OBESSU at the United Nations General Assembly
Once again, the world’s political leaders gathered together in New York for the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly. In the week from 22nd to 30th September, OBESSU Board member Dejan Bojanić and the rest of the Youth Advocacy Group for the UN Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative were there to follow the events which relate to education and echo the voices of young people in all relevant discussions. Several interesting topics regarding education and youth were discussed.
First anniversary of the Global Education First Initiative
“Globally, leaders must place education at the top of our common agenda…but aid for education has dropped for the first time in over a decade” – Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations
“Instead of sending tanks, send pens. Instead of sending soldiers, send teachers. This is the only way that we can fight for education” – Malala Yousafzai, youth activist
To celebrate one year since the launch of the Global Education First Initiative, evaluate the achievements and announce the plans for even more successful coming years of the campaign for higher-quality education, Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown hosted an event which featured many of the world’s leaders who are playing a crucial role in the global movement for improving education. Some of the champions who express their commitments for better education were the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, the President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, the UN Envoy for Youth Ahmed Alhindawi. The panel was followed by a round table where views on improvements in education were given by the Danish Minister of Development Cooperation, the Norwegian Minister of International Development Cooperation, the EU Commissioner for Development, the President of Croatia, as well as many executives of UN agencies including Irina Bokovo, Director-General of UNESCO.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – taking a leadership in education
“We may have a Plan B in many areas. But when it comes to the state of our environment we must realize there is no Plan B. Simply because there is no Planet B” – Jan Eliasson, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations
829 days before our collective deadline to reach the Millennium Development Goals, the UN Foundation organized a luncheon on the topic “The Millennium Development Goals: Momentum toward 2015 & beyond”. The luncheon gathered top leaders for each of the MDGs to present their work and their future plans, as well as to motivate all the stakeholders present to take action and give a final push to reach the set joint goals. The ceremony was hosted by the UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson and launched with the announcement of the UK Government to invest an additional $1 billion into the Global Fund. Melinda Gates (co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Muhammad Yunus (founder of the Grameen Bank), the Liberian President and Ministers from Sweden and Norway were some of the leaders who presented their marvellous work in reaching the MDGs; the OBESSU representative was another one of the leaders in this group. The educational goal – to achieve universal primary education – has been perceived to be a mission where young people were recognised as main leaders and the striving force. The OBESSU Board member represented young people in our commitment to education and used the opportunity to present OBESSU’s position on participation of young people and our urge to not be spectators, but always full actors of our present and future.
“Learning for all” Ministerial meetings
“With over 80% of people who can’t read or write, 2 % GNI invested in education and the ongoing war in some parts of the country, we will fail to enable access to school to all people by 2015” – Bendoumra Kordie, the presidency of Chad
“Young people must be engaged in planning and implementing of all educational policies” – Final recommendation to the Minister of Finances, Minister of Education and the Presidency of Chad coming from the United Nations
In the lobby school student activists do, we often hear from Education Ministries that great ideas can hardly be implemented due to a lack of finances intended for investments in education. This is why “Learning for all” ministerial meetings are cross-sectoral, gathering Ministers of Education, Ministers of Finances and relevant stakeholders in the spheres of education and finances to discuss investing in education in countries where it is mostly needed. In the ministerial multilateral meeting of the Ministers of Chad, jointly moderated by Mr Gordon Brown and Ms Irina Bokova, the role of the lobbyist on behalf of young people globally was given to our Board member who talked about the involvement of young people in all planning of educational policies as the main final recommendation to the Ministers.
Access to education vs. access to education + quality of learning
“Education is not solely about gaining skills; it’s about the knowledge on how to use skills, how to be critical, how to be a free human being” – Lily Eskelsen Garcia, USA National Education Association
The Presidents of Malawi, Liberia and Tunisia and the Queen of Jordan were the country leaders who were the first to express interest in a different learning metrics system which was an outcome of the global research made by the Learning Metric Task-Force. The system is based on the identified skills andcompetencies important for all children and youth to develop: science and technology, numeracy and mathematics, learning approaches and cognition, literacy and communication, culture and arts, social and emotional skills and physical well-being. The main aim of the proposed changed system is to induce a shift in the global education conversation from access to education to access to education plus the quality of learning. The Youth Advocacy Group for the Global Education First Initiative was identified as an important partner in the initiative to make the shift from accessibility to accessibility + quality in the global course of discussions and will engage more in the future on promoting quality education worldwide.
The Youth Advocacy Group of UN Education First Initiative grew stronger
The Youth Advocacy Group of UN Education First Initiative organised a series of internal meetings in order to strengthen its structure and plan the activities for the year between the UN General Assembly 2013 and the UN General Assembly 2014. Amongst the priorities for the following year, what is important to highlight is the group’s commitment to leading the global movement for education gathered around the Global Education First Initiative, to raise voices and perspectives of young people within the Secretary General’s initiative and to advocate for achieving the current Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
The Global Citizen Festival
The Global Citizen Festival is an action-rewarded, awareness driven music festival in Central Park, New York, where fans engage with causes in order to win tickets. This concert is timed to coincide with the UN Summit to raise awareness and leverage government aid. This year it featured musical performances from Alicia Keys, Steve Wonder, Kings of Lion and more, as well as actors, models, other celebrities and over 75,000 cosmopolites who are thinking globally when changing their surroundings. The festival also welcomed outstanding advocates who were rewarded for the work in their respective communities. The winner of the award for youth activism is a member of the Youth Advocacy Group Joseph Munyambaza.
Written by Dejan Bojanić, OBESSU Board Member
