The Global Partnership for Education Board of Directors met in Berlin on June 4-6, 2024.
The meeting was opened by Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development; the Board expressed thanks to the German government for hosting this convening of GPE’s Board of Directors. Germany is a founding member of GPE and plays an instrumental role in supporting and shaping the partnership.
GPE welcomed Jordan and Lebanon as new members of the partnership, bringing the number of GPE partner countries to 90. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined the partnership by formalizing their US$38 million contribution to transform education in lower-income countries and prepare young generations for 21st century jobs. GPE also welcomed Education Cannot Wait (ECW) to the partnership as a member of the multilateral agency 2 constituency and acknowledged the GPE youth leaders who attended the meeting.
Considering the improvement in the financial position of the GPE Fund, the Board agreed to reallocate US$45.4 million of GPE funds to the Girls’ Education Accelerator (GEA), to increase the funds available for the Multiplier by a further $42 million and confirmed the availability of $13 million to allocate towards the GPE Technical Assistance Initiatives designed to tap into the vast expertise of the partnership and help reinforce countries' capacity for system transformation.
Despite the upward trend in disbursements, the FY25 operating expenses budget and surge budgets approved by the Board reflected the need for the Secretariat to continue to work in a constrained financial environment. In light of this, the Board approved the FY25-27 Secretariat staffing plan and recommended to explore options that would bring GPE closer to partner countries, improve efficiency, and reduce GPE's carbon footprint. These include increasing the number of staff located in Paris, creating a hub in East Africa, and eventually establishing a presence in Asia, to better serve partner countries.
After rich discussions that will inform the next strategic plan and financing and funding framework, the Board endorsed the proposed approach for GPE 2030 based on the evidence that GPE 2025 is a step in the right direction. Building on the success of the Multiplier, the Board also agreed to scale up the use of GPE grant resources to leverage additional finance for education and requested to further explore the range of instruments that may be introduced for the 2026-2030 financing period.
Following its December 2023 decision to explore fundraising approaches and operational flexibilities in the context of developing its next strategic plan and approach to financing and funding, the Board also recommended to further explore options for the creation of a non-profit legal entity that would be complementary to the GPE Fund and would bolster GPE’s fundraising ability.
On the last day of the meeting, the Board held two thematic sessions dedicated to addressing school-related gender-based violence and measuring children’s learning. Given the challenges that many partner countries face in terms of data on children’s learning, the Board considered what the partnership can do to support progress. The meeting concluded with the announcement of the appointment of Christine Hogan as GPE’s Vice Chair. Her appointment will start on September 15, 2024. The Board thanked Susan Liautaud for her service as GPE Vice Chair for the past three years.
The next meeting of the Board of Directors will take place in Dubai, UAE, on December 4-5, 2024.