Global education advocate

Carlos Gonzalez Sierra is selected to join Malala Yousafzai on the youth panel of an international education commission.

Education has opened doors to opportunities that have taken me beyond the limits of my socioeconomic and immigration status. Every child deserves an opportunity to develop intellectually. As a member of the Youth Panel, I look forward to collaborating with the Education Commission to ensure equal educational opportunity for all.

Carlos Gonzalez Sierra

Gates Cambridge Scholar Carlos Gonzalez Sierra has been selected as one of 16 members of the youth panel of an international commission on financing global education.

Carlos [2015], who is doing an MPhil in Latin American Studies, will join Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and 14 other youth leaders on the International Commission on Financing Global Education's Youth Panel.

The International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity [the Education Commission] is a new global initiative engaging world leaders, policy makers and researchers to develop "a renewed and compelling investment case and financing pathway for achieving equal educational opportunity for children and young people". It will bring together research and policy analysis on the actions necessary to increase investment in concrete, relevant learning outcomes that have a positive impact on economic and social development. The Commission is co-convened by Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, President Peter Mutharika of Malawi and the Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova.  The UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, serves as the Chair of the Commission.

Its Youth Panel will help connect the voices of young people to the Education Commission’s work, catalyse support for the Commission’s activities and contribute the youth perspective to the Commission’s final Agenda for Action that will be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the UN General Assembly in September 2016.

One of the Youth Panel's roles will be to judge a global video competition today that challenges young people to tell their stories and share ideas about the future of education. With support from MTV Voices and the Global Youth Ambassadors of A World At School, the Education Youth Video Challenge asks young people from around the world aged 13 to 30 to submit 30-second videos that address two questions: How can education best prepare you for the future? and What would your ideal school of the future look like? The winners of the competition will be announced during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

Chair of the Commission Gordon Brown said, “From Syria to South Africa, young people are directly affected by our efforts to ensure quality education for all and it is absolutely vital that we engage them in the work of the Education Commission. We look forward to working with this inspiring group of young leaders from across the globe to connect the Education Commission’s work with the passion, ideas and actions of children and youth across the globe.”

Carlos stated: "Education has opened doors to opportunities that have taken me beyond the limits of my socioeconomic and immigration status. Every child deserves an opportunity to develop intellectually. As a member of the Youth Panel, I look forward to collaborating with the Education Commission to ensure equal educational opportunity for all."

The full list of the Education Commission’s Youth Panel:

CO-CHAIRS
Kennedy Odede (Kenya), Co-founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO)
Rosemarie Rammit (Guyana), Advocate for youth with disabilities, visually impaired Leonard Cheshire Disability Young Voices member and teacher trainee at the Cyril Potter College of Education.

PANELLISTS
Sanaya Bharucha (India), Manager, Student Leadership, Teach For India
Naglaa Fathy (Egypt), General practitioner doctor, A World At School Global Youth Ambassador focused on education development in slum areas and women’s issues
Hellen Griberg (Zambia/Norway), Theirworld Project Assistant; A World At School Global Youth Ambassador
Giorgio Jackson (Chile), National Deputy elected in Santiago District; former leader of Chile’s student movement
Benedict Joson (Philippines), Huffington Post education blogger
Mohamed Khalil Liouane (Tunisia), Student activist, coordinator of the world’s largest BIL conference
Ramon Montano (USA), Co-founder of Thinking Indigenous
Francine Muyumba (Democratic Republic of Congo), President of the Pan African Youth Union
Shizuka Nishimura (Japan), Former Project Coordinator at Children Without Borders in Bangladesh
Salyne El Samarany (Lebanon), CEO Teach For Lebanon
Menghan Shen, (China), Assistant Professor at Waseda University; Founder of PEER, a service education NGO
Mohamed Sidibay (Sierra Leone), Former child soldier; World Teach and Colombia Ministry of Education Fellow
Carlos Adolfo Gonzalez Sierra (Dominican Republic), Gates Scholar at Cambridge University
Martine Ekomo Soignet (Central African Republic), Founder of URU, a youth-led peace-building and development organization
Iman Usman (Indonesia), Co-founder and CEO of Ruangguru.com, Indonesia's largest online marketplace for private tutoring and educational content
Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan), Co-founder of the Malala Fund and youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

To enter the Education Youth Video Challenge, click here.