UNESCO-UNEVOC attends seminar at UNESCO’s 38th General Conference

On 5 November 2015, a seminar was held as a side-event at UNESCO’s 38th General Conference, addressing the challenge of achieving green and gender equal technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Organised by the Friends of TVET, a Swedish initiative which works as an informal network to support UNESCO’s work in TVET, the seminar was attended by ministers and stakeholders including UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Assistant Director-General for Education Dr Qian Tang, the Swedish Minister of Education Gustav Fridolin, and the Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC Shyamal Majumdar.

The seminar, moderated by Sweden’s ambassador to UNESCO Annika Markovic, shared experiences and lessons learned concerning challenges to TVET in the post-2015 agenda, and emphasised the importance of attaining green growth and gender equality. The seminar highlighted the relevance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and particularly SDG4 which aspires to “ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova encapsulated this sentiment, emphasising that “education stands at the heart of this vision. Not just any education; quality education, education that foster relevant skills, education that nurtures new ways of thinking and acting, for sustainability, for global citizenship, for peace.”. Irina Bokova also commended the partnership with the Friends of TVET, stressing that “TVET is about making the most of the capacities of every woman and man. It is about empowering people and societies, and eradicating poverty. It is about promoting green innovation and green growth.”

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted on Friday 25 September 2015 at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. The SDGs include 17 goals broken down into 169 targets and will seek to realise inclusive and equitable economic, social and environmental sustainable development. Particularly related to TVET, SDG 4, amongst other things, calls on Member States to ensure equal access to TVET programmes, to substantially increase the number of youth and adults with relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship, and to eliminate gender disparities in education. Furthermore, SDG 8 aims to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all”.