DUSHANBE, July 8, 2015, Asia-Plus — The Oslo Summit on Education for Development is a chance to reaffirm the human right to education, an opportunity to mobilize political commitment, and “our moment” to galvanize international support for education, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared on July 7 in Norway, where he attended a number of high-level events, according to the UN News Center.
“We are here to secure commitments to deliver on the promises of the sustainable development agenda. Education is essential to its vision of a life of dignity for all,” the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, noting that the Summit is being held just six days before the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Thanking Norway for its support to his Global Education First Initiative, Mr. Ban particularly welcomed the announcement made of the establishment of a commission on financing of global education whose five conveners are Norway, Chile, Indonesia, Malawi, as well as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“The Commission should provide vital insights into the economic case for investment in education – and recommendations on how we can achieve our goals.”
The Secretary-General paid tribute to Indian children”s rights advocate Kailash Satyarthi, and Pakistani activist for female education Malala Yousafzai – both Nobel laureates and attendees at the Summit – saying that “the fight for education demands a fight against child labor and child trafficking” and that “there is no more powerful force against violent extremism than a girl with a book.”
Welcoming this Summit”s focus on girls, on emergencies, on the quality of education, and on investments, he called for a push for a “bold set” of sustainable development goals to be adopted in New York this September.
Speaking at the summit, the UN chief also shared his concerns regarding ongoing crises in the world, such as in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond, which have left tens of millions of children and youth out of school.
