UNESCO launches new Declaration to promote an inclusive digital transformation of education
New Delhi: From 12 to 14 December, UNESCO will participate in the RewirEd Summit in Dubai, that gathers the global education community around the themes of innovation, financing and skills for the future of work. The Organization will present the Global Declaration on Connectivity for Education, lead a high-level panel on the Futures of Education and launch the Global Education Monitoring Report.
The Global Declaration on Connectivity for Education
It puts forward principles and commitments to establish normative directions and priorities for the digital transformation of education. These are to focus innovations on the most marginalized students, expand investments in high-quality and free digital learning content, and steer pedagogical transformations that harness the power of digital technology.
It is developed through a partnership between UNESCO and Dubai Cares, bringing together expertise from the UN, academia, civil society and the private sector.
On 14 December from 15:00 to 15:45, a high-level panel will discuss ways the Declaration can help steer financing efforts and initiatives, and will include the participation of:
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant DirectorGeneral,
H.E. Antti Kurvinen, Minister of Science and Culture of Finland,
Sonia Jorge, Executive Director of the Alliance for Affordable Internet,
Zohra Yermeche, Program Director, Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson,
Robert Jenkins, Global Director, Education and Adolescent Development at UNICEF.
Reimagining our Futures together, a new social contract for education
UNESCO’s flagship publication prepared by the International Commission chaired by President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia sets out a vision for education to rebuild our relationships with each other, with the planet and with technology.
The proposals focus on renewing education through pedagogies that encourage collaboration; curricula that promotes ecological and intercultural learning and teaching to support societal transformation. It calls for global solidarity and cooperation in support of education as a human right, a public endeavour and a common good.
On 13 December from 15:00-15:45, a high-level panel will include the participation of:
President Sahle-Work Zewde, President, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia;
Arjun Appadurai, Emeritus Professor Media, Culture and Communication at New York University;
Maha Yahya, Commission Member and the Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Lebanon.
UNESCO’s 2021 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report
UNESCO’s GEM Report will be launched at this important occasion. It warns of growing inequality and exclusion due to high costs of private education and weak regulation by states and calls for better oversight of private education to reduce inequalities.
On 12 December from 10:25-11:10 am, a global event will support evidence-based policy dialogue on non-state engagement in education.
Speakers include:
Manos Antoninis, Director, Global Education Monitoring Report,
Koumba Boly Barry, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education,
Colm Brophy TD, Minister of State for Overseas Development and Diaspora, Ireland,
David Sengeh, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Chief Innovation Officer, Sierra Leone,
Fabio Segura, Chair, OECD netFWD Group and Co-CEO, Jacobs Foundation.