What young people want for education at the UN General Assembly

Ahead of the UN General Assembly, four GPE youth leaders reflects on what they see as priorities, especially for global education, that participants should keep in mind and that they are raising this week during their engagements.

September 19, 2023 by GPE Secretariat

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From left to right: Oleksii Druz, Ngimou Victorine Nchokuno, Nir Shrestha and Temilade Salami.

We interviewed four GPE youth leaders ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders and development actors in New York this week for the UN General Assembly. We asked them what they see as priorities, especially for global education, that UNGA participants should keep in mind and that they are raising this week during their engagements.

Oleksii Druz, Ukraine

Forced to flee to Romania as a result of the war in Ukraine, Oleksii works with the National Youth Foundation in Romania. He serves as youth project coordinator to identify Ukrainian youth in local communities and design and deliver projects that meet their needs with a main focus on education.

Ngimou Nchokuno, Cameroon

Founder of a school club called Development Fighters, coached by Women for a Change, Cameroon in 2014, she is part of many movements, such as Nala Feminist Collective. She loves sports as a means to promote quality education.

Nir Shrestha, Nepal

An inclusive development enthusiast and a youth with disability rights campaigner, Nir has been advocating for disability rights, particularly inclusive and quality education for children with disabilities, and has worked as a consultant on several inclusive education projects.

Temilade Salami, Nigeria

Founder and executive director of EcoWarriors, she has spent the past five years leading a group of over 200 young environmentalists across 26 African countries. She also launched the Climate Education Leaders Fellowship in Africa. She is a member of the UNESCO SDG4Youth network.

What are the challenges and priorities of young people from your perspective? How do these affect achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?

“A big problem for us is the education of children and young people in conflict situations. Many Ukrainian youth have been dispersed to different countries, but we need to continue to prioritize education in Ukraine and in host countries through formal and non-formal education. The inclusion of refugees in education systems is not well established and poses huge barriers to those who need it. In addition, for children and youth left behind in conflict-affected countries, educational opportunities are also quite limited, usually of lower quality and higher cost. This situation directly affects Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

Oleksii

“With the prevalence of gender discrimination social norms and harmful practices, girls become exposed to the possibility of poor education, child marriage, teenage pregnancy, domestic work, sexual abuse, exploitation and violence. Many of these manifestations will not change unless girls are valued more. This situation has a direct effect on Sustainable Development Goal 5 on “gender equality and other global goals, as all of them are interconnected.”

Ngimou

“Obtaining an inclusive and skill-based, quality education is the primary challenge that young people, in all their diversity, are currently facing. The digital divide, the climate crisis, conflicts and political instability, and poor governance systems, especially in lower-income countries, have further compounded the challenges for young people in their pursuit of a brighter future. While the government of Nepal has established provisions to ensure inclusive education for children of all abilities, the lack of infrastructure, trained human resources, and a limited budget have hindered the implementation of appropriate interventions. These challenges have had a direct impact on the achievement of SDG 4. Without an appropriate learning environment, children with disabilities are unable to access inclusive and quality education.”

Nir

“The topic of climate education has not received much attention in the climate change space, despite the fact that education is vital for advancing climate action. As a result, young people who could play a crucial role in engineering revolutionary climate solutions have not yet had access to climate-focused schooling. Instead, they face challenges like knowledge and skill gaps and inaccessible climate education finance. Young people who receive climate education are better equipped with the necessary information, values and change-making abilities to comprehend and address the effects of climate change. Therefore, climate education must be drastically scaled to meet up with the needs of our world.”

Temilade

What actions are you and other youth leaders taking to tackle these challenges?

“I try to work as much as possible on non-formal and inclusive education for refugees in our host country, Romania, by developing youth centers to provide non-formal education and promote human rights. Much of the work is being done in partnership with human rights organizations to influence the government to improve schools and universities for children and youth from conflict-affected countries.”

Oleksii

“I have been a peer educator for the gShe program for 3 years where I have organized and hosted several campaigns to make education gender-sensitive and included in the curriculum, as it will better shape the upcoming generation. I also talk with women and young mothers to send their children to school. The aim of all these activities is to influence the government to adopt policies that will reduce or eradicate gender discrimination in my country.”

Ngimou

“To ensure inclusive and quality education for children with disabilities, I have been actively involved in raising awareness around me: I have taken the lead in numerous advocacy initiatives with local, provincial, and federal government agencies, holding them accountable for their responsibilities. I have also amplified the voices of children and young individuals with disabilities on both national and international platforms. As a trainer and facilitator, I conducted training and sensitization sessions on inclusive education for government and non-government representatives. Additionally, I've taken on the role of a digital accessibility tester and activist, providing technical guidance to ensure digital accessibility across various platforms, including websites, social media and mobile applications.”

Nir

“For the past 5 years, I have continued to make sustained local and global impact through my organization, Ecochampions. Through the Climate Education Leaders Fellowship, we have been able to train 70 informed, knowledgeable and prepared Climate Leaders in Africa. Through tailor-made classroom learning and after-school activities, our program has reached more than 3,000 children who have been taught about environmental sustainability. Globally, I have continually pushed for the integration of climate education into school curricula.”

Temilade

What can world leaders, the private sector or other key stakeholders do to address these priorities?

“World leaders should support in every possible way (financially and with their influence) the youth sector, non-governmental organizations, as well as people and initiatives working to make education for all a reality. Help local governments understand the need to integrate refugees into the educational process, and not just perceive them as a labor force. During the UN SDG Summit, I urge world leaders to listen to us.”

Oleksii

“World leaders and other stakeholders can ensure that girls have access to education, give women platforms to be empowered and achieve economic success, end violence and sexual assault against women, ensure girls and women have access to menstrual health facilities and end child marriage.”

Ngimou

“It is important that world leaders recognize that the expense of exclusion far surpasses that of inclusion. They must grasp this fact. Consequently, investing in accessibility and reasonable accommodations becomes paramount to secure equitable and meaningful participation for all. Moreover, leaders must allocate the necessary budget for studies related to disabilities.”

Nir

“There is no climate education without climate finance. World leaders must prioritize financing of climate education. There needs to be an increase in budgetary allocation to prioritize education that empowers young people to take action. The private sector has a huge responsibility to bolster the effort of governments by financing projects and programs that are climate education focused. They should support initiatives or organizations who are working to scale climate education, especially in vulnerable communities. Our educational systems need to be climate ready, especially for regions that are most affected by the climate crisis. Our curricula need a total review to embed the necessary green skills and climate knowledge we need to live in a changing world. We also need better synergy between relevant stakeholders to continue to push for climate education collaboratively.”

Temilade

Focus areas: SDG 4, Youth

September 20, 2023 by Yacine

Bonjour aux intervenants .Je vous encourage.

September 20, 2023 by INNOVATION AUX JEUNES POUR LE DROIT HUMANITAIRE ET LE DEVELO

Merci et courage , nous voulons vous envoyer un projet sur l'éducation de qualité

September 20, 2023 by Matthieu Matayi Tshipamba

Great message 👏

February 20, 2024 by Pauline Kisanga

I am learning a lot from GPE. Thank you for sharing important lessons. Education for the 21st century must be multi-dimensional and skills-based. Subjects around health and nutrition and especially healthy eating for children and youth, climate change adaptation, gender rights and good agricultural practices are subjects that must be integrated into school curriculum if we want a sustainable world. At COUNSENUTH, (a local NGO), using participatory approaches and working within formal school curricula, has been able to integrate the following subjects: life skills, gender rights, healthy eating, climate change adaptation with sustainable agricultural practices into 52 Primary and 23 Secondary Schools in Tanzania, as part of extra-curricula activities and using school clubs and have achieved significant successes, thanks to the support from Mastercard Foundation and Irish Aid, whom we thank sincerely for contributing to the improvement of education in Tanzania.

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Oleksii Druz, Ukraine

Ngimou Nchokuno, Cameroon

Nir Shrestha, Nepal

Temilade Salami, Nigeria

What are the challenges and priorities of young people from your perspective? How do these affect achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?

What actions are you and other youth leaders taking to tackle these challenges?

What can world leaders, the private sector or other key stakeholders do to address these priorities?

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