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On March 31, a hybrid online and offline edition of the International Symposium on Poverty Alleviation Through Education was held under the theme of “Education: an Important Pathway to Eradicating Poverty”. Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education of China, Firmin Matoko, Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations of UNESCO and Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education addressed the opening ceremony.
Tian Xuejun stated that poverty was a common challenge facing humanity, and that poverty eradication was among the primary goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He added that universal access to high quality education was central to achieving this goal. According to Tian, China has successfully achieved poverty alleviation through education by virtue of targeted measures tailored to local conditions. Success depended on making education the key to undo the cycle of inter-generational poverty. To this end, China has provided substantial support to education in poor areas, put forward a full set of financial aid policies for students from economically disadvantaged families, enhanced vocational education and adult education, and mobilized higher education institutions and vocational schools to help lift poor rural areas out of poverty. As a result, China has attained its poverty alleviation target 10 years ahead the 2030 Agenda target.
Tian stressed that China hoped to deepen international cooperation, especially cooperation through UNESCO, to build a community with a shared future for humanity. Also, China would continue to step up support for developing countries, including those in Africa, and would share best practices in poverty alleviation through education.
Matoko expressed his admiration for China’s tremendous success in poverty alleviation. He said that China’s experience was proof that education could help to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty, and China’s success stories showed that education and skills training played a fundamental role in poverty eradication. He believed that as one of the biggest partners and founding members of UNESCO, China would offer the world valuable experience in poverty alleviation through education.
Giannini said this symposium was held just at the right time. Poverty alleviation through education was closely related to developing equitable, inclusive and high quality education. She appreciated China’s substantial support to the UNESCO Global Education Coalition, and its contribution to ensure continuity in education.
Many participating experts from around the world agreed that China had made tremendous contribution to poverty alleviation and set a good example for developing countries. They hoped China would summarize and share its previous experience, and engage in extensive international exchange and cooperation on poverty alleviation and education, so as to facilitate the attainment of the 2030 Agenda goals.
The symposium was hosted by International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education of UNESCO, under the auspices of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, Beijing Normal University, and UNESCO Beijing Cluster Office. Attendees to the event included nearly 20 experts from around the world, officials from international organizations including UNESCO and Chinese experts.