PHOTO: Min. Sonii At the 2022 Pre-Summit on “Transforming Education Summit” At UNESCO.
PARIS, France-Liberia’s Education Minister, Prof. D. Ansu Sonii has re-emphasized that the government of Liberia remains committed to the education 2030 agenda.
He said Liberia also sees this moment as a necessary intervention to re-imagine strategies and plans for a better transformation of Liberia’s educational system towards improved access to quality for all.
Minister Sonii said Liberia is currently carrying out a national consultation process that focuses on the country’s vision and the actualization of re-imagining education. The preliminary areas of discussion emerging from sub-sessions will help informed the ongoing consultations, and the government’s commitment to re-imagining and transforming education beyond the pandemic period.
According to a dispatch from UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, Minister said Liberia’s human development outcomes are comparatively low in the world ranking thus transforming education for the country is critical.
Prof. Sonii was speaking at the 3-days Transforming Education Pre‐Summit organized in Paris on 28‐30 June 2022. A Global Engagement Day was held on 28 June which included technical meetings on Thematic Action Tracks and engagements with key stakeholders. The High‐level segment consisting of Ministerial and Stakeholder engagement will took place from 29‐30 June 2022.
During the Ministerial roundtable held on June 29 in Paris, the Liberian Education Minister, used the occasion to make a passionate call for global partnership and support for education specially to developing countries who are mostly affected by the impact of COVID on educational gains. He warned that, “beyond COVID, one of the greatest treats that the world faces is illiteracy”- pleading for global financing for education to tackle illiteracy across the world”
The overall objective of the Pre‐Summit is to harness the evolving discussions on transforming education, elaborate initial content and establish a shared vision and suggested actions for the Summit, and generate greater momentum in the lead up to September. More specifically, the Pre‐Summit aims to provide an inclusive and open forum.
Minister Sonii said the thematic focus of the consultations includes the increasing phenomenon of out of school children, early childhood education, disability and inclusion, female participation and transition, decentralization, female participation in the education workforce, WASH, TVET, teachers’ supply, and wellbeing, innovation, and leadership, curriculum, digital access, and financing.
The Summit is being prepared through a focused, intensive, and inclusive preparatory process that is built from the ground up, responds to member state priorities and ensures the meaningful engagement of young people and the full set of education stakeholders.
The Summit is being advanced across three intersecting and reinforcing workstreams, building on existing efforts: National consultations; Thematic Action Tracks; and Public engagement and mobilization.
The Summit will be an integral part and critical milestone in the roadmap of the renewed Global Education Cooperation Mechanism (GCM) to accelerate progress towards SDG 4. Follow‐up actions to the Summit will be taken forward by the SDG 4 High‐Level Steering Committee (HLSC), in line with its mandated role to lead the coordination and monitoring of SDG 4 at the global level.
The Summit will draw on the findings emerging from the review of implementation of SDG4 at the 2022 High‐Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development of the UN Economic and Social Council.