UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, implores Commonwealth governments to deliver education systems that are geared to the challenges of our time, and outlines the major educational priorities that need to be addressed to build peace, eradicate poverty and drive sustainable development.
“As Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland said on the first ever UN International Education Day in January 2019, now is the time for ‘radical rethinking and innovation‘ in education.”
Education is the engine of the international development agenda, driving progress towards more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous societies. It has a transformative power to reduce poverty and promote active citizenship. With a focus on equity, quality and inclusion at all levels of education through a lifelong learning perspective, the UN’s Agenda 2030 recognises that without education, there will be no freedom, nor sustainable development.
The rate at which the world is changing is unprecedented. The challenges of the technological revolution and of adapting to rapid climate change, in particular, are affecting the ways in which we work, learn, teach and live together. This could be a remarkable opportunity to overhaul the outdated models of education and training systems to adapt to our new reality, and ensure that children, youth and adults are equipped with the knowledge and skills they will need throughout their lives…
Audrey Azoulay
Director-General, UNESCO
