President Clinton Highlights the Importance of Government, NGO's and the Private Sector Working Together to Educate Children in the Developing World

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Inaugural Global Education and Skills Forum

Mar 15, 2013, 05:08 ET

DUBAI, UAE, March 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Speaking at the inaugural Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai where 500 delegates from 50 countries are discussing how public private partnerships can solve the global demand for better education, President Clinton said:

"It is projected that by 2050 that 86 per cent of the world's children will be living in what are now developing countries. There is no way that Government's alone or international aid flows alone will be able to provide those children with the quality of education they need to be full participants in global society. This is especially relevant for women and girls.

"The great thing about a public private partnership is that you have the dedication of the public interest with Government bodies and the dedication to keeping score and getting concrete results that is a necessity in the private sector. We're just beginning what I am convinced will be a very exciting story throughout the 21^st century.

"We have to re-imagine what our responsibilities and our opportunities are. In this decade six of the world's fastest growing economies are in Africa. In the following decade seven of the fastest growing economies of the world will be in Africa. We need to help them through public private partnerships to rapidly scale up their own human capital by educating their children. We are seeing the same thing in poor countries in South East Asia.

"We need this commitment to education everywhere and almost everywhere success will require a level of public private partnership never before achieved."

The Forum, jointly organized by UNESCO, The Commonwealth Business Council, The UAE Government and GEMS Education will examine ways to create real, sustainable and scalable change to education systems at global and local levels.

A particular focus will be on developing an environment that supports effective public and private partnerships, including a regulatory framework that ensures access, quality, relevance and equity in education provision.

Around 67 million children do not have access to primary school education and another 72 children miss out on secondary school education.

The Forum covers topics across the education sectors, including sessions on disruptive technologies, technical and vocational education and equity in education.

Attendees include E. Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi, H.E. Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda, H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, H, H.E. Cirino Ofuho, Minister of Youth, H.E. Chilundo Arlindo, Deputy Minister of Education, Mozambique, South Sudan, H.E. Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State, UAE, Nick Fuller, Head of Education, Olympics 2012, UK, H.E. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of Human Resource Development, India and Lord Andrew Adonis, former Minister of State for Education, UK.