The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), recently held a series of New York-based roundtables and workshops with education stakeholders, aimed at accelerating progress towards the fourth UN Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG 4).
The discussions took place in the build-up to WISE@NY, a forum held by WISE in New York City as part of the UN Global Goals Week, which saw over 350 innovators, education experts, and thought-leaders gather to discuss key topics and challenges facing education on a worldwide scale.
With funding being a major element of ensuring that SDG 4 – which reflects that quality education is the foundation of sustainable development – is met by 2030, WISE believes that connecting the right stakeholders is pivotal to generating productive outcomes in this area. According to a report conducted by the Education Commission, the average annual expenditure on education for low- and middle-income countries is US$1.3 trillion, which represents only a third of funding required to achieve SDG 4.
The organisations involved in the New York discussions hosted by WISE included the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), the International Education Funders Group (IEFG), and members of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). Funders who participated in the roundtables and workshops helped to lead discussions about increasing and improving methods of education financing.
According to Zineb Mouhyi, Policy and Partnership Development Officer at WISE, hosting these discussions in New York City, a day ahead of WISE@NY, enabled a wide range of global expertise and insight to be applied to the issue and in identification of potential solutions and pathways for progress.
EOF was established by the Education Commission – chaired by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown – and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment. It was launched at the 2017 WISE Summit in Doha, after which it co-hosted a roundtable in May 2018 for the WISE@Accra forum. Its involvement in the New York discussions hosted by WISE was designed to build connections with potential funders, and these efforts will be continued at the next WISE international forum, WISE@Paris, in February 2018, to engage philanthropists to discuss new frameworks needed for increasing impact.
WISE@NY was WISE’s first forum to be held in the US, with previous summits and events held in Qatar, and regional forums taking place in China, Spain, Tunisia, and Ghana. Past dignitaries who have spoken at the conference include former US First Lady Michelle Obama, President of Ghana HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, award-winning author Chimamanda Adichie, and journalist Fareed Zakaria.
For updates and more information about WISE, visit wise-qatar.org.