Over 35 Eswatini youths in watch party at the start of the Transforming Education Summit

On the 16th September 2022, the UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. George Wachira and UNICEF Deputy Representative, Mr. Afshin Parsi, joined about 40 young people from across Eswatini at the Happy Valley Hotel in Ezulwini to watch the Transforming Education Summit livestream from the UN General Assembly in New York.

The watch party, supported by UNICEF and UNESCO, was organised by the UN in Eswatini in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

The Transforming Education Summit, which started with a Mobilization Day led by young people on the 16th September 2022, is a culmination of dialogues and conversations that took place since the beginning of the year across all countries, including Eswatini, leading to the General Assembly.

The Mobilization Day also witnessed the release of a “Youth Declaration on Transforming Education” which conveys the collective recommendations of youth on transforming education to decision and policymakers.

Speaking before the start of the livestream, Mr. Wachira congratulated the young people for making themselves available for the engagement with other young people across the globe. He encouraged them to recognise their presence, saying that itself was a great achievement. “You need to first recognise that you are here and you need to make your presence felt,” he said. “Secondly, you need to recognise that there are people like us in leadership whom you need to make accountable for the decisions they make on your behalf. Finally, we all need to keep the promise to transform education for the benefit of ourselves and generations to come.”

During the watch party, young people got an opportunity to reflect on the discussions in the Summit and noted with expressed appreciation that many of the perspectives were similar to theirs. “Like the young people we have heard at the Summit, we in Eswatini also need to be included in decision-making processes, especially when it pertains to our future,” said Leanne Mayer, a 16-year-old student from St' Theresa's High School.

The watch party was also used to facilitate group discussions along the five themes of the Summit. The young people then presented solutions on:  Climate action for inclusive education; Gender transformative education; Fostering Student Leadership Through Transformational Teaching; Youth and Education advocacy and Educate yourself about refugee youth. This breakout session then allowed the young people to present on each topic and openly discuss what they mean in the context of education in Eswatini.