UNGA 2025 - Education in Emergencies Events
The 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 80) will open at UN Headquarters on 9 September, 2025. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be 23 September, 2025.
Below are listed, in chronological order, many of the UNGA 80 side events that are relevant to education in emergencies. If you have additional information about any of these or other relevant events, please contact us at [email protected].
Wednesday, 10 September
The Active Playful Learning model: Reimagining education for the 21st century
10 September, 2025 at 4:00 - 5:30 pm EDT
Location: Online only
It is internationally accepted that we must reimagine education. But how do we do this? Detailed in the May 2025 working paper “Teaching in the way that human brains learn,” the Active Playful Learning model offers a practical, evidence-based alternative to conventional models that simultaneously maintains the focus on traditional content—like math and reading—while also supporting a broader suite of skills like communication, creativity, and problem-solving.
Senior Fellow Kathy Hirsh-Pasek along with co-authors of the study, educators, school administrators, and state representatives will discuss solution-based models, including active playful learning. This webinar will offer listeners a glimpse into the way stakeholders on the ground are collaborating and using active playful learning as a way to rethink pedagogical approaches and to achieve curricular goals. Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing [email protected].
Thursday, 18 September
Education for All: New insights on getting 272 million out-of-school children and youth into the classroom – and setting them up for success
18 September 2025, 8:00 am - 9.15am ET
Organizers: UNICEF and Education.org
Registration link: unicef.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dVBCteL5S4qMudjGcjkn5Q#/registration
As world leaders prepare to gather for the 80th UN General Assembly, join UNICEF and Education.org for a high-level webinar to discuss how to get 272 million out-of-school children and youth into learning and set them up for success in school. Join to:
- Understand the operating environment for policy makers, who are attempting to urgently deliver education to out-of-school children and youth amid increasing resources constraints.
- Discover actionable strategies developed from the largest evidence-base to date on accelerated learning including case studies and practical tools – for policy makers, implementers and funders - to improve transition rates from non-formal to formal education.
- Hear directly from policy makers, funders and programmes implementers to better understand: the challenges, promising innovations and the state of progress towards SDG 4: Quality Education for Al
Monday, 22 September
Locally Led, Globally Backed: A Common Agenda for Education in Emergencies (registration required)
22 September, 2025 at 9:00 -10.30 am ET
Organizers: INEE, Street Child, and the Global Campaign for Education (GCE)
Location: Allen & Overy Shearman Offices, 599 Lexington Ave, New York 10022
INEE, Street Child, and the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), will convene a high-level roundtable on the sidelines of UNGA 2025 to advance strategic dialogue on strengthening Education in Emergencies (EiE). This roundtable will engage key stakeholders from ministries of education, national civil society, and international organisations to discuss:
- How can the sector better support local leadership and meaningful localisation?
- What must change to mobilize more sustainable and predictable financing for EiE?
- How can we move towards a unified advocacy agenda that is locally-driven and globally backed, focused on coherent messaging, rather than competing narratives?
The one hour roundtable will be followed by 30 minutes of networking, allowing attendees to connect and to continue this important discussion.
Political economy of education in protracted crises: Lessons on financing teacher salaries (registration encouraged)
22 September 2025, 1:00-2:30 pm EST
Organizers: ODI, ERICC, Teachers College Columbia University.
Location: Teachers College, Columbia University, Grace Dodge Hall, Room 177/179, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY
This interactive panel discussion will examine donor policies and practices on teacher compensation in crisis-affected and protracted contexts, drawing on comparative case studies and interviews with key stakeholders across two different studies. It analyzes the political economy of financing, identifies persistent challenges such as sustainability and coordination, and outlines recommendations to strengthen systemic approaches to teacher salary support.
Speakers: Dr. Arianna Pacifico (International Rescue Committee), Dr. Olya Homonchuk (ODI), and Dr. Mary Mendenhall (Teachers College)
Unlocking the Transformative Power of Climate Change Education (CCE): Investing in Teachers and Skills for a Changing World (registration required)
22 September, 2025 at 3:00 - 6:30pm ET
Organizers: The Office for Climate Education (UNESCO center) and Siemens Stiftung
Location: 205 East 42nd St, New York, NY
The Office for Climate Education (UNESCO center) and Siemens Stiftung present an international roundtable with practitioners and foundations working on climate change education:
- 3:00–5:00 PM – Interactive Roundtable Dialogue: Hear from practitioners, youth leaders, education actors, donors and policymakers in a moderated roundtable featuring global case studies and open audience participation.
- 5:00–6:30 PM – Networking Rooftop Cocktail: Mix, mingle, and meet the climate education community over drinks, bites, and music — just steps away from the UN.
Multiplying Possibility: The Power of Innovative Partnerships to Transform Education
22 September 2025, 10:00-11:30 ET
Organizer: Global Partnership for Education
GPE and its private sector and foundation constituencies will hold discussion on financing partnerships that strengthen the long-term resilience, equity and effectiveness of education systems.
Tuesday, 23 September
Education House @ UNGA 80
23 September 2025, at 7:30 am ET
Location: 25 Broadway
Education House brings together actors working across the education sector to advance progress towards the SDGs.
At UNGA 80, Education House will host different conversations, collaborations, provocations and showcasing aimed to reshape education so we can equip students to shape a better future for themselves and everyone.
From the Margins to the Centre: Transforming Education Systems Where It Matters Most
23 September, 2025 1:00–2:30 pm ET
Organizer: World Vision International
Location: Teach For America, 25 Broadway, New York, NY 1000 (in person only)
Millions of children remain excluded from quality learning—those displaced, living in poverty, navigating conflict, or facing systemic discrimination. This session reframes these margins not as peripheral, but as the starting point for bold education system transformation. Drawing on proven, locally-driven models, we’ll explore how inclusive approaches grounded in children’s lived realities are not only effective but essential for reaching SDG4. The conversation will spotlight how innovations rooted in community leadership, flexible delivery, and contextual adaptation can transition from pilots to policies—embedding equity into national education systems. This is a call to collective action: to move from proof to practice, from dialogue to delivery, and to scale solutions that prioritize those who have been left furthest behind.
Unlocking the Future: A Global Call to Invest in the Early Years
23 September 23, 2025 at 3:30-5:00 pm
Organizers: Government of South Africa, UNICEF, Theirworld and Act For Early Years
Location: UNICEF House, 3 United Nations Plaza. This event will also be streamed online for those unable to join us in person.
This high-level event brings together world leaders, ministers, agency heads, foundation leaders, and civil society champions to accelerate transformational investments in the early years. Global momentum is building rapidly. Countries worldwide, from South Africa to the Philippines to Brazil, are recognizing early years investment as their most powerful tool for breaking cycles of poverty and building the foundations for lifelong learning. Together, we can unlock every child's potential and build a stronger, more equitable world. The early years are not a side issue, they are the cornerstone of progress.
For more information, please contact Michael Simpson at [email protected] or Divya Lata at [email protected].
Multiplying Possibility: The GPE Partnership in Action
23 September 2025, 18:00-19:30
Organizer: Global Partnership for Education
Ahead of the formal launch of GPE’s 5thFinancing Campaign, GPE will bring together a coalition of the members of the GPE partnership to spotlight the collective power of the partnership and shared ambition to transform education systems.
Wednesday, 24 September
Learning and Skills for Sustainable Youth Development Dialogue Series – UNGA 4th Edition
24 September 2025, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: SAP Offices on 10 Hudson Yards
SAP and World Scouting in collaboration with the World Scout Foundation are delighted to invite you to the 4th edition of the Learning and Skills for Sustainable Youth Development Dialogue series, a pivotal education and skills building event hosted on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York. This joint event will focus on two themes: (1) Learning to Earning: Equipping youth for the future of work; and (2) Investing in Youth: Co-creating solutions in a disrupted world.
Please pre-register on the link to attend. Registration closes on 31 August 2025. Space is limited. Selected participants will be notified by 15 September 2025.
Our Education, Our Future
24 September 2025, 08:30-10:30 ET
Organizer: Global Partnership for Education
Location: One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza New York
As world leaders gather at UNGA 2025 to confront urgent global challenges, GPE and the Population Council will convene this dynamic, intergenerational dialogue on the transformative power of education for equitable and sustainable development.