HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad has said that Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be met unless education is given top priority. HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad with Unesco secretary-general Irina Bokova Participating in a high-level roundtable meeting on the Central Role of Education in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), held here yesterday at United Nations Headquarters, Sheikha Mozah said: “All of us here are cognizant of the fact that education, while it has prominence on the global agenda, often falls off the priority list when it comes to the protection of education in times of conflict and emergency. “This has been of central importance to me since I began my work with Unesco and has continued through my work with the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations. HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad holding talks with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, special adviser to the secretary-general of the United Nations on the Millennium Development Goals, at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. Talks dealt with topics on the agenda of the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in the field of education “The report before us reaffirms my belief that the other MDGs cannot be met unless the Education for All goals are given top priority across all regions, including those torn by natural disasters and political conflicts. There can be no peace and prosperity without education.” Following are the excerpts from the speech of Sheikha Mozah’s at the High Level Roundtable Luncheon on the Central Role of Education: “Today I participated in a meeting for the Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group and was, frankly, relieved to see many notable figures genuinely concerned about the challenges before us in meeting the goals to which we committed 10 years ago. “I was also encouraged when I saw that other members of the group recognised the important role education plays in meeting the other MDGs. “I have taken the liberty of sharing with my fellow advocates the paper prepared for our discussion today and I was optimistic when I noted the enthusiasm with which they received it. “Today we will discuss how quality primary education is a powerful force in achieving all of the other MDGs and we will review studies that demonstrate the connections between education and the achievement of goals in reducing poverty and child mortality, improving maternal health, preventing the spread of disease and ensuring environmental sustainability. It is important that we advocate for an educational component to be included in all of the work toward meeting the other MDGs. “This is why I look forward to an energetic discussion on the recommendations presented in the report under discussion. “But there is also another important issue to consider. All of us here are cognizant of the fact that education, while it has prominence on the global agenda, often falls off the priority list when it comes to the protection of education in times of conflict and emergency. “This has been of central importance to me since I began my work with Unesco and has continued through my work with the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations. “The report before us reaffirms my belief that the other MDGs cannot be met unless the Education for All goals are given top priority across all regions, including those torn by natural disasters and political conflicts. “There can be no peace and prosperity without education. Conflicts are a major threat to human security and to hard-won MDG goals. “Years after a conflict has ended, large populations of refugees remained displaced, with limited employment, education opportunities and inadequate health services. Countries that have lost educational infrastructure as a result of war are less likely to reach the Education for All goals for 2015. “Education is particularly important in times of armed conflict because it can provide a sense of normalcy in an environment of chaos. “It is conducive to democracy and peace because it has the potential to instill new values and behaviours, as well as help reduce economic, social and ethnic polarisation. “Therefore, it is a sad fact that billions of dollars are spent on arms by countries around the world every year. This money would have enabled those countries to put every child in school and to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, fulfilling two of the Millennium Development Goals. “May be it is too much to ask to stop wars or dream of a conflict free world. Education demands security, safety, and sustainability and those who attack education and impede access to it are enemies of civilisation and they constitute an obstacle to the right of Education. “Many of you here today played an important role in ensuring the UN General Assembly passed a Resolution titled the Right to Education in Emergency Situations in July 2010. “Under this measure, and for the first time, governments of the world explicitly commit to physically protecting educators and educational facilities (the indicators of our civilisation as I see them) at all levels, in times of conflict and disaster. “This is an excellent beginning, but it is only a start.” QNA

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