On Thursday, 12 July, IDEA Director, Frank Geary, addressed the UN High-level Political Forum review of Goal 12, on behalf of the Education and Academic Stakeholder Group. Speaking at the summit in the UN Headquarters in New York, he highlighted that SDG 12.8.1 requires all UN Member States to mainstream Global Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development.

The statement from the group read:

'Sustainable consumption and production requires transformative change to our societies and economies. To achieve this, we need education for transformative change. We need education that enables all people to participate meaningfully, to critically engage in sustainable development, and to imagine and create new futures.

This is a central part of SDG 12. And strongly links to SDG 4, 16, 17 and all Goals. SDG 12 requires Member States to mainstream Global Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development.

Not enough is being done to achieve this. It is essential that Global Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development are mainstreamed across formal, non-formal and informal education. This requires clear national policies, prioritisation of education and participation in SDG National Implementation Plans, financing, and involvement of civil society, learners and educators.

We want to know how Member States will act on this, in particular if and how Member States have integrated Global Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development into their SDG National Implementation?

We urge Member States to report on education in your VNRs.

Education is the golden thread that runs through all the Sustainable Development Goals.

To achieve the transformative agenda of the Goals, we must prioritise education.'

About the HLPF

The UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) plays a key role in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level. It takes place annually and features inputs from national governments, intergovernmental bodies, relevant UN agencies, civil society and other stakeholders. The summit includes intergovernmental meetings along with side events for civil society organisations. CSO’s also have the opportunity to input into the intergovernmental meetings and outline what steps they feel governments need to take to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).