Global/UN Initiatives and Programs

There are many global and UN agency initiatives and programs that both elaborate upon and directly or indirectly influence education policy and the demands made on education faculties in preparing educators, conducting timely research and serving their respective countries and communities. This page maintains an updated list of some of these initiatives and programs as well as GNDE actions to influence these initiatives. These include:
Recent or Ongoing UN/Global Initiative
Key Points/GNDE Actions
The UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals wherein education is not only described in Goal #4 but throughout all the other goals. Recent events related to the SD Goals include a series of regional meetings and committees leading up to a high level review in September 2019)
GNDE will be developing a framework paper to articulate the collective views of education deans on the UN Goals and Goal #4 in particular. Two aspects that are likely included in that draft paper will be equity and the need to offer a broad range of educational opportunities within a whole child approach that balances the custodial, intellectual, vocational, social and accreditation roles of schooling. GNDE is involved with two networks/initiatives on equity and the social role of schooling that will be able to contribute advice in the preparation of this paper.
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The Education Workforce Initiative of the Education Commission on financing led by Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy on Education
GNDE submitted comments on the latest drafts of the report and related research research papers. Our essential comment was that despite the urgency of impending teacher shortages, the EWI should not recommend that countries take short cuts that bypas or underestimate the need to university-based initial teacher education programs.

Interim GNDE Chair Irma Eloff met briefly with EWI staff members at a recent UNESCO meeting.  
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UNESCO Activities, including monitoring of education through its Institute for Statistics, the International Task Force on Teachers and the 2030 Framework for Action arising from the 2015 Incheon Declaration endorsed by member states as well as the status of K-12 teachers and post-secondary educators and the annual Global Education Monitoring Report
The UNESCO International Task Force on Teacher Education met recently in Jamaica and GNDE was represented by Irma Eloff, Interim Chair. The work plan for the Task Force includes several aspects of interest to education deans.
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OECD Activities including the Education 2030 initiative on competency-based curricula, the OECD Education at a Glance reporting on the state of education around the world and the expanding use of the PISA report in policy-making
The OECD Education 2030 Initiative is developing a comprehensive, competency-based framework to guide curriculum development in countries.
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World Bank Activities including monitoring and influencing of education quality through its funding and SABER systems monitoring 


The SABER monitoring program includes several self-assessment tools for countries to use in their planning and development of their education systems.
A global network...
  • led by regional and national associations
  • linked with global networks concerned with education
  • offering faculty leaders an opportunity to collaborate and contribute
  • promoting equity and educational success through selected global initiatives

What's New
  • view the recording of our initial meeting
  • view a recording of the first GNDE workshop held the AERA conference in Toronto in April 2019
Learning, Teaching, Research, Community