Episode 16 - Transforming Education

Global Youth Ambassadors Adina Nivukoski of Finland, and Petr Franc of the Czech Republic, report live from the United Nations Transforming Education Summit. The summit was a lively convening of international stakeholders who held a collective mission to revamp education and increase awareness of UN SDG 14.  During their chat, Adina and Petr recount various dialogues from the convening and provide suggestions on the next steps forward.

Adina Nivukoski is a 22-year old Finnish education and equality advocate and a former United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) youth delegate for Finland.

Petr Franc is a 20-year old Czech student unionist and an advocate for quality education that is accessible to all.

To learn more about the summit, visit: https://www.un.org/en/transforming-education-summit

To watch the video of this podcast check it out here. 

The full episode transcript is available here.

Transcript

You are now tuning in to Youth Voices and Five, a podcast production from the Community Enrichment Project, a youth civic engagement nonprofit. 5s Hi my Adina, I am a global ambassador for CEP. I am a 22 year old student from Finland, I'm from a UNESCO youth delegate for Finland and I have been very active in the international education setting. Hi. My name is Petr Franc. Whereas you are more of engaged in the youth policy and the youth sector I'm engaged in the student constituency and in the international student movement. I am a 20 year old student currently pursuing degrees in philosophy, law and international relations in Prague and I'm board member at the Organizing Bureau of European School Student Unions or Obese. 2s And we originally actually have been in the same student organization when we were in high school. Yes. So you also have a background in the international student movement and we are at the Transforming Education Summit 2022 do when we're trying to approach the global problems that are found within the education sector and instead of trying to relieve or soothe them, so to speak, what has been your favorite discussion this far that you have taken part in? 1s I have to say that 1s whether it be the Summit or the pre summit, the thing that I always enjoyed most were the interventions by the Garnier with the Special Advisor on Education. Because he also has a background in the student movement. He was engaged in the it is clear that he also works with this theoretical groundwork of what it is that 1s a social movement requires and what it is because he was a part of one in the 17th. So that's also part of what I try to do because 1s as people tried try to sort of add in the theoretical overarching theory to students and youth activism. 3s Usually lean on the theories and the writings of Paul O'frerer from the pedagogy of the Oppressed, saying that, you know, to every action you have to have also reflection because when we as student or youth activists, when we do merely action, it's just spontaneous eruptions of passion that aren't followed upon, whereas we merely reflect. I mean, we may just throw our hands away into armchairs and just await the judgment day. You have to have both action and reflection. So that's sort of what I'm trying to give to the student movement, this reflection, working on like hybrid, massive social theory, trying to sort of look back on the legacy of the student movement and see how I can add to it as not just an activist but also an academic. That's sort of like a long winded answer to what I like most added onto you with sort of what I also add, or what I would like to add. To it. So let me just throw that question back to you. What's your favorite part about the summit? What do you hope that it will achieve? Well, I've taken part in most of the conversations about women in education and girls in education, 1s and I think for me, these are the most interesting themes. Also, I've written about this topic as a journalist before, and I think I've learned a lot about how Kobe affected especially girls in education, and why was it especially girls that were affected. And I think these were all kind of aspects that I had not thought about before. Like, even there was a good talk about this by the education minister of Namibia, and she was telling that during COVID, when the schools closed, over 2000 girls got pregnant during this time when they returned to school. And this was her example on why especially girls were affected when there is a crisis and why in the future they're also going to be more affected if there is a crisis of some other kind in education. So I think that was a very good panel, and I look forward to taking part in more discussions about this topic. Yeah, I think this has been. Most interesting for me this far. 2s Yeah, that totally is an important thing to keep in mind, especially since not only with women, but crashes like this always 1s impact marginalized communities the most. Thank you for the amazing work that you do. Maybe what I wonder is 3s what is the follow up? What do you hope that the young people 2s staying in their minds, in their hearts and in their strength as a follow up to this summit? 1s What's next? Does it end with New York or is there anything else on the road? I definitely don't think that it ends in New York and I don't want it to. I think so many people that are here together with youth participants are doing so much good work locally in their own field. And for example. I really want to take all the things that I learned about women in education and all of the effects of cold crisis on girls in education and then write about it when I go back and use kind of what I do to talk more and bring the conversation. Because most people are not here with us and it's information that I think everybody deserves to know. So I think I really want to take it from here and bring it to the world to see. 2s What about you? Thank you. Putting the ball back in my court. 3s Even though the youth and the students are separate constituencies. I hope that the Youth Declaration really serves the one that we declared together on the summit, which includes demands that are aimed at various stakeholders, especially heads of government and representatives of government. What are the demands of young people for education in the 21st century? I definitely hope that despite being a Youth Declaration, a lot of national or local student movements will be able to use it, will be able to use it as a sort of 1s pressure tool to see this is what the global student and youth community has achieved. What are we doing about this? How are we doing the 2s implementation? They're really putting it into practice. So I think at the very least, 2s this international and global experience may serve as something to be followed up on locally, regionally and statewide. 2s I don't know. In this context, I'm sort of reminded by this one poem. Sorry for doing these cultural references, people hate me for it, but there's one poem by an Irish author whose name I have managed again completely, but it's about the Republic of Conscience. And at the very end of this poem, it says that those who become the ambassadors of the Republic of Conscience are never to be relieved of their duty. And I think that is 1s very much what the people that have attended this summit carry in their hearts. They carry a deep sense of responsibility, of being the ambassadors of conscience, and they know that they will never be released of this duty. So I am confident that these sort of grassroots movement movements will be able to take what they learned, what they gained, put it into practice and out and be proud and be provocative and 1s be willing to 1s make the change that they want to see in the world. So. 2s I think hopefully at least a little inspiring note. 2s Is there anything else you would like to add? I think you put it really beautifully, and I also think to say that I think we're good examples of kind of your 20 I'm 22 is not to remember to not let anybody tell you that you can't do anything because of your age or because you belong to 2s minority or something like this. I think this is very important to remember because I feel like we have all been in rooms where we feel like we're not heard or listened or 2s understood. So I think that's something that I really empower people to do, to fight in those rooms, to get your voice heard and 1s like you said, to get yourself a position to be an investor for what you believe in. Amazing. Well, on that note, thank you for anybody who managed to join in. I hope this has been useful in any sense of the word. If anybody feels like they can take up the duty of being the ambassador of the Republic of Conscience yeah. There always is a way and there always is a venue to 1s think about the world in such a way that you don't have to fall on the stairs. So just join a movement and then do the change that you want to see. Exactly.