people and planet

I
and achieve sustainable development – and education
is vital to that.
Since 2000, experience
has shown that only
To achieve the SDGs,
through a combined
it is necessary to effort can humanity
break down silos and tackle the challenges
facing it and the planet.
build cross-sector
To achieve the SDGs, it
collaboration that is necessary to break
contributes to a
down silos and build
cross-sector collaboration
shared vision
that contributes to a
shared vision. Leaders in
every area – from health,
education and justice to environment, gender and urban
development – must work together to create equitable
policies and seek out synergies in order to ensure a
decent and dignified life for all.
THEMATIC PART
The thematic part of the GEM Report discusses
reciprocal ties between SDG 4 on education and the
other 16 SDGs. It reviews education-oriented evidence,
practices and policies that demonstrate education’s role
in achieving the overall 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. At the same time, it recognizes that
changing realities in other development sectors affect
education systems and outcomes.
The thematic part is made up of eight chapters. Six
investigate the fundamental pillars and essential
concepts of sustainable development – Planet,
Prosperity, People, Peace, Place and Partnerships. The
final thematic chapter, Projections, discusses how
expected increases in educational attainment by 2030
will affect key development targets by 2050.
Planet focuses on the roles education can play in
transforming society to move towards environmental
sustainability. It discusses evidence on how education
can develop the knowledge, skills and solutions to help
increase concern for the environment, build awareness
of climate change and other climate risks, and change
individual behaviour to become more environmentfriendly.
It also acknowledges the importance of
transforming education systems so that education helps
foster sustainable lifestyles and rebalances the focus
on individual economic and material gains. It addresses
the need to encourage diverse perspectives so as to
achieve environmental sustainability – for instance, by
learning from the knowledge and lifestyles of indigenous
communities – and the need to educate and engage the
private sector to achieve sustained transformation.
Prosperity explores the roles of education in fostering
environmentally sustainable and economically
inclusive development. It provides evidence on links
between education and skills acquisition on the one
hand, and long-term economic growth on the other.
At the same time it discusses the importance of
transforming economic processes to make them more
environmentally sustainable through green industry and
sustainable agricultural practices. The chapter examines
the role of education in poverty and inequality reduction,
making the case for closer integration of education,
economic and employment policies to promote inclusion
of all people in the economy.
People discusses inclusive social development as an
aspiration to ensure that all women and men, girls and
boys lead healthy, dignified and empowered lives. At
a minimum, this implies that all people need access
to essential basic services such as education, health,
water, sanitation and energy. The chapter also focuses
on the transformative social development needed to
change social structures, institutions and relationships.
It highlights the scale of the challenges in providing
essential basic services to all, achieving gender equality
and including diverse marginalized populations. It
provides evidence on how education is important
for female empowerment for positive outcomes in
health, nutrition, sanitation and energy, and between
generations. It also discusses how education as an
institutional sector can improve the way other sectors
function, such as through health-related interventions
in schools. The education system is pivotal to inclusive
social development, since education can equip people
with knowledge, skills and values that can help improve
social outcomes and change social norms. At the same
time, ensuring inclusive social development requires
recognizing the limits of education’s role, understanding
how other institutions and sectors affect education, and
making sure there is integrated action between them.
Peace demonstrates the role of education in fostering
peaceful, just and inclusive societies. It argues that
stable peace is more likely in societies with democratic
and representative institutions and a well-functioning
justice system. Education has a key role in contributing
to the participation and inclusion vital to ensure social
cohesion and to prevent and mitigate societal tensions.
2016 • GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 13