World Leaders Gather in Washington, D.C. To Tackle Issues in Global Education

Photo © World Bank

This Thursday, April 19th, the Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education) will be hosting its annual high-level breakfast event along with two other meetings around the International Monetary Fund (IMF) / World Bank Spring Meetings taking place in Washington, D.C.

Please find below a few major themes that will arise in our discussions during the meetings. GBC-Education’s events serve to bring the business community together with governments, UN agencies, and civil society to accelerate progress in delivering quality education for all the world’s youth.

Innovative Education Financing

As world leaders gather in Washington, D.C. to tackle challenges ranging from poverty to conflict, the Global Business Coalition for Education is convening a group of key stakeholders to change the conversation around education financing for global education.

With 264 million children out of school, it’s critical for the international community to step up and confront the difficulties facing children and youth throughout the world. Various actors – including business – have already been taking steps to overcome barriers to education through current funding mechanisms, including a $15 million commitment from the private sector announced during the Global Partnership for Education (GPE’s) Financing Conference in Dakar, Senegal in early February this year.

Yet, today’s models of financing are not meeting the targets set forth by the UN in its Global Goals for Sustainable Development outlined in the 2030 Agenda, requiring a new way of thinking about funding education. Not only will panelists and speakers at our annual breakfast event offer insight into how to improve and strengthen current models, but participants will have the opportunity to start a conversation around how we can innovate through partnerships with both established and emerging actors.

New Ways to Support Education in Emergencies

The Global Business Coalition for Education will be making a major announcement around its work in education in emergencies this Thursday. In 2016, GBC-Education started its work on its Rapid Education Action (REACT) initiative, a fresh approach toward connecting business and education actors throughout the world.

The new REACT platform – a project supported by GBC-Education members LexisNexis Risk Solutions and RELX Group – will be launched at the breakfast event, providing an accessible tool for the business community to mobilize their talents and resources in order to provide education to children and youth caught in conflict.

Closing the Youth Skills Gap

During the Spring Meetings, GBC-Education’s Youth Skills and Innovation Commission will convene to discuss updates on research and recommendations for closing the skills and talent gap forming among today’s youth. The Commission – as part of the Youth Skills and Innovative Initiative – was launched last fall to develop policies to tackle current issues in youth educational opportunity and development.

To learn more about the IMF / World Bank Spring Meetings, follow the link here.

In addition, if you would like to learn more about the events that GBC-Education is holding around the meetings, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] for further information.