Deputy Secretary-General Says Upcoming Summit Must Prepare Societies for Future Beyond 2030, Renew Commitment to Education as ‘Pre-eminent’ Public Good

(Delayed for technical reasons)

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks to the third informal briefing to Member States on the Transforming Education Summit, in New York on 12 April:

It is my pleasure to join you for this third briefing on the Transforming Education Summit.  From the outset of this process, the Secretary-General and I have been clear that Member States will be central to this Summit, which is being prepared in a transparent and inclusive way.  Today’s meeting provides an opportunity to discuss recent developments and to hear your views as we move into the next phase.

Our engagements in New York and Paris over the past three months have allowed us to develop a common understanding on the scope of the Summit and its preparatory process.  We have listened intently to your comments in various briefings, and I thank delegations for submitting feedback in writing, including [for meetings convened by the] President of the General Assembly on [Our Common Agenda].

I also travelled to Paris on 17 March to engage directly with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) permanent delegations and the UNESCO leadership team, and to Co-Chair the first Advisory Committee meeting.

During these meetings, we provided an overview of the Summit preparations and secured feedback on the Summit’s workstreams.  From our engagements to date, five clear principles have emerged.

First, the Summit should not just be a technical meeting about education.  Rather it should help to renew our collective political commitment to education as a pre-eminent public good.

Second, the world is changing at a dizzying pace and we are at a difficult moment with many intersecting crises, challenges and threats.  The Summit will therefore focus on what it takes to both achieve the education-related Sustainable Development Goals in this challenging context, and to reimagine education so that our societies are better prepared for the future beyond 2030.

These two dimensions are interdependent.  Sustainable Development Goal 4 will not be met without grappling with profound changes under way in areas of technology, the labour market, the climate crisis, public trust deficits and public financing pressures.  In turn, reimagining education for the future must build on the foundational principles of Sustainable Development Goal 4 — universality, inclusiveness, equity, quality and life-long learning.

Third, as many of you have noted, the Summit will not succeed — or even be relevant — without the participation of all stakeholders, including young people.

Concrete steps are being taken to actively facilitate the engagement of youth, civil society, teachers, parents, communities, the private sector and more across the Summit’s preparations.

Fourth, it is critical that we build on existing efforts and arrangements.  We see the report of the Commission on the Futures of Education as a foundation for our efforts; and we are working hand in hand with UNESCO and other leading United Nations entities, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on summit preparations.  We are building on synergies with the Sustainable Development Goal 4 High-Level Steering Committee.  And existing initiatives will also inform the work of the thematic action tracks.

Fifth, and finally, Member State participation in this Summit is essential.  The Special Adviser on the Summit will outline the concrete measures that we are putting in place to ensure this.

We have less than six months to go until the Summit in September.  With these five key principles in mind, the time has come to switch focus — from refining the scope of the Summit to executing the preparatory process.  In my letter to delegations dated 31 March, I shared with you a number of documents that help to move us forward.  The Special Adviser on the Summit will update you on these and on the arrangements across the Summit workstreams.

I look forward to hearing your feedback and your guidance as we work together to get the Summit preparations off the ground in earnest, and create the conditions for a successful Summit in September.  Thank you.