Introduction
The International Day of Education, observed annually on 24th January, was established by the UN General Assembly to commemorate education as a human right, public good, and public responsibility. It aims to create awareness that education is essential for the success of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030.
At our seminar, Tools to Negotiate Education Financing in 2025, alongside our esteemed guests and audience, we celebrated #EducationDay by reaffirming education as a public good, and therefore public responsibility—one that can only be fulfilled through adequate and sustainable funding.
2025 marks a critical year for securing the financial foundations needed to deliver quality education for all worldwide, with the pivotal 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, the launch of negotiations on the UN Tax Convention, and the replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education on the horizon.
The event featured key speakers, including a youth leader and education specialists, with contributions from the Global Partnership for Education, the Tax Justice Network, and the Global Campaign for Education Spain. Our distinguished speakers introduced the upcoming, decisive negotiation milestones and discussed key actions to prepare.
Agenda
We had an exciting speaker line-up and agenda:
- Introduction to the GPE Replenishment by Karen Schroh, Director of External Relations, Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
- GPE Youth Voice: Answer the Call by Massah Esther Nyally Bockarie
- The UN Tax Convention, Education, and What to Know for 2025 by Carolina Finette, Researcher and Advocate, Tax Justice Network – Download Presentation here
- The 2025 UN Financing for Development Conference and our Role as Education Stakeholders by Macarena Romero, Leader of Advocacy Team, Global Campaign for Education (GCE) Spain – Download Presentation here
- Conversation / Q&A between speakers and audience moderated by INEW
Key Takeaways
During the seminar, Karen Schroh, Director of External Relations at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) introduced the upcoming GPE replenishment process, emphasising that the ambitious goal of securing 5 billion US dollars over five years remains unchanged to ensure education remains a global priority. She highlighted Ireland’s strong support for global education while urging an increase in its share of development assistance to meet international targets set at the Transforming Education Summit. She stressed the importance of collective and unified action to make the argument for education. Addressing political uncertainties, she stressed the importance of broadening the donor base and ensuring sustained advocacy to keep education on the global agenda.
Karen also introduced the Answer the Call campaign, launched by GPE as a collaborative effort across sectors to strengthen advocacy for education. Massah Esther Nyally Bockarie, a GPE Youth Leader from Sierra Leone, shared her personal journey with education, highlighting both its transformative power and the deep inequalities that persist. Reflecting on her own schooling and later experience as a volunteer teacher in an under-resourced school, she emphasised the urgent need for increased education financing. She underscored that millions of children worldwide lack basic learning materials, trained teachers, and adequate funding, making global investment in education critical. Calling on world leaders, donors, and national governments, she urged collective action through the “Answer the Call” campaign to secure sustained funding and ensure that no child or educator is left behind.
Carolina, Advocate and Researcher at the Tax Justice Network, outlined the ongoing negotiations for a new UN Tax Convention aimed at creating a more inclusive, transparent, and democratic global tax system, with significant benefits for education funding. According to the latest State of Tax Justice report, 492 billion US dollars is lost annually to global tax abuse by multinationals, and the UN Tax Convention is a crucial step toward addressing this issue. Participants were encouraged to advocate for their governments’ support. Current tax rules are dominated by a limited group of OECD countries and transparently tackling tax abuse could provide education for millions of children and help close the global teacher shortage. Advocates were urged to stay informed, utilise accessible resources (see more under resources), follow policy discussions, and leverage tools like the ABC to G3 of Tax Justice to push for fairer tax policies at national and international levels.
Macarena Romero, Advocacy Team Lead at GCE Spain, introduced the upcoming 4th Financing for Development Conference in Spain, stressing the need to shift power and make the UN a space for the global south, particularly in monetary decisions. She called for addressing the debt crises and austerity measures undermining education funding and urged advocates to influence national finance ministries, European parliamentarians, and UN delegates to prioritise education and human rights in the negotiations for and at the conference, urging that education is currently underrepresented in the draft text. Macarena recommended monitoring discussions, engaging in cross-sector advocacy with other NGOs, and mobilising through initiatives like Global Action Week for Education. She also encouraged staying involved through mailing lists and advocacy mechanisms to amplify collective voices.
We thank all our speakers for their insightful and valuable contributions. If you are working on this topic and would like more information or connections, please feel free to reach out to us.
