Effective and inclusive partnerships are at the heart of Education 2030 (SDG4).

South-South cooperation, complementing North-South cooperation, forms an integral part and is key to the successful implementation of the new education agenda.

South-South cooperation is part and parcel of GPE’s DNA, and intrinsic to the way GPE delivers its support to partner countries in their efforts to reform their education sectors and implement SDG4.

Cooperation leads to transformation

By drawing on GPE’s unique partnership model, partner countries are increasingly showcasing the innovative practices that are leading to the transformation of their national education systems.

GPE facilitates this exchange through various knowledge, learning, and partnership modalities among its 65 developing country partners, Southern CSOs, and regional organizations.

GPE’s strategic plan, GPE 2020, has set as Strategic Objective 5 to “build a stronger partnership”. To achieve this, we regularly organize meetings that bring together representatives (also known as focal points) from more than 70 ministries of education of our developing country partners (DCPs).

The meetings support global and cross-national knowledge exchange as well as strengthen the partnership’s overall governance and accountability with partner countries.

The use of focal points, started in 2014, ensures strong linkages between the Secretariat and GPE’s DCPs, with focal points serving as the liaison between the ministries of education and the GPE Secretariat on GPE constituency related matters.

The mechanism is critical to the success of GPE’s constituency-based structure and has enabled the partnership to undertake strong country engagement at the global level.

Strengthening developing countries’ voice in GPE

Born out of the need to make the GPE Board truly inclusive and effective, the 65 partner countries, which are grouped into 6 DCP constituencies on the GPE Board, have been meeting ahead of the Board’s semi-annual meetings since December 2014.

The meetings are a unique platform: they strengthen partner countries’ role in the governance of the partnership by fostering their engagement in decision-making, strategy, policy, and advocacy processes.

They are intended to ensure that the decisions made at the global level are informed by the realities at the country level.

Equally central to the meetings is promoting the sharing and exchange of knowledge and good practice among partner countries to address common, yet different, challenges and improve education policy.

With contributions and collaboration from various partners, the DCP constituency meetings have evolved from having a purely governance focus to including a strong knowledge and learning component.

This, in turn, supports and informs the ability of partner countries to harness technical dialogue in areas that address the implementation of GPE 2020.

Connecting talent and experience via webinars

Since May, the GPE Secretariat also produces a webinar series that promotes knowledge and good practice exchange across the partnership.

The webinars were driven by strong demand from partner countries and have so far attracted nearly 300 partners.

They amplify the work of the partnership and of its partners, and are fast becoming a key feature of GPE’s knowledge and learning efforts.

The webinars tackle topics relevant to SDG4, such as learning materials and textbook procurement, early childhood development, mobilizing education financing and investments, or tracking resource flows to education through national education accounts.

More engagement to achieve the SDGs

Together with knowledge and communication tools such as the ‘Southern Partners Update’, a monthly newsletter for partner countries and southern CSOs, GPE is strengthening its engagement, dialogue and advocacy with partners in the global south at the global level.

This also includes coordination and engagement with Education 2030 coordination mechanisms at global and regional levels.

GPE currently has a permanent seat in the Education 2030 Steering Committee, takes part in the Co-convenor Group meetings, regional implementation mechanisms, and is invited to participate in key forums for SDG follow-up within the UN system.

GPE is also a member of the West and Central Africa Regional Coordination Group on SDG4-Education 2030 (WCA-RCG4) and Asia-Pacific Education 2030 (APMED2030 II) & Technical working group (TWG) Education 2030.

Through these mechanisms, GPE recognizes that education is pivotal to the achievement of all other global goals and is responding to the international community’s call to play a strengthened role in the achievement of SDG4.

These bodies provide unique opportunities for GPE to convey to global level forums the needs of developing country partners, promote good practice exchange, cross-sectoral work, and support the calls for increased levels of funding in domestic and international assistance.

GPE’s Southern Partnerships and External Relations Team is dedicated to providing southern partners with the necessary tools to ensure effective consultation, communication, coordination, knowledge, and learning opportunities. Together, all these activities contribute to building a dynamic, engaged, and stronger partnership.