UNESCO launches report to reimagine education by 2050

DUBAI — Last week the world celebrated the fourth International Day of Education, under the theme “Changing Course, Transforming Education.” This theme mirrors the recently published United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) flagship report, titled ‘Reimagining Our Futures Together: A new social contract for education’ which seeks to rethink education in a new world of increasing complexity and uncertainty.

The flagship report was prepared by UNESCO’s International Commission on the Futures of Education, whose mandate is to reexamine and reimagine how knowledge and learning can contribute to the global common good, considering ongoing and emerging trends such as geopolitical shifts, climate change, shifting demographics, and the exponential pace of scientific and technological innovation.

Appointed by UNESCO’s Director-General in 2019, the Commission comprises global thought and action leaders from diverse backgrounds and sectors, including President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Sahle-Work Zewde; Former President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga; CEO of Crescent Enterprises Badr Jafar; Director of Carnegie Middle East Center Maha Yahya; amongst other ministers and organization heads.

President Zewde said, “One of the key messages our Commission heard from all the consultations is that education is not only essential for individuals to live dignified and meaningful lives; it is also crucial for shaping our shared futures.”

“This is why thinking about education as a form of shared well-being is a key idea running through the report. Our education systems need to better emphasize our interconnectedness, foster critical thinking, civic engagement and a consciousness of our shared humanity and planet,” she added.

Two years in the making, the report stresses the need for education systems that highlight cooperation and solidarity, as well as champion ecological, intercultural, and interdisciplinary learning.

It also calls for teachers to become further recognized as key figures in social and educational transformation, and for schools to be guarded as places that uphold equity, inclusion, cooperation, and sustainability. The report also affirms that the right to education needs to be broadened to be lifelong and encompass the right to digital connectivity.

Commission member from the UAE, Jafar, remarked, “The report addresses several fundamental principles that our children’s future depends on — most notably, resilience and inclusion. Fostering resilience in young people, as they navigate uncertain but hugely promising futures, is a fundamental objective of our education systems.

“We must also relentlessly champion diversity and inclusion at every juncture if we ever hope to achieve universal rights to education. These guiding principles are of particular importance as we strive to empower future generations to embrace their vital roles as changemakers in our world armed with a deep sense of purpose, serving humanity and all our natural systems.”

Some key outcomes of the report were recently highlighted in the RewirEd Summit in Expo2020 Dubai, led by Dubai Cares in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and which emphasized three pressing areas in education globally: youth, skills, and the future of work; innovation in education, and education financing. — SG