Education and Early Childhood Development
November 8, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development:

Minister Kirby Provides Update on UNESCO Conference

Mr. Speaker, from November 1 to 4, I had the privilege to lead the Canadian delegation at the Education Commission of the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Paris, where hundreds of delegates from countries all over the world participated.

UNESCO is responsible for coordinating international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication. It strengthens the ties between nations and societies, and mobilizes the wider public so that each child and citizen has access to quality education.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a long history of engagement with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, and I was happy to represent the council as head of our Canadian Delegation. I had the unique opportunity to present at a luncheon, alongside representatives from the Republic of Korea, to a large international group that included 41 Education Ministers from around the world.

The conference focused on our shared commitment toward ensuring every person in our world has access to inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning. We discussed the importance of multilateralism and nation-to-nation cooperation in our changing global environment as well as opportunities for internationalization.

Mr. Speaker, I attended and presented during the plenary debates of the Education Commission, and I also had bilateral discussions with delegations from a number of countries, including China, the Republic of Korea, Finland and Norway. I was pleased to represent Canada’s Education Ministers at special events hosted by ambassadors from India, Japan and Nigeria.

It was an opportunity for our government to be recognized as leaders in education on an international scale. Consistent with our commitment in The Way Forward to increase revenue to the province through international education, it was also an excellent opportunity to have discussions with officials from other countries regarding the establishment of Newfoundland and Labrador-administered schools abroad and licensing the use of our K-12 education curriculum to other jurisdictions around the world.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2017 11 08                              2:20 p.m.