Last week, the APPG on Global Education met with Send My Friend to School youth campaigners to discuss their latest campaign, ‘Education Interrupted: Turning the tide on the global education emergency’. In an interactive virtual event, eight parliamentarians from the APPG had a productive discussion with the secondary-school aged campaigners. The campaigners did an excellent job of highlighting the the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the funding crisis on progress towards SDG 4. With the UK co-host of this year’s Global Education Summit, the campaign champions were keen to discuss how parliamentarians and young people could work together to push the Government towards making a £600 million pledge to the Global Partnership for Education’s replenishment. Other topics discussed included the G7, the Government’s cuts to the aid budget and COP26.
The APPG meeting was part of the Send My Friend’s annual parliamentary action day which also included a Q and A with former APPG Chair and current Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Stephen Twigg, and meetings with their local MPs. We look forward to welcoming them back to parliament next year… fingers crossed it will be in person by then !