Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
I thank the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for bringing us together and organising the regional dialogues.
I am particularly grateful to Professor Sachs for his leadership, and his team for lending their expertise and commitment to advancing the Sustainable Development agenda.
We meet at a challenging moment in history.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive disruption across the global economy, exacerbated by exceedingly high levels of vaccine inequality.
At the same time, we are grappling with the grim reality of conflicts, and their devastating impacts on civilians and sustainable development alike. Tensions between global powers are making it difficult — even impossible — to think and act collectively to solve common challenges.
Meanwhile, we just exited the hottest decade on record with no signs of relief on the horizon. One million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction. And natural disasters are multiplying due to climate change.
All of this is taking a particularly heavy toll on the most vulnerable countries and people across the world – imperiling our efforts to keep the promise of the SDGs.
These challenges are not unsolvable and every day in every country, we see examples of what is needed to steer our world towards a breakthrough for people and planet alike.
But to make that breakthrough a reality, we need to take action at speed and at scale, informed by an ability to think, live, and act differently and collectively.
This is why education at all levels is so critical.
Education teaches us values of tolerance, respect for human rights and civic responsibility.
It provides space to share different views, for ideas to be nurtured and to grow.
And it is a prerequisite for social cohesion, the future of democratic societies and lasting peace.
Yet today, education systems across our globe are at a crossroads.
As the world changes at a dizzying pace, education systems face a crisis of equity and relevance.
The World Bank estimates that the share of children in low and middle-income countries that are unable to read a basic text by age 10 could increase from 50% to 70% as a result of pandemic learning losses.
Meanwhile, a seminal report from the International Commission on the Futures of Education last November found that education systems today are struggling to equip learners with the skills, knowledge and values needed to thrive in our rapidly changing world.
That is why the UN Secretary General is convening a Summit on Transforming Education this September as part in follow-up to his vision on Our Common Agenda.
The Summit is calling on leaders from government and stakeholders to renew their commitment to education as a pre-eminent public good.
It is also calling for a rebirthing of education so that education better supports our societies to navigate increasingly uncertain futures – to be more at one with each other and with our planet.
This is essential to achieving the education-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
As university presidents, you have a special role in this endeavour.
Universities are places that nurture incubation, exchange, innovation and interdisciplinary analysis, setting the pathway to change.
From breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and therapeutics — to thought leadership brought to life by high-level experts and decision-makers coming from all sectors — universities are at the intersection of knowledge and action.
They promote sustainable development in various ways.
Today, therefore, I would like to encourage you to actively engage in the Summit and its preparatory processes.
You can actively engage in national consultations process on the Summit over the coming months, as countries work to develop their National Commitments to Transform Education.
You can bring your ideas for transformation to bear across the six thematic action tracks of the Summit.
And you can engage directly in the World Higher Education Conference, that UNESCO is holding next month – a key steppingstone to the Summit in September.
We’re all in this together, so let’s continue this momentum and work in unison to transform education for the benefit of all.
Thank you.