World Leaders to Make Ambitious Commitments to Transform Education at UN Summit

The UN Secretary-General is convening Heads of State and Government, together with youth, non-governmental actors and the private sector to a Summit on Transforming Education on 16, 17 and 19 September 2022, during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. The Summit is a key initiative of Our Common Agenda launched by the Secretary-General in September 2021.

More than 90% of the world’s children have had their education interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other crises — conflicts, a shrinking economy, the energy crunch and food insecurity — have deepened the global education crisis, which in turn, is provoking severely negative consequences on many fronts. It is also threatening gains in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and in particular, Goal 4 on Education. The Transforming Education Summit will seek to regain lost time and renew the collective commitment to education and lifelong learning as a pre-eminent public good. The Summit will be approached through 5 key topics: Schools, Curricula and Lifelong Learning, Teachers, Digital Transformation and Education Finance.

Key outcomes will include the UN Secretary-General’s Vision Statement on Transforming Education, as well as a Global Youth Declaration. In addition, and following months of consultations, Heads of State and Government will make national commitments on 19 September.

All voices will be heard

The Leaders Day on 19 September will be preceded by engagements on Mobilization and Solutions on Friday, 16 and Saturday, 17 September respectively. The Mobilization Day on 16 September will be youth-led and youth-organized and will serve to convey the collective recommendations of youth on transforming education to decision and policymakers, informed by the Summit Youth Declaration. The Solutions Day on 17 September will provide a platform for partners, including UN agencies, NGOs, civil society organizations and private sector partners, to mobilize collective support to launch or scale up initiatives connected to the 5 Thematic Action Tracks. During the Leaders Day, a limited number of thematic sessions will be held to place a focus on cross-cutting priorities for transforming education.