At the United Nations General Assembly this year, world leaders pledged strong support for the establishment of the single largest investment in education history – the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd).

During our #MakeImpossiblePossible event, co-hosted by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, leaders from governments including Bangladesh, Canada, Cote d’Ivoire, Denmark, Malawi, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom committed support for the Facility as a means to help fully deliver Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Watch the event recording and read the highlights below. Please also join the conversation on social media using the #MakeImpossiblePossible hashtag.

Highlights:

Youth representatives from civil society organizations including Avaaz, BRAC, Global Citizen, and Theirworld delivered a petition signed by more than 1.6 million people asking for the creation of this Facility to the gathering’s high-level participants.

The chorus of support was also strengthened by leaders from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Civil society luminary Graça Machel and business sector leaders from Reed Smith and Goldman Sachs also pledged strong support to help move the Facility forward so it can be operational by 2019.

Distinguished speakers included:

  • Jim Yong Kim, President, the World Bank; Education Commissioner (@JimYongKim)
  • HE Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, President, Republic of Malawi (@APMutharika)
  • Hon Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister, People’s Republic of Bangladesh (@sheikhhasina)
  • Rt Hon. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education; Former Prime Minister, United Kingdom; Education Commission Chair (@OfficeGSBrown)
  • Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust; Education Commissioner(@G_MachelTrust)
  • HE Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations (@AminaJMohammed)
  • Hon. Julia Gillard, Chair of the Board of Directors, Global Partnership for Education; Education Commissioner (@JuliaGillard)
  • HE Shaqfat Mahmood, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Islamic Republic of Pakistan (@Shafqat_Mahmood)
  • Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt, Secretary of State for International Development and Minister for Women and Equalities, United Kingdom (@PennyMordaunt)
  • Stefano Manservisi, Director General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission (@stefanomanservi)
  • Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Netherland. (@SigridKaag)
  • Mohamed Sidibay, Youth Panelist, Education Commission (@mohamedsidibay2)