Mission 4.7
Mission 4.7 (which gets its name from
SDG Target 4.7, focussing on knowledge and education) brings together leaders
from government, academia, civil society, and business to accelerate the
implementation of Education for Sustainable Development around the world and to
highlight the critical importance of education in achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
The annual Vatican Youth
Symposium, taking place on 16-17 December in a virtual format at the
Casina Pio IV, is focusing on the need to promote a new kind of education, “one
that will overcome the current globalization of indifference and the culture of
waste.”
The consequences of the pandemic on
education
Noting that 2020 has been an
extraordinary year of suffering due to COVID-19 - which has caused forced
isolation and exclusion, spiritual anguish and many deaths - in his message the
Pope said the pandemic has also caused an unprecedented educational
crisis.
“More than a billion children have
faced disruptions to their education. Hundreds of millions of children have
been left behind in opportunities for social and cognitive development. And in
many places, the biological, psychological and economic crises have been
aggravated by the political and social crises that accompany them,” he said.
The Pope thanked participants at the
Symposium for coming together in an act of hope that counters the “impulses of
hatred, division and ignorance,” realities that can be overcome thanks to a
“new wave of educational opportunities based on social justice and mutual
love”: the new Global Compact for Education that was launched in October.
Above all, he said, “I thank you for
coming together today to grow in our shared hopes and plans for a new education
that promotes, 'the transcendence of the human person, integral and sustainable
human development, intercultural and religious dialogue, the safeguarding of
the planet, meetings for peace and openness to God.'”
Role and responsibility of the UN
Pope Francis also noted that the role
and the contribution of the United Nations offer a unique opportunity for the
world's governments and civil society to unite in hope and action for a new
kind of new education.
He quoted St. Paul VI's 1965 message
of appreciation to the United Nations, which reads: “Gentlemen, you have
accomplished and are now in the course of accomplishing a great work: you are
teaching men peace. The United Nations is the great school where people get
this education."
And he recalled the Constitution
adopted by UNESCO in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. In its
Preamble, the Constitution recognizes that "since wars begin in the minds
of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be
constructed.” And, he continued, seventy-five years ago, the founders of
UNESCO called for "full and equal opportunities for education for all, in
the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth and in the free exchange of ideas
and knowledge ... so that peoples may gain greater understanding of one another
and acquire a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other's lives."
In our time, Pope Francis said, when
the pact for global education has broken down, “I am pleased to see that
governments have recommitted themselves to putting these ideas into practice by
adopting Agenda 2030 and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, in synergy
with the Global Compact on Education.”
He highlighted the fact that at the
heart of the SDGs is the recognition that quality education for all is a
necessary foundation for protecting our common home and fostering human
fraternity.
'Do not forget the elderly'
The Pope concluded by expressing his
support for the collaboration between The Global Compact for Education and
Mission 4.7, which he said will work together “for the civilization of love,
beauty and unity.” And, he said: “Do not forget the elderly and the
grandparents who are the bearers of the most decisive human values.”
Vatican News
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