As an official partner of the Summit, UNESCO co-organised two official events on the financing of Education and Global public goods, an affiliated event on youth innovation, and hosted 10 official panel discussions at UNESCO headquarters.

A high-level thematic event entitled “Increasing Global Investment in Education to Catalyze Sustainable Development” was organized under the auspices of the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee, and in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education. The roundtable highlighted education within the broader dialogue on improving the multilateral financing system. It built on the education finance discussions held at the IMF/WB Spring Meetings earlier this year, including the newly launched Multilateral Financing of Education Initiative, and leveraged the momentum for education following the 2022 UN Transforming Education Summit. Speakers underlined the critical role of investments in education to achieve SGD4, catalyzing progress in other areas such as climate, health and employment, ultimately reducing inequalities and bringing us closer to achieving the SDGs.

UNESCO also hosted an affiliated event entitled “Financing Youth innovation for green solutions". The event aimed to highlight the importance of youth innovation in supporting the green economy at local level, by showcasing concrete examples of social enterprises and youth-led initiatives responding to climate challenges. A UNESCO Global Youth Grant Scheme for green solutions for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) was launched, as part of the overall UNESCO Global Youth Grant Scheme, calling for contributions from private capital partners and multilateral development banks.

UNESCO was strongly committed to the Summit, focusing primarily on ensuring that discussions took full account of the financing for global public goods, such as education, biodiversity and culture.