Notes from Paris: UNESCO Global Education Coalition’s fifth annual meeting

Written By Michelle DuQuette

Global Education Coalition and The Digital Transformation Collaborative

The fifth annual meeting of the Global Education Coalition (GEC) took place at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris on 24 March 2025. Launched under the auspices of UNESCO in 2020 to help recover from the massive global disruption of learning caused by the pandemic, the GEC is a multi-sector, multi-stakeholder coalition that currently has over 260 members dedicated to supporting and protecting the right to education worldwide. ¹

One of the persistent concerns highlighted by the GEC is the rising digital divide and, more broadly, the complexity of the digital transformation of education. In 2022, this prompted a dedicated group of experts from the GEC to establish the Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC).² One of its main purposes was to create a safe space for dialogue that fosters sustainable alliances and partnerships among intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, and private entities, all working toward common goals.

In 2024, the DTC adopted a common framework (referred to as the ‘Six Pillars Framework’) for leveraging digital technology to accelerate progress on SDG 4, whose target date is now only five years away. The framework builds on three “keys” of digital learning - connectivity, capacities, and content - and adds three further pillars: coordination, cost, and data. Its aim is to support holistic, equitable, sustainable, and human-centred approaches to technology and education (for more details, see Normén-Smith et al., 2024).

The focus of the GEC’s fifth anniversary meeting in March was specifically to support the growth of UNESCO’s initiatives - the Global Skills Academy³, the Global Learning House⁴, and the Global Teacher Campus⁵. Additionally, the meeting aimed to establish more concrete mechanisms for country-level collaboration with the DTC, in line with the Six Pillars Framework for the digital transformation of education.

Partnership is the new leadership

The morning plenary session was opened by Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, who emphasized the main theme of the day by noting that “partnership is the new leadership.” Ms. Giannini reflected on five years of GEC’s work and its impact on SDG 4. She celebrated multiple achievements - reaching one million learners through the Global Skills Academy, one million teachers through the Global Teacher Campus, and one million learners through the Global Learning House, while also warning about the current global volatility and unpredictability. She pointed to shifts in geopolitical alignments, shrinking developmental aid, and evolving definitions of international cooperation, and what this might mean for education.

Enormous amount of work has been down, millions of learners and educators reached, collaborations forged; however, still, millions of children are out of school, there is a global lack of qualified teachers, the digital divide persists and there is an enormous gap in education financing globally; all this against the sinister background of the current geopolitical value reorientation. 

Ms Giannini’s opening address was followed by three rounds of ‘fireside chats’ with strong focus on reflecting on and discussing partnerships - their role, the mechanisms of their functioning and how we can leverage partnerships in more creative ways.

Accelerating Foundational Learning

The first fireside chat, ‘Accelerating Foundational Learning,’ was moderated by Borhene Chakroun, Director of the Division of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems at UNESCO. The speakers included Andreas Schleicher (Director for Education and Skills at the OECD) and Jane Mann (Managing Director of the Cambridge Partnership for Education).

In the discussion, both speakers emphasized the need to rethink the concept of foundational learning in the digital age. Mr. Schleicher noted the importance of better understanding rapidly changing skill demands. While we often tend to think we lack sufficient data and should collect more, Ms. Mann pointed to a broader paradox: although education systems generally have a great deal of data, it is not analysed efficiently or quickly enough.

Empowering Teachers and the Teaching Profession

In the next two fireside chats, Magdalena Brier (ProFuturo CEO) spoke with Bruce Dahlgren (Anthology CEO) on ‘Empowering Teachers and the Teaching Profession,’ and Frank Huang (Huawei CTO) spoke with Francis Hourant (WorldSkills President) on ‘Expanding Skills for the Future of Work.’ Both chats built on similar themes, emphasizing the changing demands for future skills, the influence of emerging technologies, and how traditional professions are evolving to require more creativity and new modalities. These shifting perspectives and needs underscore the importance of rethinking traditional partnerships to involve a wider range of stakeholders, including communities of practice.

Ministerial Country Perspectives

The fireside chats were followed by a panel that provided specific country perspectives. This ministerial dialogue, featuring representatives from Guinea, South Africa, and Morocco, explored their unique contexts and challenges in digitally transforming their educational systems.

While common themes emerged, it became clear that sensitive contextualisation is paramount – with examples including strategies for digital access in rural areas and effective communication across fragmented digital ecosystems.

From framework to delivery: Dialogue with the Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC)

The morning session was concluded by a panel discussion ‘From framework to delivery: Dialogue with the Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC).’ The panel members reflected on some concrete translations of the Six Pillars framework into national education strategies and DTC’s activities.

The panel was moderated by Erin Chemery (Senior Project Officer, UNESCO) and included the following speakers:

• Zohra Yermeche, Head of Connect to Learn, Ericsson

• Dina Ghobashy, Director of Education Transformation, Microsoft

• Alex Wong, Senior Advisor, Executive Office, and GIGA Co-lead, ITU

• William Florence, Head of Multilateral Education Partnerships, Google

• Morgan Strecker, Chief of Staff, Global Partnership for Education

• Borhene Chakroun, Director, Division of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, UNESCO

Numerous important issues were raised in these reflections, for example Mrs. Yermeche highlighted the lacking innovation mindset at the governmental level, Mr Wong highlighted the gaps in basic data gathered by some governments, for example, lack of basic data on precise school locations in rural areas that prevent efforts of setting up connectivity, Mr. Florence warned about “trophy projects”, e.g., projects like one device per one child do not necessarily always represent the best solution but the question rather should be: do our learners have access when they need access?

Mrs. Ghobashy further underscored the important role DTC can play in providing expertise to support governments, while Mr Chakroun highlighted we mustn’t forget that education is global common good and EdTech should be an equaliser not a further divider.

Michelle DuQuette
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