Education First

Education First is a Global Initiative led by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It gathers a broad spectrum of world leaders and advocates who all aspire to use the transformative power of education to build a better future for all.

The Initiative aims to raise the political profile of education, strengthen the global movement to achieve quality education and generate additional and sufficient funding through sustained advocacy efforts.

Achieving gains in education will have an impact on all the Millennium Development Goals, from lower child and maternal mortality, to better health, higher income and more environmentally-friendly societies.

Education is the basic building block of every society. It is a fundamental human right, not a privilege of the few. It is no coincidence that parents around the world demand education for their children as their first priority. Children themselves yearn for the opportunity to fulfil their dreams.

In our knowledge-based world, education is the single best investment countries can make towards building prosperous, healthy and equitable societies. It unleashes the optimal potential in people, improving individual livelihoods and those of future generations.

Yet a good education is more than an entry point into the job market. Education has the power to transform people and bring shared values to life. It can give us a profound understanding that we are tied together as citizens of the global community, and that our challenges are interconnected. By expanding educational opportunities, we can open the door to more equitable, dynamic and resilient patterns of globalization. Indeed, education is the critical thread tying together all our hopes for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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