UK-based Varkey Foundation to co-chair global education meet

A first-of-its-kind meeting of worldwide civil society organisations to present policy proposals to a historic meeting of G20 Education Ministers, including from india, will be co-chaired by UK-headquartered Varkey Foundation in Argentina on Wednesday.

Leading organisations such as Plan International Canada, Education International, and the Harvard School of Education will deliberate on the world's most pressing educational challenges and present their findings to education ministers from around the world, including Indian minister of state for higher education Satya Pal Singh.

"Our fervent hope is that the G20 ministers will listen to our policy recommendations because the institutional knowledge of civil society organisations, often acquired over decades and combined with extensive on-the-ground experience, means we have insights that could be of huge benefit to ministers as they try to ensure that every child is given their birthright a quality education," said Vikas Pota, chairman of the Varkey Foundation, set up by Indian-origin entrepreneur Sunny Varkey.

"In particular, our policy recommendations address the ever-increasing role that technology is playing in young people's lives, recognising that in the educational environment of the 21st century, online learning can offer great benefits, from providing an instant source of information to allowing students to connect with their peers across the world.

"But without proper guidance and safeguards, the omnipresence of technologies such as social media can also see children exposed to false information, mental health issues or even radicalisation.

While the G20 has met regularly since its inception in September 1999, this week marks the first time all G20 education ministers will hold their own summit on its sidelines.

Representatives from civil society organisations will meet the President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, and present their recommendations to the ministers in charge of education affairs in their respective countries with the aim of influencing G20 deliberations to help develop an action plan on how best to solve the world's deepening education problems.

Esteban Bullrich, Senator from Buenos Aires and Argentina's former Minister for Education, who will be co-chairing the meet with the Varkey Foundation, said that education ministers gaining a place at the table for the first time under Argentina's presidency of the G20 was "deeply significant".