Bandung, 20 May 2022 –
During the second day (19/05) of the second G20 Education Working Group (EdWG) meeting, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECRT) led in-depth discussions on the priority agendas of Universal Quality Education and Digital Technologies in Education. During the meeting, the draft of the G20 Education Ministers' Declaration that is expected to provide significant benefits for Indonesia and the world, is also discussed.
Yesterday, the first day's meeting (18/05) began by collecting inputs from member countries to the G20 EdWG 2022 report which is expected to serve as a reference, not only for G20 member countries, but also for other countries in the world, in the global efforts to restore the education sector.
The report draft, prepared by the MoECRT in collaboration with UNESCO, gained support from EdWG G20 delegates during the meeting. UNESCO even encouraged Indonesia to add the principle of gotong royong, Indonesian value of collaborative moves in achieving common goals, as the report's framework. The MoECRT also initiated the discussions to bring results of the EdWG G20 discussions to member countries of the United Nations (UN) through the Transforming Education Summit (TES).
TES is a forum to mobilize greater enthusiasm, commitment and political action to recover from setbacks in achieving Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the impact of the pandemic, reimagine education, and accelerate the progress of education development and realization of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs.
Japan's delegate, Kogirima Atsushi, Director of Office for International Affairs Division, Minister's Secretariat/Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology, appreciated Indonesia's efforts in organizing the meeting. "Japan welcomes the proposal to share the discussions of the G20 with the Transforming Education Summit," said Kogirima Atsushi.
According to UNESCO and UNICEF, MoECRT's initiative to bring the results of the G20 EdWG to TES is an appropriate strategy in prioritizing the recovery of the global education system from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic which has lasted for over two years.
Chair of the G20 EdWG, Iwan Syahril, said, "This reminds us of our commitment to actively participate in the global effort in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education, and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. In this regard, I believe that our meeting today will serve as a historical moment in our journey towards a better world in the future."
In his remarks, Gianluca Grandi, Troika Co-chair of the G20 EdWG from Italy, appreciated the leadership and commitment of the MoECRT at the EdWG G20. "I would like to thank the Indonesian Presidency and also the chair of the G20 EdWG, Iwan Syahril, for your participation and continued commitment stated during the presidency in order to protect and scale the role of education and improving sustainable and peaceful societies," stated Gianluca Grandi.
