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G20 Chair's Summary: Education Ministers' Meeting

Bali, September 1, 2022
[pdf]

The G20 Education Ministers met in Bali on 1 September 2022 under the Indonesian G20 Presidency. The meeting was attended by G20 members, invited countries and international organisations in a hybrid manner and was chaired by the Indonesian Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology.

During the meeting, Ministers discussed the G20 education agenda under Indonesia's Presidency namely a) universal quality education; b) digital technology in education; c) solidarity and partnership in education; and d) future of work. The Ministers also welcomed the Report and Compendium on education strategies in 26 countries, detailing more than 150 education programs and best practices.

Part I

1. We are meeting under the challenge of the fulfilment of the right to quality education and its continuity for all at all times, particularly at times of crises, pandemics, natural disasters, political conflicts all around the world. Many members condemn Russia's war in Ukraine which has impacted access to learning and education. While others view that the Education Working Group (EdWG) is not the proper forum to discuss geopolitical issues.

2. We are gravely concerned by all actions worldwide that weaken our ambitions of providing universal quality education. We reiterate the importance of providing children and young people quality education in any circumstance, including in emergencies, as well as in crisis and conflict contexts.

Part II

There is broad agreement on the following issues:

3. We reaffirm our commitment to achieve a more resilient, equitable, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable future through education.

4. We reaffirm the principle that education is a human right and a foundation for peace, tolerance, and common welfare of humankind in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and as highlighted in the previous G20 Education Ministers' Declarations (2018, 2020 and 2021).

5. We reiterate the importance of making progress towards SDG4 to ensure access to inclusive and equitable quality education to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and to overcome learning poverty from COVID-19 and other crises.

6. We emphasise the need to embrace the use of digital technologies and in-person education to promote effective, inclusive, meaningful and equitable teaching and learning and to mitigate the risks of further deepening education inequalities. We recognize that while it is important to embrace and make use of technological advancement, high quality teaching and face-to-face teacher-student interaction remain paramount to the future of education.

7. We reaffirm the fundamental role of solidarity and partnership in strengthening the education systems to recover together and recover stronger from the impact of COVID-19 and other crises on learners, particularly on those from the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups including learners with disabilities, girls and young people as underlined in the G20 Education Ministers' Statement on COVID-19, as well as the G20 Education Ministers' Declarations 2020 and 2021.

8. We are committed to promoting lifelong learning and the acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes by all learners to enable them to thrive in life and work, and contribute to more equitable, inclusive and sustainable societies.

Universal Quality Education

9. We reaffirm the importance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and our commitment to SDG4 to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. We will continue to combat learning poverty and education inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19 and other crises. We highlight the importance of equitable access to quality early childhood education and development and the acquisition of foundational skills and competencies, particularly literacy and numeracy and safeguarding learners' physical and emotional well-being.

10. We are committed to supporting all learners, particularly those in vulnerable situations who face disproportionate challenges and risks of falling further behind including from gender, disability, ethnicity, socio-economic inequalities and learning-related barriers and any form of discrimination.

11. We are committed to supporting the provision of continuous professional development and quality training, including the use of digital technology, for and together with teachers, school leaders, and other educational professionals considering their essential roles in learning recovery and achieving universal quality education.

12. We emphasise the need to keep investing in education at the appropriate level and to make the most effective use of these investments to strengthen our education systems.

Digital Technology in Education

13. We emphasise the need to harness the potential of digital technologies in addressing the issues of educational access, quality and equity, and in providing learning experiences that are more interactive, personalised and engaging.

14. We recognise the potential of digital technologies to ensure universal access to education and accelerate learning recovery by increasing connectivity and providing more accessible and affordable resources and tools while also improving the digital literacy skills of learners, teachers, school leaders and other educational professionals.

15. We emphasise the need to ensure learners' data privacy, protection and security, prevent discrimination, gender-based harassment, cyberbullying, counter misinformation and disinformation and improve inclusivity and ethical practices in the use of digital technology in education.

16. We recognise the challenges of the digital divide which impede the optimal benefits of digital technologies in education. We are committed to collectively seeking adaptive solutions in the short-, medium- and long-term, while engaging relevant stakeholders to narrow the digital divide.

Solidarity and Partnership in Education

17. We recognise the need to act in solidarity to rebuild more resilient and effective education systems, with the empowerment of relevant actors within and beyond G20 to remove barriers to education, improve teaching and learning environments, and support transitions within and across all stages of education.

18. We encourage working in partnership in the spirit of gotong royong[1] to strengthen our shared commitments and to promote investments for inclusive education and training at all levels, including with multilateral and international institutions.

Future of Work

19. We reaffirm our commitment to promoting quality, integrated, adaptive, flexible and dynamic teaching and learning at all levels in our education and training systems in order to support the acquisition of the full range of skills, including critical, creative, and innovative thinking, technical, social and emotional skills and the provision of well-being that are vital to prepare learners for work and meaningful participation and contribution to society, and to promote lifelong learning.

20. We emphasise the importance of cultivating relevant skills in tertiary or higher education, and technical and vocational education and training through learning and training programmes that are developed and implemented in collaboration with industries, partners and other stakeholders such as: project-based learning, internships, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship, which better equip the students prior to entering the working world. The acquisition of skills needs to enable our learners to take on the necessary digital, economic, social and ecological transformation of our societies.

21. We support a revised G20 Skills Strategy being developed jointly by the Employment and Education Working Groups, which highlights the importance of developing adequate skills and lifelong learning as a guide for countries to move forward in their journey to achieve universal quality education and promote lifelong learning, in order to benefit individuals, enterprises, economies and societies. We look forward to future cooperation between the Employment and Education Working Groups to support and monitor the implementation of the G20 Skills Strategy.

Way Forward

22. We are committed to reimagining and rebuilding more resilient, effective, equitable, inclusive and adaptive education systems that are better prepared for ongoing and future crises and to support countries in the urgent design and implementation of recovery-oriented policies to tackle learning loss brought about by the pandemic and other crises to work towards the achievement of balanced and harmonious oriented well-being and universal quality education by 2030.

23. We reaffirm our commitment to promoting knowledge-sharing to address the diverse challenges in education and to working together across the areas of universal quality education, digital technology in education, solidarity and partnership, and future of work in the spirit of gotong royong.

24. We reaffirm our commitment with the United Nations to transform education by integrating approaches, learning resources, and methods in education policies and practices and to open greater opportunities for international cooperation, solidarity and partnership. We underline the importance of bringing the voice of the G20 to the 2022 Transforming Education Summit that serves as our concerted efforts to help shape a more peaceful, inclusive, gender equal, and sustainable future for humanity and the planet.

Ministers thanked Indonesia's leadership in the G20 as well as an excellent organisation of the Education Working Group 2022. We look forward to supporting the next presidency of India and Brazil in 2023 and 2024 respectively and to continue the commitment to achieve the G20 Education Agenda under the spirit of partnership and collaboration to lead global recovery and beyond.

[1] Gotong royong is an Indonesian term that describes joint activities to achieve an expected result. It derives from the words gotong (work) and royong (together). It refers to a type of togetherness in society that manifests itself in the form of cooperation to complete a task, for personal and community interests. Gotong royong is the mechanism by which a community has enthusiasm for and an established practice in overcoming difficulties and solving problems together. It represents a collective spirit among neighbours that strengthens economic and social resilience, and traditionally applies in the event of a disaster, or when working on crops or building public facilities, such as roads, bridges, irrigation canals and even schools. As such, gotong royong is not only a spontaneous activity; it has also been institutionalised in various aspects of the management of public life. ↩

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Source: Official website of Indonesia's G20 Presidency