Resident Coordinator ad interim's remarks at the national consultation on transforming education

Your Excellency, Ms. Nawal Al-Khater, Undersecretary for Policies and Strategies of the Ministry of Education of Bahrain,

Dear Dr. Samah Al-Ajjawi, the National Convener, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education,

Distinguished Participants,

I congratulate the Government of Bahrain for successfully launching today the National Consultations within the framework of the Transforming Education Summit. I am very pleased to see that all major players have gathered here to discuss what it takes to sustainably transform education and provide learners with the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to address new challenges and thrive in our rapidly changing world.

Quality education is a human right and a foundation for peace, tolerance, and sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly challenged the way we do and conceive education, but it has also spurred innovation and lessons learned. We need to turn the crisis into an opportunity to reassess and build more equitable, adaptive, and resilient education systems. Recognizing this, the UN Secretary-General announced in his report to the UN General Assembly on ‘Our Common Agenda’ his intention to convene a Transforming Education Summit in September 2022. I am pleased that promoting the right to education is one of the key priority objectives of the National Human Rights Plan for 2022-2026 recently adopted by the Government of Bahrain.

Leading up to the global summit, national consultations, just like today’s event, are expected to be organized by national governments worldwide. We are less than one week away from the Pre-Summit in Paris – a critical milestone on our journey to create a shared vision of what education transformation entails. The Pre-Summit will set the stage for the culminating global event in September to bring the attention of all world leaders to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow, and revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDG-4.

I sincerely thank the Government of Bahrain, and His Excellency the Minister of Education for his personal leadership in the transforming education process in Bahrain and plan to attend the Pre-Summit in Paris. I also would like to acknowledge UNICEF and UNESCO for leading the transforming education process from the UN side.

Today is just the beginning of our dialogue that I trust would be further continued. The United Nations stands ready to provide all necessary support to the Government of Bahrain in fulfilling the country’s aspirations to transform the education sector and contribute to peaceful, just, and sustainable futures.

Bahrain has a significant potential to leverage technological advancements and engage the private sector in transforming education. The transition of education to respond to the needs, skills, and competencies for the 21st century is already underway.

I am confident that the engagement and commitments gained during today’s consultations will not only contribute to shaping the global actions on transforming education but, most importantly, they will help Bahrain to unleash its great potential and showcase its results to the world.

I wish you successful consultations!