Global Action Week - Accountability for SDG4 through Citizen Participation

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The Global Action Week (GAW) for Education is an annual highlight for the education movement. Created and led by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), it provides everyone campaigning for the right to education with an opportunity to make targeted efforts to achieve change on the ground, with the support of millions of members of the public worldwide joining together for the same cause. CBM is an international member of GCE, and some CBM offices and partners are active in their GCE national coalition.

This year’s GAW is focused on “Accountability for SDG4 through Citizen Participation”. The aim is to continue holding governments and the international community to account for implementing the full Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 agenda – asking governments to “Keep Your Promises” as citizens with a right to see Education for All to become a reality.

The Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) Financing Conference at the start of 2018 saw an increased commitment from a number of GPE partner countries, donor countries and various partners for more and better education financing, , with several pledging for increased disability-inclusive education. This is a call for working towards financing public, equitable, inclusive and free education for all. To leave no-one behind and ensure disability-inclusive education, all governments need to deliver on this goal.

CBM supports education partners, Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and parents’ organisations to engage with their governments as part of citizen and civil society participation. Their voices need to be respected and understood in any decision-making process which impacts on their lives.

This year, the Global Campaign for Education is calling on governments to:

  • develop credible roadmaps for implementation of the full SDG4 agenda, with clear mechanisms for transparency, allowing for active meaningful participation of civil society;
  • halt the criminalisation and shrinking of civil society spaces, both nationally and internationally;
  • strengthen public systems and state capacities to ensure that education is free, of high quality, and equitable and reject turning towards low fee/”affordable” private schooling as an answer to the education crisis.

Teachers, students, education campaigners and members of the public are asked to take part in events happening all around the world during Global Action Week for Education, which runs from 22-28th April 2018.

CBM is asking partners and offices to:

Join their GCE national coalitions to support GAW and call for disability-inclusive education.
support alliance partners, Liliane Fonds activity ‘We ring the Bell 2018 Campaign’. This campaign asks schools to take a minute to make a lot of noise highlighting the importance of disability-inclusive education. To get inspired by what one of our partners in India did please watch this video.
sign the Liliane Fonds Manifesto. It has 11 statements and can be signed and viewed online here by organizations and / or individuals worldwide. Partners are asked to print the manifesto, collect signatures and take them to their district education department to raise awareness about the right of learners with disabilities to access school and what needs to be in place to achieve this goal.

Several CBM partners have already endorsed the manifesto and carried out the ‘Ring the Bell’ activity. CBM Germany will participate with GCE Germany in supporting young people to meet with parliamentarians in May. We look forward to hearing about your activities.

For more information visit www.actionweek.campaignforeducation.org!