One-hundred and ninety education advocates from 91 countries convened this past week in Johannesburg as part of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) World Assembly. The meeting saw the elections of representatives from the International/Northern Civil Society Organizations (CSO1) and the Developing Country Civil Society Organizations (CSO2) constituencies to serve on the Global Partnership for Education Board of Directors for the next two-year term.

From the International/Northern Civil Society Organizations (CSO1) constituency, David Archer (ActionAid) was re-elected as Board Member, and Tony Baker (RESULTS Educational Fund) was elected as Board Alternate.

From the Developing Country Civil Society Organizations (CSO2) constituency, Cheikh Mbow (Coalition of Organizations in Synergy for the Defense of Public Education, Senegal) was re-elected as Board Member, and Janet Muthoni-Ouko (Elimu Yetu Coalition, Kenya) was elected as Board Alternate.

Messages from Civil Society Representatives of the GPE Board

	David Archer (CSO1 Board Member): "I am excited to be able to serve another term on the GPE board at this pivotal time for education, helping to develop a new GPE strategy to deliver on the emerging post-2015 targets. I am committed to deepening the links between civil society participation at country level in Local Education Groups and our work internationally, bringing grassroots evidence and experiences into the work of the board, its committees, and technical working groups. Civil society has a crucial role to play to build on the transformative pledges made by developing countries at the replenishment last year and to ensure that the Global Partnership for Education remains true to its founding principles as it responds to a changing environment."
	Tony Baker (CSO1 Board Alternate): As one with deep experience with civil society in both the North and the South, I am a strong advocate of both the Global Campaign for Education and the Global Partnership for Education. I believe that the Global Partnership is in a transformational moment in its history and that the strategic planning process currently underway is key to developing it into the institution and partnership that the world needs. I believe in the Global Partnership’s rights-based foundations, inclusive of protecting education as public good, and will work to strengthen the Global Partnership for Education as a leading education financier of the post-2015 development agenda.
	Cheikh Mbow (CSO2 Board Member): As the coordinator of a coalition that brings together various actors around the defense of the right to quality education for all, I have worked to strengthen the credibility of civil society in the development, implementation, and monitoring of education policies as well as the improvement of multi-stakeholder dialogue. A teacher by profession in addition to a program manager, I am confident that I will continue to make positive contributions to the Global Partnership for Education. I am motivated for my second term on the GPE Board and reaffirm my support of a democratic, consultative process across the entire constituency.
	Janet Muthoni-Ouko (CSO2 Board Alternate): I am a governance and education rights expert that has been at the forefront of Kenya’s education reforms since 2005. I have transformed the Elimu Yetu Coalition into a vibrant, credible voice, growing it from a membership of 46 organizations in 2012 to 136 today. I know what it takes to build strong national coalitions and ultimately a strong movement of African coalitions, and it is this knowledge that I seek to bring to the Global Partnership for Education. I look forward to effectively communicating GPE materials and information to attract the understanding and interest of my constituency and thereby increase its positive impact on the Global Partnership for Education.
We are excited to work together, with our constituencies, including that of the Teaching Profession (CSO3) (Marième Sakho Dansokho of Syndicat des Professeurs du Senegal and David Edwards of Education International), and with other representatives on the GPE Board as we continue to strengthen the Global Partnership. We are also pleased to join our civil society colleagues who serve on various GPE Committees—Joseph O’Reilly (Save the Children UK) and Dennis Sinyolo (Education International) on the Strategy and Policy Committee and Imad Sabi (Oxfam Novib) on the Country Grants and Performance Committee—and look forward to close collaboration with them in our own capacities on the GPE Board.

Strategic areas for the next four years

In addition to the elections of the CSO1 and CSO2 constituencies for the GPE board, the GCE World Assembly agreed on strategic focus areas for the next four years of the GCE movement. These include: quality education; equity, non-discrimination, and inclusion in and through education; strong, public systems and governance in the education sector; financing for public education; transparency, accountability, and the role of civil society in the education sector; and education in contexts of conflict or disaster.

The GCE movement also reaffirmed its commitment to the inclusion of children and youth-led organizations in its planning, decision-making, and actions, including a reserved seat on the GCE Board of Directors.

The GCE World Assembly was also attended by a number of experts and luminaries, including Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education Dr. Kishore Singh. The conference was preceded by a Public Forum on the Right to Education and followed by a two-day global learning event on the Civil Society Education Fund.