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Emphasizing the importance of collective efforts in shaping the landscape of education statistics - 2024 Conference on education data and statistics.

The UNESCO Conference on Education Data and Statistics is the first international event dedicated to establishing a collaborative platform for ongoing dialogue and mutual learning among education statisticians. This inaugural conference marks a significant milestone as the first-ever regular, open forum in the field of education statistics, where we delve into pressing questions regarding the present and future of internationally comparable data. Organized by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), in collaboration with UNESCO's Education Sector and the Global Education Monitoring Report, this Conference aims to reaffirm the vital role of Member States as primary agents for coordinating education data and statistics. The conference also seeks to foster international statistical cooperation, emphasizing the importance of collective efforts in shaping the landscape of education statistics.

09:15 – 09:45 Opening of the Conference

09:45 – 10:30 Professor James Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics & the Director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development, University of Chicago Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics (2000)

10:30 – 11:30 High level panel

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Pre-conference on Education Data and Statistics.

Participate to the Pre-conference on Education Data and Statistics

6 February 2024 - 10:00 am - 6 February 2024 - 5:30 pm Location: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France Rooms :Room XI, Room XII, Room VI, Room VII Type : Cat IV – International Congress

Following by the UNESCO Conference on Education Data and Statistics. 7-9 February 2024.

Conferencia de la UNESCO sobre Datos y Estadísticas de Educación.

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Statement of the UNESCO Director-General on International Day of Education 2024; January 24th.

Hatred starts with words: words that discriminate, divide and dehumanize; words that undermine democracy, spread ignorance, instil fear, and can even precede the worst of crimes. When these words go unchecked – when gender-based, racist, antisemitic and xenophobic hate speech is allowed to proliferate – they pose an existential threat to human rights, democracy and peace.In recent years, hate speech and online falsehoods have gained ground with the expansion of social media. Last year, a study conducted in 16 countries reported that 67% of Internet users had encountered online hate speech. Some 85% of respondents expressed concern about the impact and influence of disinformation on their fellow citizens. However, we are not powerless in the face of disinformation and hate speech. We have education – to fight hatred at its roots, develop critical thinking, and build the defences of peace in the minds of women and men, in line with UNESCO’s Constitution. This year, the International Day of Education on 24 January is dedicated to the crucial role of teaching and learning in promoting lasting peace – and the ways in which education must adapt in order to address current global challenges.The UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development adopted by our 194 Member States in November 2023, is a major milestone in this regard. This global standard-setting instrument, the only one of its kind, is a roadmap for re-thinking and re-designing education systems to preparelearners to collectively shape more just, sustainable, healthy and peaceful futures for all. UNESCO looks forward to supporting education reforms based on this Recommendation across the world.In 2023, UNESCO also published the guide “Addressing hate speech through education” to help decision-makers strengthen their public policies in this area. In addition, we are stepping up our efforts to promote anti-racist guidelines and address racism in textbooks, as well as implementing a global initiative to combat antisemitism in and through education. To equip those on the front lines – teachers, educators and school leaders – UNESCO is offering an online masterclass on “Deconstructing Hate Speech”. After the English-language training held in October 2023 attended by over 700 teachers, French-speaking educators now have the opportunity to interact with experts on effective pedagogies to prevent and counter hate speech in and outside of the school environment and to promote more inclusive and tolerant societies.Because if hatred starts with words, peace starts with education. What we learn changes how we view the world and influences how we treat others. Education must therefore be at the heart of our efforts to achieve and maintain world peace. On this day, yourcommitment to defending the right to a quality education – one that recognizes the human rights of each and every individual – means committing to a peaceful future for all, where everyone is able to live a life of dignity, with mutual understanding and respect.

Mrs. Audrey Azoulay.

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2024/5 GEM Report consultation with UNESCO Institute for Education Planning on system leaders.

The 2024/5 GEM Report will examine the requirements of good leadership in education and how they vary between countries and over time.

The GEM Report and partner UNESCO’s International Institute for Education Planning (IIEP) will convene a consultation examining the role of leaders at the local level (also called middle tier leaders). Acting at the local level as district education officers, inspectors, supervisors and superintendents and within ministries responsible for planning and resource allocations, they can exercise leadership through their commitment to the achievement of national education goals, through their effectiveness in carrying out their responsibilities, to support teachers and principals in their functions and contribute to educational outcomes and the creation of positive learning environments.

The consultation will build off and examine existing studies on middle tier leadership undertaken by IIEP and the Education Development Trust (EDT), including a recent project investigating the evidence and promising practices from around the world, with six national case studies. 

The objectives of the consultation include: 

Share the early thinking of the GEM Report team in preparation for the 2024 GEM Report

Provide a space for participants to provide substantive feedback to the proposed lines of research with a particular focus topics of system leadership at the local level.

Hear from the IIEP and EDT research teams and country partners on their ongoing research studies focused on the role of system leaders to act as catalysts for change in school reforms. 

Leadership and education.

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Learning for lasting peace.

January 24th is International Day of Education 2024 and this year's theme is “Learning for lasting peace.”

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Education has a huge role to play in peace and development: 5 essential reads.

Researchers also have a role to play in strengthening education systems. All over the continent, projects that aim to keep children learning even amid devastating conflicts are being developed, rolled out and tested.

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Advocate and provide technical support to ensure foundational learning.

he World Bank is taking a practical and collaborative approach to start the story for more children and ensure they grow up as readers and learners. The World Bank’s Literacy Policy Package and Early Grade Reading Rainbow are among the many evidence-based resources that have been developed to support literacy for all.

Between FY19-FY23, World Bank Group-supported educational programs benefited close to 500 million students globally, including 53 million in countries affected by fragility and conflict.

Through the Read@Home initiative, the World Bank is working with governments and other partners in 18 countries so far to expand access to quality reading and learning materials, reduce the cost of procuring and distributing books, and support parents and caregivers from the most vulnerable households to engage with their children’s learning.

In Senegal, for example, Read@Home is supporting the government to distribute books in Arabic, French, and seven Senegalese languages alongside support for parents and caregivers to reach over 2 million children aged zero to six (covering 50 percent of children below the age of six across the country).

In North Macedonia, Read@Home supported government efforts to boost children’s reading assessment scores in the early grades, reaching the poorest 10 percent of families with storybooks and activities to encourage reading at home.

Read@Home launched the Early Learning Resource Network to enable governments and partners to find and use open licensed books and instructional materials in multiple languages, and provide tools and guidance to support every stage of the book development and distribution process.

In 2020, the World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FCDO, UNICEF, and USAID launched the Accelerator Program which coordinates efforts across the partners to ensure that the countries in the Program are showing improvements in foundational skills at scale over the next three to five years.  The Accelerator Program acknowledges a global cohort of countries or sub-national entities that 1) demonstrate strong political and financial commitment to improved learning, 2) are willing to measure and monitor learning outcomes, and 3) have an investment plan to reduce learning poverty. 

The World Bank is also working closely with UNICEF, UNESCO, FCDO, USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and GPE as the Coalition for Foundational Learning to advocate and provide technical support to ensure foundational learning.  The World Bank works with these partners to promote and endorse the Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning, a global network of countries committed to halving the global share of children unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 by 2030.

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Learning poverty wastes young peoples’ potential, impacts future workforces and ultimately, erodes countries’ economic competitiveness.

Unfortunately, too many children are growing up without books. Only 2 percent of children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa are growing up with three or more children’s books in their homes. Parents and caregivers with low literacy levels may not be aware of how they can support their children’s learning with reading activities. In some languages, there are few (or no) books available, which means children can’t practice reading in a language they know. Even where books are available, they are often costly, making it prohibitively expensive for families. In some countries where textbooks are purchased by the education system, challenges with procurement and distribution can result in low-quality, high-cost books which don’t arrive in school on time (or at all).

These issues have lifelong consequences: seventy percent of children in low- and middle-income countries are unable to read and understand an age-appropriate passage by their tenth birthday (a situation we call learning poverty).

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Why Reading with Children Matters?

Becoming a reader is a complex process which requires lots of support and practice. Activities like talking to children, asking them questions, telling them stories and rhymes, and reading to them all form the foundations for children’s language development. Even after children start school and are taught the mechanics of reading, the process continues as children master more complex reading skills and move from learning to read to using reading as a tool to learn. Children need varied books (including picture books, non-fiction books, and textbooks), support and encouragement from their parents and caregivers, effective literacy instruction in school, and regular opportunities to read. 

Having access to children’s books alongside support and encouragement from parents and caregivers makes a significant difference.

Children who grow up in homes with lots of books and being read to regularly are at an advantage compared to kids in bookless homes. In one study of families across 35 countries, having at least one children’s book at home almost doubled the likelihood of the children being on track in literacy and numeracy. Children who are read to multiple times a day before the age of 5 hear an estimated 1.4 million more words.

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Highlight the pivotal power that books, stories, and reading materials have in transforming lives and building better futures.

International Day of Education is a chance to remember that learning begins well before children enter school. All children deserve to benefit from the power of books and stories. Making books available to all children is essential if we are to end learning poverty and equip children with the skills they need to succeed in the jobs of the future.

To mark The International Day of Education on January 24, 2024, we are using the hashtag #StartTheStory

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Starting the Story for More Children.

What is the book that ‘started the story’ for you and made you a reader? Tell us on social media with a short video or quote!

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A good quality education helps children reach their full potential.

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn. As we embrace and celebrate International Day of Education on January 24th, find out more about the children we work with and how their passion for education is improving their communities and the world around them.

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Ways to celebrate the International Day of Education 2024.

There are so many ways to celebrate International Day of Education, including the following activities: 

Honor a memorable educator in your life with a donation in their name A donation made in honor of a teacher or educator who has had an impact on your life is a great way to celebrate International Day of Education 2024 by giving back.

Save the Children helps children get ready for kindergarten and learn to read by third grade — a major indicator of future success. We’re especially focused on reaching vulnerable children in rural America where early learning resources are scarce. Globally, we ensure that no child’s learning stops because they are caught up in crisis.

Your donation today supports our work to keep children healthy, educated and safe.

Support at-home learning opportunities.  Our experts have put together a list of fun, free educational websites for kids, as well as phone and tablet apps, to help keep kids learning at home. 

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Prioritize education as a tool for promoting societies which value human dignity and peace.

Hate speech fuels prejudice and discrimination and can enable and normalize violence. Its recent global escalation, amplified by the use of social media and exacerbated by new and protracted crises in different regions, severely impacts the safety and security of communities around the world. On this day, UNESCO urges its member states to prioritize education as a tool for promoting societies which value human dignity and peace.

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High-level event entitled ''Learning for lasting Peace."

 This year,the observance of the International Day of Education 2024 falls on a Wednesday.

 International Day of Education "Learning for Lasting Peace". 24 January 2024: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. Location: ECOSOC Chamber, UNHQ, New York

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Invest in long-term education that will lead to inclusive and lifelong opportunities for all.

We must continue to invest in long-term education that will lead to inclusive and lifelong opportunities for all, in order to achieve gender equality and break the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children and young people behind.

Self Help Africa has supported a school food production initiative at 78 schools across Zambia in the past five years

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Urge countries to invest in supportive and inclusive learning environments so all students can achieve their full potential

Education is not a luxury it's a human rights.