reference to promoting information and media literacy skills, which should complement digital literacy, critical thinking, scientific thinking and other skills. To empower people of all ages to better understand and tackle current challenges, it is imperative for people to have the necessary skills to distinguish facts from mis- and disinformation.

• We would also stress generally the transformative role of education for sustainable development, gender equality and global citizenship education as an instrumental tool for the achievement of the SDGs and meaningful youth and student engagement in reimagining and transforming education. Indeed, we would keen to hear what role the SG foresees for youth in the practical implementation of the results of the TES.

• Globally, the EU and its Member States are the largest development partner to education and training, underpinning our commitment to the 2021 Paris Declaration on Investing in the Futures of Education. Our funding through a variety of modalities at the national, regional, and global levels accounts for over 55% of official development assistance. The EC is stepping up funding to at least 10% of international partnerships. We stress the importance of more quality spending through supporting effective, efficient, sustainable and equitable education financing at country level – budget support and public finance management; as well as mobilising private investment and pooling additional funding. The “Learning laboratory for investment in education in Europe” to be launched by the European Commission (DGEAC) by the end of 2022 can be cited as an example of such efficiency seeking.

• The EU’s Global Gateway strategy also further strengthens our impact investments in education – e.g. Global Gateway Investment Package on Education, Skills and Technical and Vocational Training was endorsed at the 2022 EU-Africa Summit.

• The vision underlines what is needed to ensure SDG4 is achieved. The TES creates the political momentum to make real changes, but this is only the beginning, and we would like to hear the SG’s vision of how we can make the follow-up more concrete.

• For example, what is the plan to do with the results of the action tracks and the national consultations in the UN’s work? What would the SG request from Member States and relevant stakeholders on how to pave the way forward?

• We would also like to recognise the key role played by UNESCO, as leading UN agency on SDG4, and commend the work done by partners on education, welcoming the new global coordination mechanism put in place on SDG4. We continue to encourage increased and improved cooperation for education among stakeholders for the sake of greater impact and efficiency.

Finally, chair, excellencies, we would like to once again leave you with the overarching message that the  EU and its Member States, as TeamEurope, will remain true to our commitment to education and the 2030 Agenda. Team Europe plans a visible and strong show of support at the Summit next week and we will be steadfast partners in its follow-up.