38th session, Paris 2015 38 C 38 C/54 29 October 2015 Original: English Item 4.14 of the provisional agenda UNESCO S ROLE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EDUCATION 2030 AGENDA OUTLINE Background: The Incheon Declaration was adopted at the World Education Forum 2015 (WEF 2015) in May 2015. It will be implemented through the Education 2030 Framework for Action (FFA), which provides guidance to governments. At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit (New York, September 2015), Member States formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including a goal on education (Sustainable Development Goal 4). Purpose: This document outlines UNESCO s role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 4: (1) leading coordination and partnership building; (2) reviewing/monitoring and reporting progress towards the achievement of the education targets; and (3) supporting the Member States in the implementation. Decision required: Paragraph 15.
38 C/54 I. Background 1. At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit (New York, September 2015), Member States formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including an ambitious standalone goal on education (SDG 4): Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The global community committed to providing inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary, technical and vocational training and underscoring that all people should have access to lifelong learning opportunities. 2. This was a result of the concerted efforts by the global education community to promote a single, renewed education agenda Education 2030 which is holistic, universal and aspirational, leaving no one behind. Such commitment was adopted by the Incheon Declaration, at the World Education Forum 2015 ([WEF 2015], Incheon, Republic of Korea, May 2015). The consultation process over the past three years the United Nations global thematic Consultation on Education in the post-2015 development agenda (Dakar, March 2013), the Global Education Meeting (Muscat, May 2014), five regional meetings (2014, 2015) and finally the WEF 2015 culminated in the adoption of the SDG 4. 3. The Incheon Declaration will be implemented through the Education 2030 Framework for Action (FFA), which provides guidance to governments for the realization of SDG 4. As stipulated by the FFA, the governments have the primary responsibility for successful implementation, follow-up and review of the SDG agenda. The United Nations has a special responsibility to coordinate the 2030 Agenda for SDGs. The Declaration entrusts UNESCO, as the United Nations specialized agency for education, to continue its mandated role to lead and coordinate Education 2030. This document outlines UNESCO s role in the implementation of SDG 4, based on its comparative advantages in education. The document will cover the timeline from 2016 until 2030, with the understanding that adaptation may be necessary over time. II. UNESCO s comparative advantages in Education 4. UNESCO has the following comparative advantages in education: A universal, holistic, system-wide approach, and extensive experience in core education areas, from planning to quality; from education for sustainable development to global citizenship education; Convening power and mandate, demonstrated ability to lead a coordinated global education movement; Demonstrated monitoring and benchmarking capacities including through the Global Education for All Monitoring Report (GMR), the development of statistical and policy capacities and the work carried out by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), and overall policy guidance to countries and providing platforms for policy dialogue at different levels; Expertise in capacity development in areas vital for the effective management of education systems and data, policies and capacities, especially through its unique specialized category 1 institutes; Global standard-setter through its normative work, as holder of 16 conventions and recommendations related to education (e.g. Against discrimination in education; higher education; technical and vocational education and training; teaching personnel; Adult
38 C/54 page 2 education; Education for international understanding, co-operation and peace and education relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms); and Strong track record in working intersectorally (e.g. education for sustainable development, health, youth). 5. Given these comparative advantages, UNESCO is well positioned to make leading contributions to the achievement of SDG 4, as well as to contribute to the achievement of other goals (i.e. gender equality, reduction of inequalities, promoting peace) through intersectoral engagement. All of UNESCO s entities, including its field offices, institutes, networks and relevant platforms will play an active role in the delivery on the Education 2030 commitments in cooperation with the education community. III. UNESCO s role in the implementation of Education 2030 6. UNESCO will ensure that its programme is focused and resourced to better serve the implementation of the new agenda at global, regional and country level, especially in its role as coordinator and facilitator. Emphasis will be placed on collaborative engagement with other partners. UNESCO will continue to be engaged in contributing to other SDGs through its work on education. 7. Based on the Organization s comparative advantages in the area of education, the below outlines UNESCO s role in the implementation of SDG 4: (1) leading coordination and partnership building; (2) reviewing/monitoring and reporting progress towards the achievement of the education targets; and (3) supporting the Member States to implement the new agenda. Leading coordination and partnership building 8. UNESCO will continue in its mandated role to lead and coordinate Education 2030. Through the Incheon Declaration, the education community has entrusted UNESCO to develop an appropriate global coordination mechanism in consultations with others. To this end, a global coordination mechanism for Education 2030, working within the wider 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development architecture is outlined in the FFA. This mechanism will include an Education 2030 Steering Committee (Education 2030 SC) in which Member States have the majority, Global Education Meetings (GEMs), high-level meetings, regional meetings and partnering with specialized NGOs, the civil society and the private sector. The coordination mechanism will be reviewed through the GEMs and adapted as necessary. 9. UNESCO will moreover function as a focal point for education within the overall 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development coordination structure. 10. UNESCO will convene global, regional and national stakeholders to guide implementation of Education 2030 and build strong partnerships to support efficient delivery. Inclusive multi-stakeholder partnerships will be needed to support the education priorities and to mobilize the requisite resources. UNESCO will further promote South-South and triangular cooperation. Reviewing/monitoring and reporting progress towards achievement of the education targets 11. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) will remain the official source of cross-nationally comparable data on education. UIS will in addition work with partners to develop new indicators, statistical approaches and monitoring tools to better assess progress across the targets related to UNESCO s mandate, working in coordination with the Education 2030 Steering Committee. Furthermore, it will support the Member States to develop their capacities in data collection and analysis.
38 C/54 page 3 12. The Incheon Declaration has also requested that the Education For All Global Monitoring Report be continued as an independent Global Education Monitoring Report (GEMR), hosted and published by UNESCO, as the mechanism for reporting on SDG 4 and how education contributes to the other SDGs, within the mechanism to be established to monitor and review the implementation of the SDGs. Supporting the Member States to implement the Agenda 13. The Incheon Declaration calls on the WEF 2015 convenors, and in particular UNESCO, as well as on all partners, to individually and collectively support countries in implementing Education 2030 by providing technical advice, national capacity development and financial support based on their respective mandate and comparative advantages. UNESCO will support the implementation of Education 2030, in particular through advocacy to sustain political commitment, capacity development, facilitating policy dialogue, knowledge-sharing, standard-setting and providing policy advice. The below highlights UNESCO s role in implementing the targets: SDG Target 4.1 relating to quality primary and secondary education: UNESCO will continue to provide services at country level and in some regions, in particular through cross-cutting themes such as teachers, quality and learning, information and communication technologies (ICTs), or as part of gender equality projects. It will also provide assistance to these levels via its work on sector wide policy and planning. Other education partners, such as UNICEF and the World Bank, are expected to play lead roles noting that this will involve collaboration with UNESCO. SDG Target 4.2 relating to ECCE: UNESCO will continue to engage in this area, focusing in particular on work at the country level and in some regions. Other educational partners, such as UNICEF, are expected to play a lead role. SDG Targets 4.3 and 4.4: relating to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education: UNESCO will be very active and provide leadership in these areas, also encouraging other education partners to assume significant roles. The International Labour Organization has expressed its interest in strengthening its collaboration with UNESCO in this area. An entry point for higher education would remain quality assurance and the global and regional conventions. SDG Targets 4.5 relating to equity and gender equality: UNESCO will deepen and broaden the scope of its work in this area, in close cooperation with other partners, in particular with UN Women. SDG Targets 4.6 relating to literacy: UNESCO will continue to exert leadership in this area, especially through targeted assistance to countries, policy advice and advocacy. Current work and capacities will need to be reviewed to identify stronger entry points and to better demonstrate impact. SDG Targets 4.7 relating to education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCED): This is a growing and relatively new area, of great relevance to the overall 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where UNESCO has been able to demonstrate its leadership and needs to continue to do so. 1 Work in the areas of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education may be enriched through strong partnerships as well as enhanced intersectoral cooperation. 1 Further information on UNESCO s work in the area of education for sustainable development can be found in document 38 C/INF.16 Education for Sustainable Development, Concluding the Decade, Launching the Global Action Programme.
38 C/54 page 4 SDG Targets 4.c: relating to teachers: UNESCO will provide leadership in this area. It needs to continue to strengthen the cooperation between Headquarters, the international teacher task force, and the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity-Building in Africa (IICBA). It also needs to continue to expand cooperation with external partners such as Education International. 14. UNESCO will furthermore contribute to the following strategic areas: Learning: This is a strategic area where UNESCO needs to build its capacity and demonstrate it can be focused and impactful in its interventions. All of the Headquarters divisions and category 1 institutes can contribute to this effort. It will be necessary to have one overall internal coordination and managing mechanism; Education in emergencies: UNESCO is already involved in most countries in emergencies and post-conflict. UNESCO will seek to strengthen and consolidate its global coordination and intervention in countries in emergencies; ICTs in education: UNESCO is well positioned to play a key role, both via mobile learning week, via extrabudgetary funding, and via higher education. This area could evolve to include innovations in education, in cooperation with other concerned organizations. This would include identifying and designing new ways of learning using ICTs in pedagogy. Beyond that, it is recognized that ICTs should be an integral component of all thematic areas and mainstreamed throughout the SDG targets; Sector-wide policy, planning and monitoring systems: UNESCO has a unique role to play both at the global level with its International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Headquarters, and at regional and country level, and in cooperation with UIS, including the key monitoring and review functions. UNESCO s technical capacity in this area needs to be maintained. UNESCO will seek to develop a strategic alliance with the Global Partnership for Education where policy and planning will play a key role. IV. Proposed Resolution 15. The General Conference, Recalling 37 C/Resolution 11, 195 EX/Decision 6, 196 EX/Decision 7 and 197 EX/Decision 6, Having examined documents 38 C/54 and 38 C/INF.16, 1. Extends its congratulations to the Director-General for having successfully facilitated the formulation of Education 2030 through inclusive and extensive consultations of Member States and education stakeholders; 2. Expresses its warm appreciation to the Member States and the EFA Steering Committee for their collective active engagement in the formulation of Education 2030; 3. Recognizes the importance of Education for Sustainable Development as an integral part of Education 2030 and endorses the Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development; 4. Reaffirms the Member States commitment to implement Education 2030;
38 C/54 page 5 5. Endorses and strongly supports UNESCO to play its role as outlined in the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and the Framework for Action by: (a) (b) (c) leading and coordinating Education 2030, functioning as a focal point for education within the overall 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development coordination structure; ensuring that the UNESCO Institute for Statistics continue to be the source of crossnationally comparable data on education; to work with partners to develop new indicators, statistical approaches and monitoring tools, working in coordination with the Education 2030 Steering Committee; and ensuring the monitoring and reporting on SDG 4 and on education of the other SDGs at the global level through the continuation of the EFA Global Monitoring Report in the form of the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEMR), with due regard to the global mechanism to be established to monitor and review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; 6. Requests the Director-General to continue her efforts in supporting the Member States to implement Education 2030. Printed on recycled paper