UNU CRIS keynote address to support International Day of Education

On 25th January UNU CRIS (Dr. Nidhi Nagabhatla)  contributed a keynote address at the two-day International Conference “Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: Rethinking Education" organized by the Centre for Sustainable Development, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (New Delhi, India) & Indian Council of Social Science Research. The event was organised to support the vision  ‘Education as a human right, public good and a public responsibility’ underlined in Sustainable Development Goal 4 and to commensurate the United Nations General Assembly as International Day of Education (24 January) themed this year as the celebration of the role of education for peace and development.

In her presentation  'Education Reforms to Inclusive Sustainability Pathways: Seeking Support ‘in and for’ SDG 4’, Nidhi elaborated on the progress of SDG 4 targets and indicators and provided key examples from member states in Global North and Global South, including India. She also emphasised the need to examine interlinkages between various SDGs and to address intersections while developing solutions to implement the 2030 Agenda. For instance, the role of education in creating gender-sensitive communities reflects on the collective agenda in SDGs 4 and 5. She concluded that without inclusive and equitable quality education for all, countries and communities will find it challenging to achieve the vision that SDGs have outlined ‘to leave no one behind’ and urged for a clear and defined focus on SDG target 4.7 ‘Education for sustainable development and global citizenship’ while creating and implementing sustainable development pathways.