Sierra Leone's President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, who doubles as Co-Chair of the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee, urges governments that "there is the real risk of a generational catastrophe if we do not enkindle the necessary political will and scale up investments in education." He was speaking at the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee Meeting on the margins of the Transforming Education Pre-Summit in Paris.
"We must generate the necessary political will and muster a committed global movement to make the desired change happen," he said, calling on his fellow Presidents.
President Bio maintained that the meeting provided a valuable opportunity to respond to the call for stronger leadership, greater political will, and bolder action in favor of education and lifelong learning.
The Sierra Leone President and Co-Chair recognized that education is the most powerful investment for a sustainable future. He also spoke about the urgency of the global learning crisis and the need to transform education systems. He continued: "We, therefore, urge the need for a genuine shift in mindsets towards the HLSC’s Call for Action for the Transforming Education Summit."
President Bio described the draught message by the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee as a message of warning and hope, adding: "a message of warning, because the cost of inaction is intolerable; a message of hope, because the opportunities for genuine transformation are considerable."
As a strong believer in quality education, especially at an early stage, the President emphasized that education provided the essential pillars for building peaceful, democratic, and inclusive societies where there was respect for human rights, a healthy planet, and a sustainable future for humanity.
The President called on members of the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee that they have a collective responsibility to seize the momentum created by the UN Secretary General’s Summit to make the case for transformation in education, and as representatives of their respective regions and constituencies, they must mobilize their countries and all key stakeholders.
All actors must urgently pursue both inclusive and equitable education and lifelong learning for all. This is the very essence of the HLSC’s Call for Action. We must therefore strategically use that as a wake-up call, "President Bio stated.
In her statement, the Co-Chair of the SDG4 HLSC, Madam Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said looking beyond the crisis of the COVID, there were other challenges before the COVID-19 and they were still prevailing which had affected the world and the educational sector, especially the technological disruption and climate change.
She added that to guide their efforts they needed to look at the coordinated work done by UNESCO on the future of education, which offered a solid and shared foundation for global education.
Audrey Azoulay further stated that the role of the Committee was essential as it mobilized leaders of the world to defend and define their nations' priorities and to better align the financing of these priorities.
Sierra Leone's President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio
Comments