Highlights from the campaign to #FundEducation
With the GPE Financing Conference just two days away, we're looking back at the amazing journey we traveled together with our partners to get here. Over the past 10 months, the engagement and support has been tremendous, as this long blog shows. We are very grateful to all partners, because this is how GPE makes a difference in the lives of children around the world.
January 31, 2018 by Livia Barton, Global Partnership for Education
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31 minutes read

With the GPE Financing Conference just two days away, we're looking back at the amazing journey we traveled together with our partners to get here. Over the past 10 months, the engagement and support has been tremendous, as this long blog shows. We are very grateful to all partners, because this is how GPE makes a difference in the lives of children around the world.

Case for Investment kick-off

In April 2017, we launched the new funding drive for education, announcing bold new targets for donor governments, developing country partners and the private sector to meet our ambitious goal of US$2 billion a year by 2020 to support education for 870 million children.  

Campaign trail begins in Denmark

OXFAM and Global Campaign for education organized an event in Copenhagen with Ulla Tornaes, Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, calling attention to importance of education for our shared future.

Belgium makes first pledge

Less than a month after launching the campaign we had our first pledge: at an EducAid event in Brussels on May 18, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Alexander De Croo, announced a commitment of €26 million for 2017-2020.

Momentum builds in the UK and Italy

Later that month, GPE Chair Julia Gillard spoke at the London School of Economics about the global learning crisis and called for "immediate and radical action" to invest more in education for the lives of millions of children and young people.

Julia Gillard also met with the Pope in May to appeal to the Vatican to continue to champion education ahead of the GPE Replenishment.

Rihanna joins the campaign to #FundEducation

A new video from Rihanna (nearly 1.7 million views) highlighted her trip to Malawi with Julia Gillard, GPE Board Chair, and Hugh Evans, Global Citizen CEO. Guided by the Minister of Education. Science, and Technology, Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano (a former teacher himself), Rihanna came face to face with the challenges that a country like Malawi faces to educate all of its children.

Later that month, Rihanna tweeted to G20 leaders, calling on them to prioritize funding for global education when they met in Hamburg, Germany and to support GPE's replenishment. She then took one step further, tweeting the leaders of France, Argentina and Canada, plus Steffan Siebert, the spokesperson for Germany's Chancelor Angela Merkel. And they responded. President Macron even invited her to Paris.

GPE goes to Canada

Following the GPE Board meeting in Ottawa, Canada, GPE and Global Citizen co-hosted a night of music and education advocacy. It featured discussions with Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, Julia Gillard, GPE CEO Alice Albright, Global Citizen Head of Policy and Advocacy Mick Sheldrick, and Nesmy Manigat, Advisor in education at the office of the Prime Minister of Haiti. It also had presentations by a group of global youth advocates and an acoustic performance by singer Sam Roberts.

Civil society rallies G20 leaders

Civil society partners mobilized around the G20 to advocate for increasing funding for education. And it worked.

Switzerland increases contribution to GPE

The Federal Council of Switzerland announced an increase in funding and declared that education is a priority theme of Switzerland's development policy and that GPE is a priority investment.

Norway rises to the challenge

Norway released a new report in August revealing the incredible impact the scaling up of Norwegian support to education – including doubling funding to GPE.

Visit to Australia

Alice Albright met with partners in Australia and spoke at the Australian National University about the challenges in global education and how the Global Partnership for Education is adapting and innovating to respond.

US advocates get a victory with READ Act

The READ Act, legislation that will help millions of vulnerable children and youth around the world access quality education, was signed into law in September 2017. The READ Act calls for U.S. engagement with key partner countries, other donors, civil society, the private sector, and multilateral global education initiatives, such as the Global Partnership for Education, to promote sustainable, quality basic education.

Senegal and France announce they will host GPE Financing Conference

Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Emmanuel Macron of France announced they will co-host the Global Partnership for Education Financing Conference to take place on February 2, 2018 in Dakar, Senegal.

Shaping the future at the UN General Assembly

On September 20 leaders from around the world came together in the name of education at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Alice Albright goes to Ireland

Alice Albright met Irish Minister of State for Overseas Aid Ciarán Cannon to discuss ways to boost support for education in developing countries. She urged Ireland to step up its commitment as part of GPE's global bid to prevent a crisis of millions of young people being locked out of job opportunities due to lack of basic quality education.

World Teachers' Day

GPE and partners took to social media to thank teachers for all their work to #ShapeTheFuture of children and young people.

Day of the Girl

In October 2017, GPE worked with Plan International as part of their #GirlsTakeover and hosted youth advocate Aissata for an Instagram Stories takeover.

Julia Gillard in Norway

Julia Gillard met with Prime Minister Erna Solberg and other partners during a visit to Norway.

Partners launch the Compact on Domestic Financing for Education

Three months out from the Financing Conference, partners mobilized to advocate for commitments ahead of the financing conference, including launching the Compact on Domestic Financing of Education to ask for developing country governments to meet their commitments on education.

Universal Children's Day

On that day, children and youth sent messages and letters to world leaders calling on them to #FundEducation to #ShapeTheFuture. The UNSG Envoy on Youth also sent a moving message.

U.K. Parliament endorses GPE

The United Kingdom's Parliament's International Development Committee (IDC) released a report, DfID's work on education: Leaving no one behind, recommending that DfID meets GPE's replenishment request of US$500 million for 2018 to 2020. Launching the report at Woodside High School in London, Committee Chair Stephen Twigg, MP, said that countries cannot progress out of poverty without education. Public health, skilled workforces, economic prosperity, civil society – all benefit from sustained investment in global education.

Julia Gillard in Asia

At the second World Philanthropy Forum held in Beijing on November 29, GPE Board Chair Julia Gillard noted that the world has much to learn from the progress achieved by China in the education sector, an experience could be helpful to developing countries around the world. She also met with Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Tokyo.

G7 Accountability Report on Education and European Commission Announcement

The G7 released an accountability report outlining the crucial role education can play in the sustainable development agenda and praising the work of GPE noting the replenishment provides "an important opportunity for the global community to recommit to the promise of education and unleash the potential and talent of the next learning generation."

European Commission steps up funding and other leaders join call to action

Timed to coincide with the GPE Board of Directors' meeting taking place in Paris this week, leaders of organizations around the world are demanding and taking action as part of the campaign to #FundEducation and #ShapeTheFuture.  Neven Mimica, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development announced an additional EUR100 million to GPE ahead of the replenishment, and called on others to follow their lead. This is a testament to the importance that EU countries place on education as a tool to fight poverty, economic disempowerment and conflict. Leaders of CSOs and other partners also stepped up in December to share their stories about why they believe in funding education.

Partners rally in Germany

In Berlin, Germany, an event was organized by Global Citizen in cooperation with GCE, Oxfam, CBM, Save the Children, Plan UNICEF and ONE to support GPE's replenishment. Hosted by Ms. Claudia Roth, Vice President of the Bundestag, the event was attended by about 100 guests from parliament, ministries and civil society including Eurovision winner Lena Meyer-Landrut.

Global ambassadors and champions add their voices

Malala, the Pope, Bono, Bill Gates, France, Gordon Brown and Filippo Grandi all send words of encouragement and encourage leaders to take action

Canada doubles its contribution to GPE

Just one week before the Financing Conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Canada would be doubling its contribution to GPE.

African Union Summit

The Global Partnership for Education, ONE and the African Union partner on first Heads of State dialogue on education financing in Africa.

Julia Gillard meets Angela Merkel

On her final trip before the Financing Conference, GPE Board Chair met German Chancellor Angela Merkel to stress why Germany's continued leadership on global education will be key if we want to shape a more prosperous and secure future for all.

Welcome to Dakar

The time has come to #FundEducation. A huge thank you to all partners who have joined the campaign to shape a better future for 870 million children.

Watch live on Feb 2 at http://replenishment.globalpartnership.org as it all unfolds.

Download the social packet here

Advocacy and accountability, Financing, SDG 4

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