Corporate Leaders Encouraged to Support Secretary-General’s Global Education Goals

(New York, 27 September 2012) – Speaking at a breakfast meeting in New York today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon applauded business leaders for their commitment to education and encouraged them “to continue to lead the way”. The Secretary-General’s remarks were delivered on the heels of the launch of Education First, a new initiative to make education a top global priority and boost progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on education.

Education First seeks to mobilize a broad spectrum of partners to provide a “breakthrough in education” in three areas: achieve universal access to primary education; improve the quality and relevance of education; and foster global citizenship to give individuals the understanding, skills and values to ensure their well-being and that of others.

The Secretary-General said: “Businesses need a creative, skilled, innovative workforce. We know upgrading skills through adult literacy, continuing education and lifelong learning makes for more productive workers. And investing in education creates a generation of skilled people who will have rising incomes and demands for products and services — creating new markets and new opportunities for growth.”

He added that “we need more companies to think about how their business policies and practices can impact education priorities”.

The UN Global Compact’s Annual Implementation Survey of companies globally reaffirms that education is indeed on the mind of business. Fifty percent of UN Global Compact companies indicate that they are taking actions to target education, whether through core business, philanthropy, advocacy or partnerships – ranking second only to environment.

The UN Global Compact is committed to advancing global education through Education First and the efforts of other campaigns by mobilizing its 7,000 corporate signatories globally and through Local Networks in 100 countries. To spur action by companies, the UN Global Compact has developed and launched a new online platform that will host the commitments made in support of Education First. Twelve corporate commitments have already been made, and the system is ready to accept more.

“We very much welcome dedicated efforts by leading champions to advance the education agenda,” said Georg Kell, UN Global Compact Executive Director. “Our Local Networks can serve as practical hubs for rallying business support on education priorities in the local context – especially in countries where the need for progress is the greatest.”

• Learn more about Education First
• Make a commitment to Education First
• Read the Secretary-General's remarks to Global Business Coalition for Education Breakfast
• Read the Secretary-General's remarks on Launch of Education First Initiative

Contact

Melissa Powell
Head, Strategy and Partnerships
UN Global Compact
powell1@un.org