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The SDG4-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee’s contribution to the 2023 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
“Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”
with focus on SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and 17 (partnerships)
1. Education: a driver for resilience, innovation and sustainable development
The vision of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4 – “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”) is to transform lives through education, recognizing the important role of education as a main driver of development and in achieving the other SDGsi. The SDG4-Education 2030 commitment promotes inclusive, quality lifelong learning from early childhood to adulthood and encompasses quality early childhood care and education, technical and vocational education and training, as well as higher education and research. Inclusion, equity and gender equality in and through education (SDG 5) is the cornerstone of SDG 4’s transformative education agenda.
In an increasingly complex and interconnected world facing an existential threat such as climate change, growing inequalities and emergencies, the education community has been calling for education that equip individuals with knowledge, skills and values necessary to become active agents of change for green transition and sustainable development of our societies. Education helps build resilience, innovation and digital skills, which are essential for the full recovery from the pandemic.
Education’s relevance and contribution to the SDGs under review at the 2023 HLPF are as followsii:
- SDG 6: Comprehensive water education provides the necessary tools to monitor water quality in order to reduce contamination, helps improve water use by developing greater resources for its reuse and contributes to raising awareness among communities to ensure they play an active part in improving their water management and sanitation (Access to Learning objectives for SDG 6).
- SDG 7: Energy education promotes energy efficiency, teaching us to develop technologies that waste less energy and encouraging us to work together to research and develop renewable and other clean energy resources (Access to Learning objectives for SDG 7).
- SDG 9: Allocating resources for research is key to addressing each country’s specific needs in the field of industry and infrastructure, and in order to improve its technologies. Enhancing scientific research, encouraging innovation and increasing the number of researchers will help upgrade the technical capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries (Access to Learning objectives for SDG 9).
- SDG 11: Quality education provides the appropriate tools to ensure the monitoring of waste management and air quality. It prepares communities to manage their resources properly and tackle climate change. Through participatory approaches, communities are engaged in discussions and in planning activities for the improvement of their own cities (Access to Learning objectives for SDG 11).
- SDG 17: Quality education allows engagement with organizations and individuals working on various topics that relate to the global goals. With international support, effective and targeted capacity-building activities can be implemented in developing countries allowing them to support national plans to implement all the SDGs including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation (Access to Learning objectives for SDG 17).
