Joining his call, Ms Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General underscored the need to "rethink education”, Ms Audrey Azoulay having in mind the findings of UNESCO’s Futures of Education report. Echoing the call on reimagining education, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, who stressed the need to embrace changes that protect and promote the rights of everyone to learn. “We need an educational system that could leverage humanity’s collective intelligence, a system that advances rather than subverts our aspirations for inclusive education based on the principles of justice, equity and respect for human rights,” he concluded.

Pointing out the learning challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, in particular social inequalities and widening digital gap, H.E. María del Carmen Squeff, representing UN Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning, expressed the Group’s readiness to rally a renewed commitment to education at the forefront of international efforts to advance inclusion, empowerment, and sustainable development. Highlighting that the High-Level Political Forum will hold an in-depth review of SDG4 on quality education, she stressed the need to step up our collaboration and solidarity in placing education and lifelong learning at the centre of the recovery and the transformation towards more inclusive, safe and sustainable societies.