We are happy to announce a new episode of the Earth Charter Podcast, now on its fourth season. In this episode, host Mirian Vilela talks to Leonardo Garnier, Costa Rica’s former Minister of Education and Special Adviser to the 2022 United Nations Transforming Education Summit. The Summit aimed to renew international political commitment to education as a fundamental public good and was a key initiative of Our Common Agenda. The purpose of the summit was to highlight the importance of education, make it central to the political agenda of governments, and mobilize action and financial investment. Its focus was on engaging stakeholders in “reimagining education for the future and reigniting global efforts to deliver the education-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.” Garnier is a member of the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education and played a crucial role in the development of the recent Report on the Futures of Education.
In this conversation, Garnier emphasized the need to invest more in quality education and prioritize it in political agendas. He underlined “good education is not cheap: high income countries account for 63% of global investment in education and they have 10% of the students. On the other hand, low- and middle-income countries, have about 75% of the children (students) of the world and about 8% of the budget. It is clear that more investment in education is necessary, such as invest more per student in a school.” He calls for increased funding for education in national budgets and for the investment of more funds per student in schools.
“Education mainly has to do with learning to live and enjoy our lives fully and to live with other people.”
Leonardo Garnier.
In summary, Leonardo Garnier’s experience as a minister and member of the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education provides valuable insights into the need to prioritize education in political agendas, invest more in quality education, and make it more relevant to the needs of younger generations. His emphasis on ethics and the importance of the teacher’s role in the learning process is also noteworthy.