G20 Radio Bulletin 29 - Valuing professionals who work in education is topic at the G20

The Education Working Group presented three priority areas for the Brazilian presidency during a video conference meeting on Tuesday. As well as all G20 member and guest countries, international organizations such as Education International and the Global Student Forum attended. Listen and find out more!

Reporter: Valuing professionals who work in education; sharing digital materials on education towards sustainable development; and the launch of the G20 Community Engagement in Schools Award. This year, these are the three priorities of the Education Working Group—which held its first technical meeting this Tuesday with the participation of all G20 member and guest countries.

After the meeting, Francisco Figueiredo de Souza, Special Advisor for International Affairs at Brazil’s Ministry of Education, and Natália Cabral, Assistant for International Affairs at the same Ministry, reviewed the meeting, which they considered positive.

Francisco Figueiredo de Souza: To us, the most important thing is that, alongside the ministers of Education, we can count on the presence of people who work in schools, teachers, so that the discussion is not only conceptual, but based on reality.

Reporter: One of the highlighted topics was valuing and encouraging teachers, which Natália highlighted.

Natália Cabral: I have had this in mind since yesterday's meeting: that the quality of education does not go beyond the quality of the teacher. So this is one of the big reasons why we put this topic under discussion—and this is something that brings all G20 countries together.

Reporter: The meeting, which began on Monday, featured an opening video by Brazil’s Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, who reiterated the proposals of the Brazilian presidency, and thanked the countries for their support to the topics that were presented. As well as this meeting, there will be three other technical meetings of the Working Group—one in May, to be held in Brasília; another in July, in Rio de Janeiro; and the third in October, to be held in Fortaleza.