SHAKIRA RELEASES VIDEO CALL TO MAKE #LearningGeneration A REALITY: “NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION”
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON JOINS GLOBAL LEADERS IN ADVOCATING FOR EVERY CHILD IN SCHOOL BY 2030
*Click here for video: http://bit.ly/LearningGeneration
International Artist and Advocate for Education Shakira Mebarak has teamed up with UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown and other world leaders to make education the world’s number one priority.
Shakira has just released a video in which she urges viewers to “write to your government, leaders, Presidents and Prime Ministers. Urge them right now, to make the next generation the ‘Learning Generation.’ We can make it happen.” The call-to-action video has already been viewed by over a million people. It features UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who calls for the end of child marriage, child labour and child trafficking. He advocates that every child should be in school by 2030. Shakira adds: “Now is the time for action.”
The International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity (The Education Commission), a global group including presidents, former prime ministers, Nobel laureates, business and education leaders, has set out the first-ever budget for global education, detailing from now to 2030 the costs and benefits of delivering a universal, high-quality primary and secondary education for all in its newly-released report. It proposes that investment in education be tripled to over $3 trillion a year by 2030.
The Education Commission’s report, entitled The Learning Generation: Investing in education for a changing world, was presented on Sunday, September 18th to the United Nations Secretary-General at the start of the 71st General Assembly.
In a compelling and moving video, Education Commissioner Shakira Mebarak describes the next generation as the ‘Learning Generation’: “You are the future doctors, future teachers, future artists, future Presidents. Education should be your birthright, not a luxury.”
Norwegian Prime Minister and Co-Convener of the Education Commission Erna Solberg said: “The imperative to get all children and young people learning is shared by all countries. All countries will gain from action and all will face the dangerous consequences of inaction. Evidence shows that, for example, when youth have equal access to education and employment opportunities the risks of engaging in extremist activities are lower. This is a time of opportunity, but that time is running out.”
UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the Education Commission, Gordon Brown remarked: “This is the civil rights struggle of our generation and Shakira’s video presents a wake-up call and a challenge for us all. This is why we have launched an agenda for action calling for the largest expansion of educational opportunity in history underpinned by an increase in education financing from $1.2 trillion today to $3 trillion by 2030. We are calling this vision the #LearningGeneration and we urge each and every country to step up to the plate. This is a time of hope and of opportunity. By 2030 let us ensure that every child is in school.”
Shakira’s involvement in the world of education began in 1997 with the creation of her foundation, Pies Descalzos, that operates schools and educational projects in Colombia. She said: “I believe education is the key to everything. As an activist and a child of the developing world, I have seen education’s power to transform lives. Education is the difference between success and failure, or even life and death for many children. Studies have shown that education affects every major challenge we face in society. It creates economic growth, paves the way for peace and stability, and helps erase the legacy of marginalization.”