Education First is an initiative developed by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and involving actors from across – and beyond – the education sector. This five-year initiative aims to prioritise education through to and after the 2015 deadline.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the initiative officially on 26 September 2012, during the UN General Assembly.
Education First has 3 main priorities:
- Putting every child in school: this priority looks at barriers to achieving universal basic education and possible ways to tackle them.
- Improving the quality of learning: this considers some of the fundamental issues on quality, including the substantial need for more and better trained teachers.
- Fostering global citizenship: this priority considers the huge role education has in achieving more just, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies.
A High Level Steering Group, on which EI President Susan Hopgood sits, drives the initiative, with working groups focused on specific issues. Among the other members of this High Level Steering Group are: Camilla Croso, Global Campaign for Education President, Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Jim Kim, World Bank President, and Carol Bellamy, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education.
- Full information on the initiative is available here: www.globaleducationfirst.org
- Joining them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UNeducationFirst
- Following them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UNedufirst
- Watching the action on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/globaleducationfirst/