Passing the baton - let's renew our commitment to global education
Stephen Twigg (centre, middle) outside Women and Girls Wellness Centre in Homosha Woreda, Ethiopia, during a visit with the UK Parliament International Development Committee
© IDC, UK Parliament
After the 2017 UK General Election, I was invited by RESULTS UK to chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Education. The Group brings together UK parliamentarians on a cross-party basis to speak up for the importance of accessible, high quality education around the world.
An ambitious challenge
At the same time, I also chaired the International Development Select Committee (IDC) of the UK House of Commons. In November 2017, the IDC published our report looking at the UK’s work on global education. We emphasised the scale of the ambitious challenges set out in Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the importance of “leaving no one behind”.
During 2018 and 2019, I had a number of conversations exploring the scope to create a global network of parliamentarians dedicated to achieving SDG4. I worked with Joseph Nhan O’Reilly (then at Save The Children) and Lucy Drescher (of RESULTS UK) to develop the idea of what has become the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd).
Rohingya refugee Nur Fatima, 11, attends classes.
© UNHCR/Roger Arnold
The Network is born
IPNEd is up and running with initial financial support from Education Cannot Wait. We have two excellent parliamentarians as co-chairs and a highly committed secretariat working hard towards IPNEd’s public launch in the Autumn. It has been a privilege to work with others to establish the Network and I wish them well as I move on at the end of this month.
When I decided to stand down from Parliament at the 2019 General Election, I was keen to build upon my experience as Chair of the IDC in whatever came next for me. On August 1st 2020, I will take up a new role as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). I am looking forward to working with parliamentarians across the Commonwealth as we rebuild after the appalling impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A world of inspiration
Education has always been a personal priority for me – locally, nationally and internationally. I have powerful and moving memories from my time as IDC Chair which reinforce my commitment to global education. I will never forget the remarkable Girls Education Challenge programme run by Leonard Cheshire in Kenya supporting disabled girls to attend school. Or the work with refugee children both in Cox’s Bazaar with Rohingya children and in Jordan & Lebanon with Syrian children.
Parliamentarians in partnership to deliver the promise of SDG 4
Parliamentarians have both the responsibility and the opportunity to be voices for investment in accessible and good quality education. They are most effective working in partnership with others including teachers, young people, wider civil society and respected multilaterals like the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait. IPNEd’s contribution will be to foster the very best practice in all corners of the globe.
Governments committed themselves five years ago to Agenda 2030 including SDG4. Parliaments have a crucial part to play in holding governments to account and supporting the necessary measures to deliver on the three pillars of a successful education system - equity, quality and funding. I am confident that, as it embarks on its journey, IPNEd will make a real and lasting difference.
Stephen Twigg was a Member of the British Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 1997 to 2005, and for Liverpool West Derby from 2010 to 2019. He served as an Education Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Shadow Foreign Minister. In the last British Parliament he chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education and the UK Parliament’s influential International Development Committee where he championed the UK’s role in global education.
Following his departure from Parliament he served as IPNEd’s first Executive Director until his appointment as Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
