Fortaleza Declaration: Insights from the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee
"If SDG 4 is our destination, the Fortaleza Declaration is our compass. It’s a call for urgent action, innovative financing, and a collective will to ensure that quality education is a human right and a public good for everyone."
The Fortaleza Declaration is a non-binding outcome document adopted during the 2024 GEM closing session. It consolidates key takeaways from 10 consultations with all regions and constituencies, including regional organizations, civil society, teachers, youth, students, and foundations, conducted from July to September 2024 and led by the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee Sherpa Group.
The 2024 Global Education Meeting (GEM), held in Fortaleza, Brazil, marked a significant milestone in the global pursuit of education equity and financing, with the adoption of the powerful Fortaleza Declaration by over 650 participants including over 50 Ministers from across the globe.
The SDG4-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC), the apex body for global education cooperation, has shared its reflections on the Declaration.
France
Anne Genetet, Minister of National Education, France
The Fortaleza Declaration follows on from the 2021 Paris Declaration on the financing of education: with only six years to go before the 2030 deadline, it is a wake-up call on the urgency of investing in education worldwide.
I am very much concerned about the impact of health, nutrition and well-being on students’ attainment and I commend the Fortaleza declaration for acknowledging their role in the educational process: combating poverty and hunger (SDGs 1 and 2) and promoting healthy lifestyles (SDG 3) are essential to the learning process.
We will continue to promote media and information literacy (MIL) in order to help students become free, enlightened and responsible citizens in a world where mis- and dis-information is rife — this is a civic imperative for democratic and peaceful societies.
Portugal
Fernando Alexandre, Minister of Education, Science and Innovation of the Portuguese Republic
Education always plays a pivotal role, but it performs its leading role in early childhood, when it has the biggest capacity to contribute to improving learning throughout one’s life and, in this way, to best work as a means to equality of opportunity.
Latvia
Anda Čakša, Minister for Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia
The Fortaleza Declaration will pave way for a renewed global commitment and strengthened recognition of the centrality of education in promoting cross-sectoral priorities - culture of peace and human rights, environmental sustainability, human-centred digital transformation, social justice and gender equality.
While supporting all areas of the Fortaleza Declaration Latvia particularly welcomes the emphasis on ensuring equitable access to technology and improving the quality of digital learning to close the digital divide in education. We also regard as fundamental the need to address the gender gap in STEM education and to empower women in critical ICT and AI careers.
Latvia will accelerate the digital transformation of education by promoting blended learning approaches and the provision of quality digital contents, as well as promote the uptake of STEM subjects among women at tertiary level. Latvia will continue its engagement as an international technology partner by providing tailored digital learning solutions for the Small Island Developing States and by promoting STEM education for girls in Africa.
Chile
Nicolás Cataldo Astorga, Minister of Education of the Republic of Chile
The 2024 Global Education Meeting is a crucial opportunity to reposition education as a human right for all. Through the Fortaleza Declaration, we must pursue inclusive and equitable quality education for all, particularly for marginalized groups. There is an urgent need to accelerate actions towards SDG 4 through multi-sectoral collaboration, engaging students, and, of course, teachers. In addition, we ought to recognize the necessity of viewing education as a strategic long-term investment and advocate for increased funding as well as innovative financing to close existing gaps. This will allow us to promote lifelong learning, strengthen early childhood education, and skills development, in addition to consolidating teacher support.
Teacher participation and the provision of school meals particularly resonate with me the most. Engaging teachers in decision-making and curriculum development is crucial for creating relevant and effective education systems; their insights can drive innovation and ensure that teaching practices meet students' diverse needs. Additionally, the commitment to providing nutritious school meals not only addresses hunger but also supports students’ health and well-being, fostering an environment conducive to learning. It is crucial to understand this is an enabling condition to learn processes.
By prioritizing both, teacher involvement and student nutrition, the Declaration underscores the importance of structural approaches to education that promote equity and support all learners in reaching their potential.
To follow up on the actions in the Fortaleza Declaration, I will focus on strengthening policies that ensure quality and inclusion in education. This involves advocating for targeted measures to address the teacher shortage by promoting quality professional development and supportive working conditions to attract and retain educators. Additionally, it is necessary to push for increased investment in public education, emphasizing the need for robust infrastructure, adequate resources, and essential support systems like nutritious school meals. By working with policymakers and community stakeholders, I aim to create enabling conditions to foster effective learning environments, ensuring that all students have access to the quality education they deserve.
OEI
Mariano Jabonero Blanco, Secretary-General of Organization of Ibero‐American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI)
The Fortaleza declaration symbolizes a shared and determined effort to transform education worldwide, prioritizing inclusion and equity.
It is especially important to focus on the need to invest in education, and to strengthen collaboration between governments, organizations and communities to achieve the 2030 Agenda, strengthening the leadership of specialized multilateral governmental organizations such as UNESCO and OEI.
To continue our work in the field of educational cooperation in Ibero-America, establishing alliances and promoting actions that make it possible to advance in the fulfillment of the commitments undertaken and achieve a true educational transformation, in order to make it possible to effectively implement public policies: to make cooperation happens.
China
Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China
The significance of the Fortaleza Declaration lies in awakening the international community to reacknowledge the crucial role of education, prioritizing investment in and development of education in order to address global crises and challenges, promote sustainable development, and shape a peaceful, just, and sustainable future.
The Declaration emphasizes unlocking the transformative power of education through science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. Digital technology is a vital force in achieving inclusive, equitable, and quality education. China's concepts and practices are highly aligned with this initiative. We will establish a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system, advance the digitization of education, empower the construction of a learning society, and serve the lifelong learning needs for all.
China has recently held the 2024 National Education Conference, making systemic plans to build a leading country in education. We will focus on deepening comprehensive education reforms, establish a multi-sectoral coordination mechanism, prioritize education investment and strengthen international exchanges in education, so as to promote an overall leap in the quality of education, which will adapt to the future development.
- Read Huai Jinpeng's blog: Working together: Prioritizing education development and transformation for a better future
Global Partnership for Education
Laura Frigenti, Chief Executive Officer, Global Partnership for Education
Our ambitions for a safer, more equitable, and more prosperous future begin and end with our commitment to investing in inclusive quality education. The Fortaleza Declaration is a cornerstone that reaffirms the critical role education plays in advancing all Sustainable Development Goals. It highlights the urgency of addressing current global education challenges through increased financing, gender equality, and a focus on leaving no one behind. The Global Partnership for Education is committed to driving these efforts forward by transforming education systems, with equity and inclusion as our guiding lights, and by mobilizing greater, more efficient, and innovative financing to ensure that every child has access to the quality education they deserve to thrive in the world of tomorrow.
- Read Laura Frigenti's blog: Making education financing go further: Disrupting the status quo to do more
OECD
Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The Fortaleza Declaration is uniting global efforts to address the education crisis, and there is no time to waste. 40% of primary-school-age children globally lack basic reading skills and this rises to 84% in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Fortaleza Declaration shows countries how to mobilize the resources to make SDG 4 a reality. The OECD will follow up by working with countries on the necessary tax policies and practices and on further developing and expanding PISA so that the world can track progress towards SDG 4.
- Read Andreas Schleicher's blog: Digital dreaming: the role of technology in expanding education access
World Bank
Luis Benveniste, Global Director for Education, World Bank
With the Fortaleza Declaration, we committed to put education on the front burner by recognizing its transformative socioeconomic power to foster resilient and peaceful societies and shape a brighter tomorrow for all.
Education International
David Edwards, General Secretary, Education International
The Fortaleza Declaration is an urgent catalyst for action to accelerate progress towards SDG 4 at a time of crisis of political will and investment. It is a clarion call to reverse a deeply concerning trend before future generations pay the price for our inaction.
The Declaration pledges to urgently address the global teacher shortage. By aligning with the powerful UN High-Level Panel Recommendations on the Teaching Profession, it highlights both the importance of improving teacher salaries and working conditions as well as involving teachers in decision-making in education.
Education International and our 383 member organisations in 178 countries are advocating for peace and safety for students and teachers at this horrendous moment for the world. We also will for increased investment in public education and the full implementation of the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession.
- Read David Edwards' blog: The United Nations stands with teachers and calls for action to strengthen the profession
Jacobs Foundation
Simon Sommer, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Jacobs Foundation
We believe that evidence-based, quality education is key to ensuring every child, everywhere, is able to thrive. By bringing together stakeholders in education to recommit to achieving SDG 4, the Fortaleza Declaration demonstrates the importance of collaborating across sectors and organizations to achieve our global goals.
The Private Foundation constituency in the SDG4 HSLC is pleased to see the Fortaleza Declaration emphasize the importance of strengthening and transforming systems. Its focus on sustainable, long-term investment in education, including through innovative financing mechanisms and evidence-based allocation of resources, will be central to achieving SDG 4.
Foundations all around the world will continue to support transformational, evidence-based, and inclusive programs dedicated to improving children’s learning and development. Our collaborative, partnership-based approach will ensure our actions support the ambitious goals of the Fortaleza Declaration.
- Read Simon Sommer's blog: The key to achieving SDG4? Embracing a culture of listening
