Sara Duterte designated Philippine convenor for UN education summit

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte, in her capacity as education secretary, has been designated as the country’s national convenor for the upcoming education summit at the United Nations.

As national convenor, Duterte will lead the consultations with Philippine stakeholders ahead of the Transforming Education Summit at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 19.

UN Secretary General António Guterres will convene the TES “to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and to maximize public awareness and engagement.”

It seeks to mobilize the support of all UN member-states and other stakeholders to address challenges in the education sector, including recovery of pandemic-related learning losses, reimaging of education systems and revitalizing efforts to achieve the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals.

In preparation for the summit, national consultations will be undertaken to develop a shared vision, strengthen political and public commitment and align action across stakeholders.

Governments were encouraged to cover various issues during the consultations, including ensuring full recovery from COVID-19 educational disruption, ensuring strengthened and more sustainable public financing of education, and raising national targets and benchmarks.

Gustavo Gonzalez, UN resident coordinator, congratulated Duterte for her designation as national convenor.

“I am optimistic that with Vice President Sara Duterte as national convenor, the Philippines will chart a strategy and roadmap to address the learning losses caused by the pandemic and bring us back on track to achieving the global goals on education,” Gonzalez said.

The UN country team will be mobilized and play a key role in consultations with UN Children’s Fund and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.