International Day of Education 2023 : To invest in people, prioritize education

The event will take forward national commitments and global initiatives, and step up public engagement in favour of education as the path to peace, sustainable development, and individual and collective well-being, while providing youth with a platform to present their initiatives and innovations to advance the right to education.

The event will also highlight one of the most challenging crises of our times, in Afghanistan where girls and women are deprived of their fundamental right to education. Since the political shift in Kabul in August 2021, access to education beyond primary level is indefinitely suspended for all Afghan girls above the age of 12. This means that 80% (2.5 million) of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school, while nearly 30% of girls in Afghanistan have never entered primary education. 

It will also include the launch of the first SDG4 benchmark publication by UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report and Institute for Statistics, which monitors country progress towards the benchmarks, including those discussed at the Transforming Education Summit.

10.00-10.10 am -High-level opening

Moderator: Kenisha Arora, SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee Youth Representative

• António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (VM)
• Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO (VM)
  
   

10.10-10.30 am - Transforming Education Summit: Stocktaking and way forward

Welcome and MC: H.E. Mr Jakub Kulhánek, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, Chair of the Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning

• Leonardo Garnier, UNSG Special Adviser for the Transforming Education Summit
• Stefania Giannini, Assistant-Director General for Education of UNESCO
• H.E. Alhaji Fanday Turay, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, Global Champion for Education Transformation Representative

10.30-11:15 am - Spotlight session: The right to education for Afghan girls and women

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women do not have access to education beyond primary level. This means that 80% (2.5 million) of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school, while nearly 30% of girls in Afghanistan have never entered primary education. The recent unacceptable decision to suspend women’s access to universities, until further notice, has affected over 100,000 female students attending higher education institutions, jeopardizing the achievements made in the last twenty years. Prior to the recent suspension, one out of three young women were enrolled in universities. This panel will explore how the international community can support Afghan girls’ and women’s right to education through innovative and impactful solutions.

Moderator: Stefania Giannini, Assistant-Director General for Education of UNESCO

• H.E. Yamanaka Osamu, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
• Shabana Rasikh, Founder of School of Leadership Afghanistan
• Pashtana Dorani, Executive Director of LEARN AFGHANISTAN
• Aydin Sahba, Afghan student and activist

11.15 am-12.45 pm - Interactive Panel discussion

Segment 1: Transformative education 

At the Transforming Education Summit, five Global Initiatives were launched to support countries to improve their education systems, making them more inclusive and resilient to future challenges. These initiatives include ensuring learners are prepared for a greener future, providing digital solutions for every learner, advancing gender equality, ensuring continuity of inclusive education for learners affected by crises, and empowering young people to become effective leaders. This panel will discuss how governments and other education stakeholders will turn into actions the commitments made at the Summit taking into account these initiatives.

Moderator: Professor Maria Ivanova, Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University

• Helen Grant, UK Special Envoy on Girls’ Education
• H.E. Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations
• Sanjay Wijesekera Director, Programme Division, UNICEF
• Ashley Jun, Mission 4.7 Eco-Ambassador
• Yasmine Sherif, Director, Education Cannot Wait

Q&A

Segment 2: Pathways to transform education

Quality education is the most important investment countries can make for their future and their people. This panel will call on governments, the international community and key stakeholders to stand by their commitments to prioritize investment in education, including through empowering teachers. It will also highlight the role UN Development System, in particular UN Resident Coordinators can play at the local and regional levels to advance the focus on transforming education actions. Participants will also stress the importance of strengthening national capacities in education data and statistics for evidence-based policy-making, planning and monitoring of SDG 4.

Moderator: Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers

• Charles North, Deputy CEO, Global Partnership for Education
• H.E. Enkhbold Vorshilov, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations
• Ana Graça, UN Resident Coordinator in Panama (Virtual Participation)
• Manos Antoninis, Director, Global Education Monitoring Report Team, UNESCO

Q&A

12.45-1.00 pm - Closing segment

Moderator: Kenisha Arora, SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee Youth Representative 

• H.E. Csaba Kőrösi, President of 77th United Nations General Assembly
• H.E. Tijjani Muhammad Bande, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations.