UNESCO presents the Global Education Coalition

In the context of the global crisis caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, more than one billion students and young people around the world are affected by the schools and universities closures. Faced with this situation, UNESCO presents the Global Education Coalition that seeks to give children and young people access to various inclusive learning options during the period of this sudden and unprecedented interruption in education.

“Never before have we witnessed educational disruption at this scale. Partnership is the only way forward. This Coalition is a call for coordinated and innovative action to unlock solutions that will not only support learners and teachers now, but through the recovery process and in the longer term, with a principle focus on inclusion and equity”

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay

This major health crisis is also a crisis for education. However, it is an opportunity to establish new educational approaches, to propose more open and more flexible educational systems, and to value investment in distance education, whose role is essential to mitigate the interruption caused by the virus. School closures disproportionately exacerbate educational inequalities to those most vulnerable, so continuity, inclusion and equity in education must be ensured now more than ever.

For all these reasons, UNESCO presents the Global Education Coalition as a multi-sectoral initiative to respond to the urgent needs of education.