(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar has extended its full support to the Incheon Declaration, "Education 2030: Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all", which was adopted by more than 130 ministers and 1,500 participants.
The Incheon Declaration, signed in culmination of the World Education Forum held in Incheon last week, is expected to mobilise all countries and partners to implement the new sustainable development goal on education.
A delegation from Education Above All (EAA), including its chairperson HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, participated in the forum. The Qatari delegation to the World Education Forum was headed by HE the Minister of Education Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahed al-Hammadi. Marcio Barbosa, EAA's CEO, represented the EAA delegation in the declaration session of the World Education Forum.
Dr Hamda al-Sulaiti, the representative of Qatar during the plenary session that adopted the declaration, said: "Qatar fully supports the declaration and we are very pleased to see the points raised by HH Sheikha Moza included in the final text."
The declaration is a historic commitment to transform lives through a new vision for education, with bold and innovative actions to co-ordinate, finance and monitor the education agenda for the next 15 years.
With the Incheon Declaration, member states have committed to prioritise access to quality basic education to the 121mn children and adolescents at the primary and lower secondary level who remain out of school. This commitment is a significant step towards completing the unfinished goal of Millennium Development Goal 2 to achieve universal primary education. The declaration will underpin the education targets in the Sustainable Development Goals that will be ratified at a special summit at the United Nations in September.
Of particular importance is the recognition of the need to build on the lessons learned by the Millennium Development Goals and the commitment to provide meaningful education opportunities for the large population of out-of-school children who require immediate, targeted and sustained action to ensure that all children are in school and learning.
Speaking at the opening of the multilateral international forum on Tuesday, HH Sheikha Moza appealed to all participants to embrace the new agenda with pragmatism and realism and focus on the 58mn children of primary school age around the world who are out of school.
Speaking on a panel titled "Providing meaningful learning opportunities for out-of-school children", Mary Joy Pigozzi, director of Educate A Child, a programme of EAA, said: "We are at an important juncture. Education ministries and education systems are adopting proven innovations developed by other partners.
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