Announcement made at U.N. event in New York highlighting the importance of education for global development
New York City, September 24, 2014 – The Republic of Korea today joined the Global Partnership for Education as a donor partner and announced its first financial commitment.
“Offering educational help in conflict zones or vulnerable countries is a must if children are to have hopes and dreams,” said President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea. “Korea plans to contribute US$ 5 million to the Global Partnership for Education to support such causes,” she added.
“We are delighted that Korea has joined the Global Partnership for Education,” said Alice Albright, Chief-Executive-Officer of the Global Partnership for Education. “Korea’s incredible success over the past five decades is largely the result of prioritizing and investing in education. Today, Korea joins the Global Partnership to help improve education in some of the poorest countries around the world, many of them torn by conflict,” Albright added.
The announcement was made by President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea at a high-level event of the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. At the event, world leaders pledged their political and financial commitment for quality education and urged for action to give every child and youth an equal chance to reach their full potential
The UN Secretary-General launched GEFI in September 2012 to accelerate progress towards the Education for All goals and the education-related Millennium Development Goals. With the 2015 deadline for these goals approaching, this event is an important opportunity for world leaders and education champions to advocate for their ambitious vision for quality education.
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The Global Partnership for Education is made up of nearly 60 developing country governments, as well as donor governments, civil society/non-governmental organizations, teacher organizations, international organizations, and the private sector and foundations, whose joint mission is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to provide a good quality education to children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable. The Global Partnership for Education has allocated US$3.9 billion over the past decade to support education reforms in some of the world's poorest countries.