The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

3rd Edulink Stakeholder Conference: ‘Knowledge sharing through the ACP-EU Platform for Cooperation in Higher Education’
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal 01 – 02 October 2009
Closing remarks by Andrew Bradley, Assistant Secretary-General – Political Affairs and Human Development, ACP Group of States

The role of EDULINK in the promotion of sustainable development and the eradication of extreme poverty: Perspectives

Context:

Globalization, global crises, the urgency to attain the MDGs, and the emergence of new actors in development cooperation has made it necessary to change the current development model.  Today, we live in an interconnected world of nearly 7 billion people, and the 21^st century calls for a multi-dimensional and -stakeholder approach to the promotion of sustainable development and the eradication of extreme poverty. To achieve that, we need, like never before, transformational and collective leadership in the world.

The traditional donor-recipient relationship of the previous century has made way for partnerships that should promote equality, joint-decision making, home grown initiatives and ownership in development cooperation. The methodology of development cooperation is changing, with the focus on budget support, policy coherence, decentralization, and adherence to global benchmarks (Monterrey, Paris, Accra). After years of development aid cooperation, there is also an acceptance that the current developmental model is not working. Change is needed, and I share the perspective that, in future, development aid cooperation should focus on hard (physical) and soft (education and health) infrastructure and capacity building.

Sustainable development and education:

Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations. It is a vision of development that encompasses populations, animal and plant species, ecosystems, and natural resources. Education for sustainable development aims to assist people to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to make informed decisions for the benefit of themselves and others, now and in the future, and to act upon these decisions.

That is why UNESCO’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) seeks to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning, in order to address the political, social, economic, cultural, environmental and resource challenges we face in the 21^st century.

Poverty and education:

The linkages between poverty and education can be understood in two ways – investment in education as a poverty eradication instrument that can enhance skills and productivity, and poverty as a constraint to educational achievement both at the macro level (poor countries have lower enrolment rates) and micro level (children of poor households receive less education).

Therefore, education can eradicate extreme poverty that will lead to sustainable development.

Perspectives:

Knowledge is one of the key instruments of development.  As stated before, it will also equip us better to deal effectively with our many challenges, including current global challenges such as natural disasters, climate change, migration, food security, and the financial, economic and energy crises.

We need to address these challenges collectively through the sharing and transplanting of relevant knowledge – we, the ACP States, have human resource deficits, and a programme such as EDULINK should play a key role in building capacity and the required institutional frameworks.

Our external environment is constantly changing, which forces us to change, transform and adapt.  Today, I would like to also call for change in how we cooperate, collaborate and interact as practitioners and academia.  Do practitioners effectively utilise scientific knowledge and value the complementary efforts of scientific research? Could academia relinquish some independence and focus on needs-based and applied research?   It is high time that we, together, force a closer working relationship that would allow for joint efforts to find sustainable solutions to address our challenges. Again, EDULINK provides an excellent platform for academia and practitioners to reach out to each other, and to seek together responses that are based on focussed and needs-based research that would allow for informed policy formulation.

It is only when we cooperate and take hands, when we embrace change and are willing to change attitudes, that we will be able to improve, in a meaningful manner, the lives of so many. Let EDULINK become the vehicle of change, and indeed this new beginning. 

Conclusions:

As I have said yesterday, the ACP-EU Partnership is special, innovative and inter-links 105 developing and developed countries, more that half of the membership of the United Nations.  We are committed to the social development of our peoples, and after four years of implementation, I can truly state that EDULINK is on the move, and we will look back only to look forward.  Through change, innovation and a forward-looking perspective, can we make a difference – let us do it and change the lives of so many.

In my current capacity, this is my last engagement with the EDULINK community, and I would like to thank the European Commission, the EDULINK Programme Management Unit and Dr. John Kakule of the ACP Secretariat for the support, sound advice and commitment.  I am proud to be associated with EDULINK, and will indeed follow its evolution in the years to come.  I appreciated your active participation, and allow me also to thank our hosts, the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, for the excellent arrangements and facilities put at our disposal.

Allow me to conclude in the words of one of the greatest leaders, Nelson R. Mandela – ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’.