Education’s largest forum makes case for green education, digitalisation in schools

The 2023 Education World Forum, the largest gathering of education and skills ministers from around the world, is putting the spotlight on two initiatives aimed at transforming education systems and accelerating the implementation of climate change education. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, is spearheading the efforts to green education and digitally transform education systems.

On May 10, a special session will be hosted by UNESCO assistant director-general for Education Stefania Giannini and the United Kingdom’s minister for School and College Systems, Baroness Barran MBE, to highlight the role of education in addressing the climate crisis and sustainable challenges.

At the centre of the discussions is the Greening Education Partnership, a global initiative launched to provide coordinated action and equip learners of all ages with the skills and knowledge needed to cope with climate change and promote sustainable development.

The Greening Education Partnership is an open and inclusive community of practice of member states, organisations and institutions for promoting, implementing and enabling getting every learner climate-ready. To date, over 600 organisations and 52 member states have joined the partnership with strong commitment to green education systems.

Recent UNESCO findings show that around half of the 100 countries reviewed had no mention of climate change in their national curriculum. The session provides an opportunity to mobilise political commitment among ministers present at the Education World Forum 2023 to promote the role of education in tackling climate change.

Another side-event on May 10 focused on the new Digital Transformation Collaborative, which was recently formed by some 30 members of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition with on-the-ground digital technology resources and expertise, including Google, Microsoft and others. The aim is to move towards coordinated partnerships that facilitate long-term and ever-evolving digital transformations that harness the power of digital learning to close the educational divides through cooperative actions and investments.

The Collaborative is centred on mobilizing resources for country-level actions and impact and leverages the work developed through the Gateways to Public Digital Learning, a global, multi-partner initiative to support countries in securing equitable access to digital learning resources.

The Education World Forum 2023 provides a unique platform to mobilise political commitment and engage key education stakeholders from around the world.