The SDG4 Academy: a space for training, dialogue and cooperation in follow-up to the Transforming Education Summit
In 2015, the UNESCO Offices in San José, Costa Rica, Mexico and Guatemala, in collaboration with the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA) and the support of the Central American Parliament, proposed to join forces around an "SDG4 Academy - EDUCA Mesoamerica for the educational inclusion of all people throughout life", which aims to offer middle and high level officials, decision makers and technical advisors in charge of strategic areas of the right to education, a space for training, dialogue and cooperation, to rethink the solutions to the learning crisis in these countries based on experiences, practices and lessons learned and with a vision of regional integration. Their approach and resolution require, in addition to intersectoral and complex approaches and the consolidation of political commitments, the production and systematization of knowledge, practices and tools that make it possible to respond with relevance and pertinence, supporting the protagonism of the countries themselves in the decision-making processes that affect their present and future.
This is the essence of the transformation of education: a search with autonomy, participation and collaboration of new social contracts inside and outside the walls of schools, in educational and other enabling policies, with the involvement of each of the actors of the educational communities and the rest of the communities, in favor of a greater socio-educational justice that leaves no one behind or outside.
In accordance with the 2030 Agenda, the SDG4 Academy "EDUCA Mesoamerica for the educational inclusion of all people throughout life", focuses on exploring possible solutions to educational exclusion from a Mesoamerican regional perspective and the contexts of each of the countries that make up the region. To this end, use is being made of information, resources and materials produced by UNESCO, other agencies of the United Nations System, private sector actors, academia and civil society, as well as by the education ministries of each country, which will contribute to provide a current, relevant and situated perspective.
The SDG4 Academy is organized in modules following the 5 thematic tracks of the Transforming Education Summit (TES) and one additional track: “Artificial Intelligence”:
- Inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools
- Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development
- Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession
- Digital learning and transformation
- Financing of Education
- Artificial Intelligence
The SDG4 Academy started its online “classes” for public officials designated by Member States on June 27th, 2023, until the first week of December of that year. Every Tuesday, Ministries of Education officials gathered to meet and experience, 30-40 minutes presentations by experts on key themes, share practices and experiences on the themes addressed and elaborate recommendations to address gaps to be undertaken nationally and/or regionally.
In total, nearly 150 public officials from 8 countries participated in this training.
Watch this video to find out more about the SDG4 Academy (video in Spanish):
The SDG4 Academy: a space for training, dialogue and cooperation in follow-up to the Transforming Education Summit
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