Past Program

We are living in a time of convergent crises that taken together place exceptional demands on education policymakers across the world. Education reform is always challenging and complex, and requires sustained energy and political will, particularly so at this point in time because of the pandemic. However, education reform is absolutely essential to equip young people with the skills they will need to deal with these crises.

With the launch of the Education Policymakers Network in April 2021, Salzburg Global has brought together reform-minded education policymakers from a variety of countries, each with their own histories, contexts and needs, to support and sustain education reform around the need to develop a breadth of skills – cognitive, creative, physical, social and emotional – in young and school-aged learners.

Addressing the skills gap has been high on global and national political agenda/s for several years, and may be easy to buy-in to, but establishing the political will to move from rhetoric to delivery is not. The path to whole system reform is not clear and easy. Stamina for systems reform wanes when there is pressure to focus on literacy and numeracy. The COVID-19 situation has created an unprecedented and unpredictable time and has created new challenges. Yet, there have been moments where we have seen glimpses of what education could and should be. 

This opening network meeting focused on introductions and the core purpose and strategic aims of the network. It gave a chance for participants to ask questions and suggest themes that they would like future network meetings to address.

The Education Policymakers Network connects policymakers from different countries to work, learn and innovate together. Launched in 2021, the network helps support and sustain education reform around the need to develop a breadth of skills – cognitive, creative, physical, social and emotional – in young and school-aged learners.

Each of the virtual network meetings hear from a guest speaker on a specific topic and then look at the evidence of impact and existing policies around a specific reform idea.

An insights report is generated from each meeting that can be shared across the network. The meetings are also recorded so that they can act as a resource for the members after they took place. 

This virtual network meeting is only open to participants in the Education Policymakers Network.