On November 7, Laura Frigenti, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and first director of the Italian development cooperation agency, will emphasize the urgency of addressing the global education crisis at a hearing of the Committee on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
During the hearing, Frigenti will share GPE’s successes and efforts in addressing the global education crisis. Stressing the importance of education as a strategic investment, she will emphasize the urgency of taking concrete steps to address the challenge of a future in which millions of young people will be without access to quality education.
“It is time to shift our perspective on education, considering it not just as an expense, but as a strategic investment. Quality education is the key to building human capital, strengthening social ties and fueling economic growth. Investing in education is an investment in the future,” said Laura Frigenti ahead of her upcoming testimony.
Currently, in low-income countries, seven out of ten children are unable to read a simple story by the age of ten. This learning crisis puts this generation at risk of losing US$21 trillion in potential lifetime earnings, equivalent to 17 percent of today’s global GDP. The likelihood of conflict more than doubles in countries with high incidences of inequality in education.
“Italy, as President of the G7, has a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership on this fundamental issue by including education, especially for girls, as a crucial theme of the Summit in Puglia in order to solve the learning crisis, which has the potential to exacerbate migration, climate change and inequalities. Education is the common thread that runs through the G7’s vision of building safe, equitable and stable societies” concludes Laura Frigenti.
