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Your Excellency Mr António Guterres United Nations Secretary General, your Excellency Mr Bassirou Diomaye Faye President of Senegal and Chair of the African Union Committee of Heads of State Champions of STEM education, your Excellency Mr Dennis Francis president of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, your Excellence Professor Mohamed Belhocine our Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Excellency Ambassador Paula Narváez Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations and President of the United Nations Economic and social Council, Excellencies, Permanent Representatives, Senior United Nations Representatives, Honorable invitees ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure for me to join you today and present some remarks on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union commission, his Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat who unfortunately could not join us today due to other pressing matters. However, please be assured that he's fully dedicated to the discussions and outcomes of this important gathering on the theme of the year.

Your excellencies, education plays a central role in the African Union's developmental goals and aligns with its theme of the Year 2024, offering a unique opportunity to create momentum towards the full implementation of the Continental education strategy for Africa, CESA we call it, running from 2016 to 2025, and the achievement of the sustainable development goal four particularly aiming to ensure inclusive and quality education for all. CESA aims to create an education system and skills development that build quality human capital to achieve the aspirations of the African Union's agenda 2063. Africa has also adopted the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa, STISA we call it, and this guides investments in this critical area, we firmly believe that Science, Technology and Innovation can accelerate the achievement of quality education in Africa, as well as the implementation of the sustainable development goals and agenda 2063.

Without a doubt Africa's economic transformation will be driven by investment in Science, Technology and Innovation, which is a key tool for creating innovative solutions, stimulating economic growth, and creating decent jobs for African youth. Additionally Science, Technology and Innovation can bridge the skill Gap in various sectors and increase Africa's contribution to Global Research and Innovation output. Your excellencies, the theme of the 2024 edition of the Africa Dialogue Series highlighting Tthe crucial role of Science, Technology and iInnovation in achieving Africa's educational and sustainable development goals as well as the three sub themes, each addressing specific challenges and opportunities including the importance of STEM education for Africa's economic future, the role of the digital revolution in enhancing education and the issue of education in crisis affected areas allowed for indepth exchange with a number of stakeholders with key recommendations that we need to take forward. In this regard, permit me to make the following points:

• the first one harnessing the demographic dividend and the opportunities offered by the fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa requires expanding, learning and training opportunities for all African Youth and accelerating the economic transition, to more innovative and value added industrial sectors. The education system in Africa and African countries must meet the challenge, prioritize the development of human capital, and improve the outcomes of learning processes
• my second message, while we recognize the persistent challenges facing the African education system, such as lack of infrastructure, insufficient funding, and gender and geographical inequalities, ensuring that Africa's youth are not left behind will require a concerted effort to address structural barriers and promote social dialogue, ensuring that all stakeholders have a voice in shaping the future of work. We must therefore prioritize, the creation of decent and sustainable jobs through policies that promote life learning, lifelong learning, take green skills and adjust transition into account and foster entrepreneurship, innovation and inclusive growth
• the third point is that one of the main obstacles to transforming education in Africa is insufficient and inequitable financing. I guess I could not put it better than you SG you put it. Despite commitments made in the in declaration and framework for action for the implementation of the SDG4, public spending on education falls short failing to promote equity. The covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges highlighting large financing gaps across countries, particularly in low and middle income ones. It's crucial to mobilize sufficient, predictable, and Equitable financing to overcome fiscal constraints and ensure that education spending is efficient and equitable. Transforming education in Africa requires a collective effort from governments, all stakeholders, and the International Community, with initiatives like CESA playing a crucial role by leveraging innovative finance and the digital revolution, Africa can overcome the current challenges and ensure that all its youth have access to quality education thus unlocking their full potential and driving sustainable development across the continent.
• My fourth and final point is that, in the context of instability and natural disaster, we need to mobilize all efforts to preserve hard education gains, protect schools and essential institutions, build resilience and be ready for recovery. Partnerships between humanitarian and development actors need to be streamlined and strengthened to respond to immediate, short-term and longer term education needs at the earliest stages of a crisis. The cornerstone for creating and enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable education for all is prevention. Efforts to prevent violent conflicts by addressing the drivers of fragility and risks such as climate change, demographic shocks, patterns of discrimination, economic and social exclusion, and perceptions of grievances and injustice should be a priority.

Your excellencies, finally and in conclusion I would like to emphasize the importance of skill of this meeting and the African Union's commitment to working with all stakeholders to translate the conclusions of our deliberations into concrete actions, leveraging on our strategic partnership with the United Nations which remains crucial towards achieving our development agenda 2030 and 2063. As we work towards the summit of the future, our commitment to this fundamental objective is a crucial driver for creating a better future for future generations in Africa and beyond thank you for your attention.

*This text is an AI-generated transcript of the statement, which was obtained from an archived video recording of the event. It is not an official text of the statement.