Fortaleza Declaration: A bold step towards inclusive education at the 2024 Global Education Meeting

The 2024 Global Education Meeting (GEM), held in Fortaleza, Brazil, marked a significant milestone in the global pursuit of education equity and financing, with the adoption of the powerful Fortaleza Declaration by over 650 participants including over 50 Ministers from across the globe.

This biennial event was held back-to-back with the G20 Education Ministers' Meeting, converging the visions of UNESCO and the Brazilian G20 Presidency in addressing pressing issues of global education - inclusion, equity and sustainable financing.

"If SDG 4 is our destination, the Fortaleza Declaration is our compass," said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Stefania Giannini. "It's a call for urgent action, innovative financing, and a collective will to ensure that quality education is a human right and a public good for everyone."

Progress amidst challenges

UNESCO's 2024/25 Global Education Monitoring Report, released during the event, revealed stagnated global progress since 2015.

Over 110 million children and youth have entered school, marking the highest number of students enrolled in history. However, the report also unveiled stark disparities, as Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) --ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all -- remains severely off track: 251 million children and youth remain out of school globally, a mere 1% reduction in almost a decade, with alarming disparities evident across nations. The report highlights that 33% of students in the poorest countries are not in school, compared to only 3% in wealthier nations, underlining a widening educational divide, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

Addressing the financial crisis in education

The Global Education Meeting emphasized the critical lack of financial resources allocated to education, exacerbated by the burdens of debt servicing. Low-income countries spend a meager $55 per learner per year-drastically lower than the $8,543 spent by high-income counterparts. In Africa, educational expenditure is almost equaled by debt servicing, severely constraining the ability to enhance educational outcomes.

Brazil's Minister of Education, Camilo Santana emphasized in his concluding remarks "as stated in the Fortaleza Declaration, increasing investments in education is not only a moral imperative, but also an economic and strategic necessity for accelerating progress toward all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)"

Next steps

The Fortaleza Declaration emerges as a robust roadmap for addressing these challenges. It emphasizes the necessity for innovative educational strategies that prioritize equity and inclusion, calling for renewed focus on financing education to ensure no child is left behind.

Following the adoption of the Fortaleza Declaration, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, in collaboration with the Brazilian government, is committed to advocating for innovative financing mechanisms, including the concept of debt swaps, at the upcoming G20 Summit in Rio and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, as well as the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025 and beyond. The outcomes of the 2024 GEM will serve as crucial inputs for multilateral discussions, shedding light on the transformative power of education for a peaceful, equitable and sustainable future.

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