UNESCO-UNEVOC participated in the second annual Global Education and Skills Forum held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 14 to 17 March 2014. Organized by UNESCO and the UAE Ministry of Education, GEMS Education, the Varkey GEMS Foundation and Dubai Cares, in support of the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative, the forum aimed at providing a platform for exchange between representatives of government, leading non-governmental organizations and business leaders with a view to strengthening ties and further engaging the private sector in the field of education.

Shyamal Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC, spoke in the panel discussion on “Lessons from Existing Practices in Youth Skills Development: Replicating Successes and Building Scale” in which he stressed the economic, social, educational and technological imperatives that lie behind the growing attention for TVET globally. Majumdar spoke about the success of the dual system in Germany and the challenges faced in China and India where the demand for skilled workers is vastly growing. “We need to be aware that while a model can be a success in one country, it cannot just be replicated. It needs to be contextualized to the local setting”, he said. Other panellists in the session were H.E. George Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece, Jim Hagemann Snabe, Co-CEO, SAP (Germany) and Dr Mohammed Almajed, Vice President, Colleges of Excellence (Saudi Arabia).

Keynote speakers included President Bill Clinton, Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International and Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, who encouraged business leaders present to join UNESCO’s Global Partnership for Girls’ Education. This initiative was launched in 2011 and targets the weakest links in education – the transition to secondary education and literacy.

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