Four years after major summit, UNESCO convenes global leaders to tackle the education financing crisis

Global education financing is in crisis, with declining aid flows, rising debt burdens, and growing fiscal pressures. Today, 113 countries - home to 6.1 billion people - spend more on debt servicing than on education, perpetuating a cycle of underinvestment, inequality, and stalled development. To help countries navigate these challenges, UNESCO will launch on 10 July a comprehensive technical guide for governments to implement debt-for-education swaps, which can contribute to breaking the debt trap and generating additional resources to invest in education.

UNESCO's new series of resources on innovative education financing solutions will be launched during the Transforming Education Summit +4 at UNESCO's Headquarters in Paris. This Summit is a key milestone ahead of the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education.

The Summit will also examine how artificial intelligence and other new technologies are reshaping education, contributing to UNESCO's ongoing efforts to ensure AI improves learning outcomes, particularly in developing countries, without undermining human agency. With a focus on building resilience in education systems, the impact of climate change and ongoing crises will also be part of the Summit's agenda.

Journalists are invited to an online press briefing ahead of the event, during which UNESCO's debt-for-education swap guide and its call for innovative education financing solutions will be presented, along with new data on the decline of global aid to education, under embargo.

Press briefing (under embargo until 10 July)

• When? Thursday 2 July at 15:00 -16:00 CET
• Where? Online - Please register here.
• Who?
  
  • Min Jeong Kim, Director of UNESCO's Division for Education 2030
  • Manos Antoninis, Director of the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report
• Languages: English (journalists will be able to ask questions in Spanish and French).

Transforming Education Summit +4

• When? Friday 10 July 14:30 - 18:00 CET

• Where? UNESCO HQ, 125 avenue de Suffren 75007 Paris, France.

  In-person press accreditation here. The event will be livestreamed here.

• Who?
  
  • President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa
  • United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
  • UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany
  • Ministers of education from more than 16 countries
  • Grammy-nominated recording artist and songwriter Audrey Nuna (KPop Demon Hunters)
  • and representatives of development banks, youth, academia and the private sector

• Languages: English/French (live interpretation will be available)

The full agenda is available here.