dinsdag 4 december 2018

Ageing Well & Education for All

4 December 2018

On the day of their 19th wedding anniversary, King Philippe & Queen Mathilde hosted a round table conference at the royal palace on a society that's inclusive for elderly persons - titled "Ageing is the future: let us build it together”.


Their guests were: Prof. Dr. Thierry Eggerickx, Prof. Dr. Thierry Pepersack, Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Portzky, Prof. Dr. Chantal Van Audenhove, Prof. Dr. Stéphane Adam, Mrs Marie-Pierre Delcour, Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Longneaux, Mrs Anne-Sophie Parent, Prof. Dr. Liesbeth De Donder, Dr. Ann Petermans en Mr Seppe Baeyens.

And at 14:00 Queen Mathilde participated in the UNESCO Global Education Meeting at the Egmont Palace in Brussels.



As SDG advocate, Queen Mathilde gave the opening address of the conference in English and French. Purpose of today's conference was to take stock of progress and challenges to date in the implementation of SDG4: the right to quality education.






"C’est un privilège pour mon pays d’accueillir la Réunion mondiale de l’UNESCO consacrée au thème important qu’est l’éducation. Nous savons tous que l’éducation est à la base de tout développement."


"Mais, encore aujourd’hui, 262 millions d’enfants, d’adolescents et de jeunes ne vont pas à l’école, soit 1 sur 5. Moins de 60% des filles dans les pays les plus pauvres terminent l’école primaire."


"Plus inquiétant encore, les progrès enregistrés semblent désormais stagner.  Enfin, des conflits prolongés, causant d’importants déplacements de population, ont privé de nombreux enfants et adolescents de plusieurs années de scolarité, au point que l’on a parlé à leur sujet de génération perdue. Parmi eux, des enfants-soldats dont la réintégration nécessitera des efforts soutenus."


"For pupils to benefit most from their years of schooling, we need to pay greater attention to very young children and to invest more in them. I have personally witnessed the damage caused by malnutrition. It results in stunting and has debilitating long-term effects on children’s physical and mental development. Evidence also shows that stimulation and pre-primary schooling can play an important role in preparing children to make the best of their school years."


"The world is changing fast and educational needs are changing too. We must analyze teachers’ roles and, if necessary, recalibrate their training. They must be empowered to deliver the quality education that parents and children are entitled to expect."


"When it comes to education, too many girls are left behind. While as many girls as boys complete elementary school, finishing secondary school remains out of reach for a lot of girls. Families often need an extra hand at home. Or they want to marry their daughters off - possibly to reduce the number of mouths there are to feed. And some, as I have learned from my conversations with young girls during my field visits, simply think that girls do not belong in school. At the same time, many schools lack adequate sanitary facilities for teenage girls, and pregnant girls are usually excluded from the classroom altogether."


"As we know, the SDGs are all connected. Achieving progress in one is linked to achieving progress in the others. Educated mothers will give birth to and raise healthy children. Sustained progress on education will also help achieve progress on gender equality. Likewise, without progress on education, it would be difficult to eliminate poverty and hunger; to create conditions for decent work and economic growth; to reduce inequalities or make progress in fighting climate change. It is important, therefore, for schools to make students more aware of the significance of the SDGs, and of how each individual and each community can contribute practically to achieving them."





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