(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
ExxonMobil Foundation President Kevin Murphy participated in a high-level plenary session entitled ‘Education for Refugee Youth: From Policies to Programming, Let the Evidence Speak' at the recently concluded ‘World Innovation Summit for Education' (WISE).
Organised by Education Above All (EAA), the plenary also included Commissioner Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management (Cyprus); Allen E Goodman, Founder, International Institute of Education (USA); and Dr Alaa Murabit, SDG Advocate and UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth (Canada).
The session was attended by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the Chairperson and Founder, Education Above All Foundation; and H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development; key government officials; international academia representatives; and various stakeholders in education.
The conversation focused on the 260 million children and adolescents who remain out of school worldwide as a result of poverty, cultural factors, natural disasters and other barriers to quality education. The plenary emphasised that without immediate action, more than half of the upcoming youth generation 825 million of the 1.6 billion young people in 2030 could be left behind on opportunities provided by education.
In his opening remarks, Murphy spoke about the role of the corporate sector in helping achieve the goals of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4: inclusive and quality education for all. He discussed the ExxonMobil Foundation's projects and the partnerships it has developed to address the challenge of getting out-of-school children around the world into classrooms.
'I would like to thank Qatar Foundation, WISE and Education Above All for inviting me to participate on behalf of the ExxonMobil Foundation in this important conversation, Murphy said.
'ExxonMobil knows firsthand what is possible when partners work together. Our Foundation is proud to support programmes that embody the United Nations' strategies to achieve inclusive and quality education for all.
Murphy highlighted ExxonMobil Foundation's partnership with ‘Educate A Child', a global initiative launched by H H Sheikha Moza almost five years ago.
More than 61 million children worldwide do not have access to a quality primary school education. Educate A Child plans to ultimately enroll more than 10 million children into quality schools. To date, Educate A Child has already helped 6.6 million children, and plans are being developed to help an additional three million children in 40 different countries.
'ExxonMobil supports Educate A Child projects that are already underway in Nigeria and Angola. As a society, we cannot create sustainable communities if we don't first provide access to schools, Murphy said.
'Millions of children around the world face barriers like conflict, cultural factors and gender inequality that prevent them from attending school and having the education they deserve, said Fahad Al Sulaiti, chief executive officer, Education Above All.
'Every child has the right to a primary education guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and it is our collective responsibility as a global community to make certain each child gets the education they deserve.
'With this commitment guiding our work, Education Above All has been working with corporate and community partners to provide children around the world with the opportunity to learn, and in turn break the cycle of poverty. If we are to effectively reach our goals, we need to discuss what's important and better support one another. That is what today's plenary was all about, and I am grateful to those who participated. By putting our heads together, I believe that we can empower children around the world to lead the lives they dream of living, and help them believe in a brighter future, he added.
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