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27 Nov 2024

Event Highlights: NORRAG co-organises an event with UNESCO in the sidelines of the 2024 Global Education Meeting on the Futures of the Right to Education

On 1 November 2024, NORRAG co-organised with UNESCO a side event to the UNESCO Global Education Meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil, between 31 October and 1 November 2024. The panel explored the Futures of the Right to Education, including themes of foundational learning, the right to education, the introduction of digital technologies in school, knowledge equity, and minority inclusion in education.

Chaired by Mr Borhene Chakroun, Director of Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning at UNESCO, the panel began with a call to build a shared common understanding of foundational learning. Specifically, the roles of playing, creativity, language, sports, and arts were emphasized as needed to effectively respond to the needs of today’s learners. The panel then explored the necessary steps the international community should take to ensure the right of minorities to access quality education. In particular, it was argued that the international landscape is very fragmented and that direct and indirect discrimination remain pervasive. Examples of direct discrimination mentioned included language barriers in the classroom, spatial, and gender discrimination. Similarly, examples of indirect discrimination included the high cost of education and dress code requirements.  

It was then stressed that schools are the quintessential space for young people to choose and develop their talents. However, governments globally remain wrongfully convinced that they should provide minority and indigenous children with practical skills instead of choice.  

The panel continued with a discussion on the role of youth, technology, and institutions in raising awareness concerning global crises, from climate change to biodiversity loss, in schools. In particular, Shinobu Yamaguchi of the United Nations University called for three critical steps to take in education reform:  

  • Introduce interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary subjects that can equip young people with the necessary skills to tackle interconnected crises. 
  • Take advantage of AI technologies and simulations to foster promote inclusive access to education. 
  • Begin thinking of education as a lifeline for communities where young and old learners can be educated on what it means to be human beings.  

Dina Ghobashy of Microsoft and Giovanna Mode of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) then discussed how the potential of technologies in education can be maximized while minimizing its negative impacts. It was stressed that in the last few years, the implementation of technologies in schools was rather performative and not truly aimed at solving problems. Secondly, it was emphasized that governments have often failed to implement new technologies intentionally and with a focus on students with more substantial needs. To close the digital divide means to consistently be intentional in how and where technology can best address the needs of children. Lastly, while AI tools were described as having great potential in education, a call was made to carefully monitor its implementation to minimize the risks of harmful interactions with students.  

The panel then turned to Dr Moira Faul, who provided insights into ways institutions can address the global knowledge divide. Dr Faul stressed that our supposed understanding of “what works” in global education does not apply equally worldwide. Policies only work in certain places, under certain conditions, for certain target populations, and for a limited amount of time given constant system changes. For instance, what is relevant in the Global North may not be relevant or applicable in the Global South or among marginalized populations.  

Dr Faul invited the panel and audience to question what is allowed to count as knowledge, as evidence, who is allowed to produce such evidence, what is considered valid and valuable. It is by asking ourselves these questions that we can identify how marginalization persists today. Although territorial decolonization is greatly reduced, coloniality—the ongoing effects of colonization—persists, and continues to shape all aspects of the social order in which we think and act, and produce knowledge. According to Dr Faul, education has been used and continues to be used to legitimize the status quo and existing power relations, within countries and between them. To try and transform this system, governments and institutions must assess and address how coloniality affects their functioning and their ability to provide quality education to their children.  

The panel then turned to a discussion on the role of financing in education led by David Archer of ActionAid. It was emphasized that financing is critical to ensuring the right to education, and the centrality of the Transforming Education Summit Call to Action on Financing Education to further action. It is all the more urgent since the global debt crisis is affecting the ability of countries to provide quality education. It was also stressed that current UN work to establish an international framework for increased taxation of wealthy individuals and companies can help lessen the financial strain experienced by educational institutions globally.  

Youth representative Dylan Yap concluded the event by reiterating that education provides young people with stability during times of crisis and uncertainty. Defending the right to education means defending the ability of young people to remain resilient in the face of dramatic changes.  

 

Panellists: 

  • Yona Nestel, Plan International
  • Katerina Popovic, International Council for Adult Education
  • Nicolas Levrat, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
  • Marcela Browne, CLADE
  • Shinobu Yamaguchi, United Nations University
  • Dylan Yap, youth representative
  • Moira Faul, NORRAG
  • David Archer, ActionAid
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