The UN High-Level Reception Highlights the Role of Public-Private Partnerships

Date posted: October 12, 2014

Education, along with few other factors, has been the centerpiece of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda. During the evaluation period of the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, it was obvious that even though the number of children attending schools significantly increased, the higher education they got did not meet the standards of the contemporary world and labor markets.

On 25 September 2014, Peace Islands Institute hosted UN High-Level Reception in partnership with the Journalists and Writers Foundation during the United Nations General Assembly’s 69^th Session at the Waldorf Astoria to celebrate its existing work on Education for Sustainable Development in order to contribute to the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda. The reception focused on the provisions of quality of education to ensure sustainable development.

Some of the dignitaries were H.E. Abubakar Suleiman, Minister of Planning of Nigeria, H.E. Moussa Ouattara, Minister of Higher Education of Burkina Faso, H.E. Kassim Issack Osman, Minister of Health of Djibouti, H.E. Osman Mohammed Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, H.E. Jean-Baptiste Natama, Chief of Staff of the African Union, H.E. Dipu Moni MP, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, and H.E. Peter Maurer, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.

The reception highlighted successes of the thousands of schools and educational institutions throughout the world that have been inspired by Mr. Fethullah Gulen, the honorary President of Peace Islands Institute (PII) and the Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF). The organizers shared an incredible experience in delivering high quality education to the youth and adults in 160 countries in five continents. Most of the participants suggested that availability and accessibility of education were necessary but not sufficient conditions for sustaining development and peace.

During the reception, many guest speakers emphasized the role of quality education in achieving economic development, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and good governance. The UN Post-2015 Development Agenda encourages member states to make education more accessible and to equip schools with qualified teachers.