September marks an important moment in global progress towards sustainable development. UN Member States will convene at the Summit of the Future to reaffirm commitments to multilateralism and recommit to making progress towards the SDGs. Education has been, and will continue to be, a vital part of our global development agenda. To move the world towards achieving the SDGs and a sustainable future for all, we must ramp up educational efforts and mobilize effective actions that recenter our world on principles of care for people and the planet.
Mission 4.7 will host a Global Partnership Forum alongside the Summit of the Future to share learning, practice, and offer a space for enhanced collaboration in education. The Partnership Forum will focus on the power of Global Collectives. Mission 4.7 partners, or collectives, are organizations and thought leaders who have helped to find ways to make meaning out of SDG Target 4.7 in practical ways. The theme for the event is Global Connection, Appreciation and Action.
There have been important movements in education over the past 5 years, powered by collectives, that display the potential for education to transform global development. UNESCO’s engagement at COP26 in Glasgow (Nov 2021) was the first time the Greening of Education came outside its education shell and entered mainstream climate dialogue at the Conference of Parties. For the first time, Ministers of Education and Environmental Ministers came forward to sign a combined Ministerial letter to join a coalition. This was further strengthened by UNESCO’s launch of the Greening Education Partnership at the UN Transforming Education Summit (TES) in New York (September 2022). The Greening Education Partners, and the RewirED Conference, also took center stage at COP28 in Dubai. More recently, the UNESCO GEM Report: Education and climate change argues that “The education paradigm cannot rely solely on knowledge transfer but needs to focus on social and emotional, and action-oriented learning. The power of the collectives includes the power of teachers, youth, policymakers, and researchers. Many stakeholders are now engaged in various dimensions of Education for Sustainable Development, including Climate Education, Environmental Education, Green Education, and Global Citizenship Education. Many countries have committed to Target 4.7 in their policies and curricular practices. However, many challenges remain in implementation.
This Partnership Forum will help to connect the dots and build upon individual momentum at a global level. The forum will help to make connections, appreciate the collectives, and take action by joining various movements to strengthen our collective mission. Participants will share practical solutions and grassroots movements and share collaboratively in a conversational format.
Some points for reflection include:
What are some of the collectives in global education at the Higher Education level working on regarding green curriculum, systems thinking approaches, and institutional and infrastructural greening?
What are teacher collectives that teachers would like to join and get inspiration from? What are some opportunities for global teacher professional development?
Collectives are needed for curriculum development k-12 and beyond? Who is in the space, and what are they creating?
NGOs are superstars! Highlights of some amazing programs that connect the hardest to reach.
Non-formal and informal educators need to share the limelight to share strategies.