CONFINTEA VII Speakers

Minister of Education, Brazil

Prior, he was Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Education. A career civil servant, worked for over 16 years as a Federal Auditor for Finance and Management of the Office of the Comptroller General – CGU. At CGU, acted in leadership positions, including Head of Division, General Coordinator, Deputy Director and Director.

He has a degree in Data and Network Engineering, University of Brasilia, a post-graduation in High-Level National Defence, from the Escola Superior de Guerra, in Globalisation, Justice and Human Safety, from the Escola Superior do Ministério Público, in partnership with the Institut für Friedenssicherungsrecht und Humanitäres Völkerrecht der Ruhr – Universität Bochum in Germany, and from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chair of the International Commission on the Futures of Education

Sahle-Work Zewde was elected as the first woman and the fifth President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on 25 October 2018.  She began her career at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education. She later joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she began her long diplomatic career in 1988. She served as Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Senegal with accreditation to Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Mali; Ambassador to Djibouti and as Permanent Representative (PR) to IGAD for ten years; Ambassador to France with accreditation to Morocco and Tunisia and PR to UNESCO; and after her return to Ethiopia, PR to the AU and Director-General for African Affairs. President Sahle-Work joined the UN in 2009 and served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic. In 2011, she was appointed as the first dedicated Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi at the level of Under-Secretary-General. In June 2018, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed her as his Special Representative to the AU and Head of the UN Office to the AU. She was the first woman to hold these positions at the UN.

 

Assistant Director-General for Education

Ms Stefania Giannini was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education in May 2018, becoming the top UN official in the field. In this position, she provides strategic vision and leadership in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda, encompassed in Sustainable Development Goal 4.

During her term, she has given fresh impetus to multilateral and bilateral partnerships, including through the establishment of the Multilateral Education Platform; increased global focus on education’s ethical role in providing learners with the skills to respond to 21st century challenges; heightened attention to the responsibility of universities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and fostered closer relations between education, culture and the social and natural sciences.

She affirmed UNESCO’s leadership in the context of the COVID-19 response, the most profound disruption to education in recent history, through global evidence, guidance, policy dialogue and collaborative work with UN partners to support countries and jointly advocate for prioritizing education in the recovery. She has encouraged mission-oriented approaches with public and private partners to build resilience and reimagine education, including through the Global Education Coalition.  

With an academic background in the Humanities, Ms Giannini has served as Rector of the University for Foreigners of Perugia (2004 – 2012), being one of the first and youngest women to hold this position in Italy. As Senator of the Republic of Italy (2013 – 2018) and Minister of Education, Universities and Research (2014 – 2016), she developed and implemented a structural reform of the Italian education system, centred on social inclusion and cultural awareness. She has also been closely involved in an advisory capacity with the European Commissioner for Research and Innovation.

Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 

David Atchoarena is the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning since April 2018. He was previously the Director of the Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems at UNESCO, with oversight of education policies, higher education, adult and vocational education and training, and ICT in education. 

Prior to working at UNESCO Headquarters, he spent many years at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) where he conducted research and technical cooperation programmes in the fields of educational planning, lifelong learning, technical and vocational education, and higher education. He also contributed to the development of the capacities of officials from ministries of education as the head of the Training and Education Programmes Unit of IIEP. 

Before joining UNESCO, Mr Atchoarena served as Chargé de Mission at the National Agency for Lifelong Education of the French Ministry of Education and as a project coordinator in the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Saint Lucia. 

Mr Atchoarena holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne. 

Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Kingdom of Morocco

Mr Abdellatif Miraoui was born on January 13, 1962 in Fkih Ben Salah. He holds a PhD in Engineering Sciences from the University of Franche-Comté (1992) in Besançon, France. He previously held the position of President of Cadi-Ayyad University, Marrakech (2011-2019). In December 2020, he was appointed Director of the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Rennes (INSA Rennes - France). Professor Miraoui is also Director of the Teaching and Research Pole (Energy and Computer Science) at the University of Technology of Belfort Monbéliard (UTBM). On December 12, 2019, Mr. Abdellatif Miraoui was appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God glorify him, as a member of the Special Commission on the Development Model. He was also a member of the Higher Council of Education, Training and Scientific Research, President of the Permanent Commission of Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation, and a member of the working group on Vocational Training at said council. 

Minister of Education, Argentine Republic

Holds a Masters degree in Social Sciences and Humanities (UNQ); in his more than 25-year career, he has worked as a teacher in non-formal and formal education, and was previously Secretary of University Policies.

Professor, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portuguese Republic

Honorary Rector of the University of Lisbon.  Rector of the University of Lisbon, 2006-2013. 

Ambassador of Portugal at UNESCO, Paris, 2018-2021. 

Chair of the research-draft committee of the International Commission on the Futures of Education (UNESCO, 2018-2021). 

PhD in History from the University of Paris IV – Sorbonne, 2006. PhD in Education from the University of Geneva, 1986.  

Doctor Honoris Causa by six European and American universities. 

Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights

Since January 2016, Peggy Hicks has served as director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division at the UN's human rights office. From 2005 to 2015, she was global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, where she was responsible for coordinating Human Rights Watch's advocacy team and providing direction to its advocacy worldwide. Ms. Hicks previously served as director of the Office of Returns and Communities in the UN mission in Kosovo and as Deputy High Representative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has also worked as the Director of Programs for the International Human Rights Law Group (now Global Rights), clinical professor of human rights and refugee law at the University of Minnesota Law School, and as an expert consultant for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ms. Hicks is a graduate of Columbia Law School and the University of Michigan. 

Provost, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, and member of the UNESCO Global Independent Expert Group on Universities and the 2030 Agenda

Mexican sociologist, Master in Educational Research and Development, both in Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico City. Educational researcher since 1970. She has published more than 200 articles, chapters and books on the quality of education, adult education, values education and intercultural education. She is a professor and researcher at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and former Academic Vice-President of the same university. She has an honorary PhD from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and from Concordia University in Canada. She received the Joan Amos Comenius Medal in 2008. She is an Honorary Fellow of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.

Minister of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages, Burkina Faso

Since 5 March 2022, Wendkuni Lionel Bilgo has been the Minister of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages of Burkina Faso. A graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce et de Gestion in Paris, Mr. Bilgo is a writer, editor and business manager. Mr. Bilgo is also a very committed personality within the realm of public debate and citizen action. With the African Golden Association, which he presides over, he proposes to reconnect young people to the values embodied by important figures who have been at the centre of exceptional achievements throughout Burkina's history. Mr Bilgo is convinced that "...education should not be a superficial issue, it is one of the keys to our future," a quote from in his book, "From dream to action. Créons demain", published in 2020 and a bestseller in bookshops.   

Secretary-General, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education

Attorney Helen Dabu is the Secretary-General of the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), a regional CSO network in the Asia Pacific region advancing the right to education and transformative adult learning and education. She is a lawyer and a registered social worker in the Philippines, and has been engaged in education and development work in the last 19 years. She has served as a CSO representative in global education policy bodies and contributed in bringing the voices and concerns of Southern CSO constituencies to global platforms. She is currently the CSO representative to the Sherpa Group of the global SDG4 High Level Steering Committee (SDG4 HLSC).

UIS Director 

Dr. Silvia Montoya, the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, has been leading the international education community in building consensus around the standards, methodologies, and indicators needed to measure progress towards Education 2030 and supporting regional partners and member states in shaping the monitoring systems for SDG4.

She has launched the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML) and serves as the Co-Chair of the Technical Cooperation Group on SDG 4–Education 2030 (TCG). These technical groups have been successful in delivering globally confirmed clear methodologies and procedures for collecting, processing, and reporting on SDG4 indicators, including through strengthening various data sources such as administrative data, household data, expenditure data, and learning assessment data.

Dr. Montoya also serves as the Chief Statistician for UNESCO and is leading the Organization’s statistical branch (UIS) mandated to collect, compile, and disseminate official statistics on education, science and technology, communication and culture.

Joint Secretary of Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Nepal 

Major responsibility is related to national policy and standard for school education and literacy program of the country. Have around 37 years’ experience in education sector in various capacities. Such as:

• Worked as Director and Deputy Director General for Planning and Monitoring in Department of Education and Centre for Education and Human Resource Development which is responsible to plan and implement the Basic education and literacy program.
• Worked as head of the Foreign Aid coordination section for the MOEST with the responsibilities for promoting Sector Wide Approach (SWAPs) which is popularly established in the Education Sector in Nepal.
• Worked as District Education Officer in different districts of Nepal and involved in the implementation of the National Literacy Campaign at field level.
• Worked as the Head of the Planning and Budget of the different institutions under the Ministry of Education.

Involved in the preparation of SDG4: Education 2030 Nepal National Framework, National Plan for Action for EFA 2001-2015 and many other National policy and periodic plan documents.

Chairman of Adult Education Authority, Arab Republic of Egypt

He worked as a professor of educational psychology at the National Center for Educational Research and Development in Egypt, and headed the Technical Education Research department and the Information department, He has many research and studies in the field of education and adult education, In addition, he has participated in many projects with United Nations organizations.

Deputy Minister of Education, Saskatchewan, and Chair of the Advisory Committee of Deputy Ministers of Education (ACDME), Canada

Donna Johnson was appointed to the Deputy Minister of Education in November 2020. Prior to this appointment, Donna was the Deputy Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety since February of 2019 where she was Deputy liaison for the Strategic Labour Policy Committee of the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation. From 2012 to 2019 Donna was an Assistant Deputy Minister at Education responsible for the Education Funding, Infrastructure, Early Years and Strategic Policy branches. During that time, she was co-chair of the Education Sector Provincial Leadership Team, which was made up of 28 school division directors, 10 First Nation directors, and ministry executive during the development and implementation of the first education sector strategic plan (from 2013 to present). Donna was also the lead ADM for the joint-use school project, 18 schools delivered in two bundles in two years in 4 cities with 5 public and catholic school divisions using a P3 procurement process. Prior to joining the Ministry of Education in June 2012 Ms. Johnson served the Saskatchewan public in the Environment, Economic and Co-operative Development, and Central Services ministries. Donna has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan; a Masters of Business Administration degree from Queen’s University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Research, Kingdom of Sweden

Areas of responsibility: Liberal adult education, Student finance, Adult education and training, UNESCO

Educational background: Masters in political science, Uppsala University 2002–2007; Studies in political science and sociology, 2004–2005 University of Michigan; Social sciences programme and national sports 1998–2001 upper secondary programme in orienteering, Hammargymnasiet, Sandviken

Positions and assignments: State Secretary, Ministry of Education and Research 2021–Present; State Secretary, Ministry of Education and Research 2019–2021; State Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office 2017–2019; Chief of Staff, Prime Minister’s Office 2014–2017; Political Advisor, Swedish Social Democratic Party 2011-2014.

Branch Chief, International Labour Organization (ILO) 

Srinivas B Reddy is Chief of Skills and Employability Branch at ILO Geneva since January 2018. He joined the ILO in the year 2000. Prior to taking up this position at ILO Headquarters, he was Country Director of the ILO Office in Bangladesh during 2013 to 2017. Mr. Reddy has previously been a senior advisor on Technical and Vocational Education and Training and Skills Development Specialist and has worked in ILO field offices in India, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Mr. Reddy’s professional career in Industrial relations, skills development and general management has spanned over 30 years. During his career he has specialized in promoting tripartism and social dialogue with particular interests in skills development and global supply chains.

Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Education, Republic of Kenya

Dr. Sara Ruto is the Chief Administrative Secretary at the Ministry of Education. She previously worked as the Chief Executive Officer of the People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network, an organization with membership from Africa, Asia and the Americas united in undertaking citizen-led assessments and actions aimed at improving foundational literacy and numeracy. Since 2021, she has been a member of the International Institute for Educational Planning governing board representing the Africa region. From 2017 – 2021 she was the Chairperson of the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development Council. Dr. Ruto received her university education at Kenyatta University and Heidelberg University.

Director, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat

Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua- Valenzuela is the director of the SEAMEO Secretariat, which serves as the executive arm of the SEAMEO Council of Ministers from 11 member economies that make up SEAMEO. Dr Ethel Agnes P Valenzuela is the 18th Director of SEAMEO Secretariat and the first woman director since its establishment in 1965. Since Dr Ethel Valenzuela joined the SEAMEO Secretariat, she oversaw the implementation of SEAMEO College projects, SEA PLM- the first regional assessment of grade 5 learners in reading, writing, mathematics literacy as well as global citizenship, SEAMEO Centre Policy Research Network (CPRN) and established the SEAMEO MOOCS Network. 

At the global level, Dr Valenzuela is a member of the UNESCO SDG Global Steering Committee and CO-Chair of ICT and Distance Education of the UNESCO Intl Teacher Task Force. She served as a board member of UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM), and currently a Technical Advisory Board member of the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong learning (UIL) and the Chair of Technical Coordination Group of Education Expenditure of the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIL) and a member of the Global Alliance for Monitoring Learning. She also is a technical advisory panel of the Intl Standards Classification of Teacher Training Programmes (ISCED–T) of UNESCO and UIS. 

CEO, Moodle 

Martin Dougiamas is the founder and CEO of the open-source Moodle software project he started in 1999. The Moodle platform consists of a number of products, but the best-known is Moodle Learning Management System, which allows educators in all sectors to create private educational spaces online, filled with tools for collaborative learning. His focus is on researching how open education technology can best support teaching and learning in open and human ways, with a keen interest in helping to produce a generation that can meet the UN’s sustainable development goals. Martin is also on the board of Open Education Global and the founder of Open Edtech Association.

Executive Director, South Africa Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE), Republic of South Africa 

Ms Glennie is the Founding Director of Saide, a not for profit organization committed to enabling successful open learning for all. She has overseen a variety of interventions aimed at giving practical expression to open learning principles, particularly through the application of appropriate educational technology, open education resources(OER), and distance education strategies. Two current examples are Saide’s OER Africa working with universities to create and use OER, and African Storybook aimed at ensuring a plentiful supply of storybooks in local languages and reflecting local contexts to promote the love of reading. The application of appropriate quality criteria has been a focus. She has received honorary awards from both Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) and the University of Pretoria for her contribution.

Aerospace engineer, alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Regional Leadership Center East Africa, Republic of Kenya

Elsie Kiema is an Aerospace Engineer and YALI EARLC alumni who is passionate about the environment, its sustainability for future  generations and technology. She has specialized in creating  innovative processes and solutions for novel industry segments, taking into account efficacy, economic viability and safety for the best outcomes; in the Energy, WASH and Robotics sectors. Elsie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Middle East Technical University, Turkey and is currently a master’s student at Technical University of Munich pursuing a specialization in space engineering and the application of its technologies for earth observation.

CEO, Coursera 

Jeff Maggioncalda joined Coursera as CEO in June 2017 and since then helped the company grow to over 102 million learners and 7,500+ institutions, served by high-quality learning content from 250+ of the world’s top universities and industry educators. He previously served for 18 years as the founding CEO at Financial Engines Inc, a company co-founded by economist and Nobel Prize winner William Sharpe. Financial Engines grew rapidly under Jeff's leadership, providing high-quality online investment advice that has helped millions of people save and prepare for retirement. Jeff has also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and Cornerstone Research and continues to serve as a Director of Silicon Valley Bank, Inc. He holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and English from Stanford University. In his free time, Jeff is a lifelong learner and proud dad, and enjoys studying music theory and spending time with his wife and three daughters.

Vice-Minister, Minister of Education, People’s Republic of China

His Excellency Mr. Sun Yao is Vice Minister of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Doctor of Engineering. Born in November 1963, he was previously appointed as Vice President at Harbin Engineering University, Director-General of Department of Science and Technology of Heilongjiang Province, Member of Standing Committee of the CPC Committee of Heilongjiang Province and Vice Governor of Government of Heilongjiang Province.

Director, UNESCO Bangkok, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

Mr Aoyagi joined the UNESCO in July 2002 as Chief of the Literacy and Non-Formal Education (NFE) section in the Education Sector in Paris. In this capacity, he worked for the Education for All (EFA) programme, as well as its work on Literacy and Non-Formal Education (NFE). From December 2006 to December 2011, Mr Aoyagi was Director of the UNESCO Office in Kabul and UNESCO Representative to Afghanistan. In January 2012, Mr Aoyagi was transferred to the post of Director of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, and UNESCO Representative to India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. He was appointed to the Director of the UNESCO Office in Bangkok and UNESCO Representative to Thailand, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Singapore in May 2018.

Member of Parliament and Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Federal Republic of Germany 

Niels Annen is a German politician who has been serving as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz since 2021. He served as Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office from 2018 to 2021 in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Mr. Annen has served as member of the German Bundestag from 2005 to 2009 and since 2013. As a long-time member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Annen established himself as a foreign policy expert, focusing largely on the German engagement in Afghanistan and the Middle East. As a Spanish speaker, he is also well versed in the history and politics of Latin and Central America. Within the Committee on Foreign Affairs, he has served on the Subcommittee for Arms Control and Non Proliferation as well as the Subcommittee for the United Nations. From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Foreign Policy Spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Mr. Annen was a Senior Transatlantic Resident at the German Marshall Fund in Washington between 2010 and 2011. From 2011 until 2013 he worked for the department for International Policy Analysis of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Berlin. He holds a Master Degree in International Public Policy of the Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C., USA.

Twitter and Instagram: @NielsAnnen

Youth Representative, National Coordinator, Sustainable Solutions for Island Development 

For over ten years, Curmira Gulston has served as an advocate for Youth Empowerment, Climate Action and Education for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean. She is currently a UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development Youth Ambassador, the Director of Sustainable Solutions for Island Development and the former National Coordinator of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network in Trinidad and Tobago. Curmira completed her BSc. in Marine Biology and Conservation Biology in 2015 and then obtained her MSc. in Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management in 2017 with a focus on Coral Reef Restoration. Curmira is currently employed as the Hazard Mitigation Specialist at the National Disaster Office in Trinidad and Tobago with the responsibility of developing disaster risk reduction strategies and promoting enhanced resiliency.  Curmira believes that the most powerful tool for sustainable development is being able to engage with and inspire persons at the community level to contribute to global solutions. 

 

Advisor of the Department of Youth and Adult Education, Republic of Costa Rica

Education: Initial teacher training in Mathematics; Bachelor's Degree in Education with an emphasis on Adult Education and Mathematics; Bachelor of Education with an emphasis on Educational Evaluation and Management; Business Administrator with an emphasis on accounting.

Experience: Mathematics teacher for 8 years at the Integrated Center for Adult Education (CINDEA); Mathematics teacher for 6 years in a penitentiary centre; Regional Adult Education Advisor for one year in the Regional Directorate of Education Turrialba; National Advisor for Adult Education for 6 years, Ministry of Public Education.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts, Republic of the Fiji Islands

Dr. Anjeela Jokhan was appointed as the Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Education, Heritage & Arts in November 2020. Dr. Jokhan holds a PhD from University of Bristol, United Kingdom in plant physiology. Prior to this she accomplished her Bachelors, Postgraduate Diploma and Masters from the University of South Pacific. She earned the title of Associate Professor in 2016. Not only has Dr. Jokhan been an influential academic leader but has also contributed significantly as a societal leader. She has served as Board Member for several Organizations in Fiji. She is currently the General Secretary of UNESCO’s National Commission in Fiji and the second Vice President of the Tokyo Convention Bureau and Asia Pacific Network Information Centre. She is passionate about research in the areas of plant physiology, eLearning, mLearning and institutional research and as an active researcher, she has published over 50 journal articles, 25 books and book chapters and several conference papers. 

Vice Minister of Education and Culture, Republic of Finland

Dan Koivulaakso is the State Secretary of Finland’s Minister of Education. He holds an M.A. in Transnational Anthropology and a B.Sc. in Accounting. He is an expert negotiator and has plenty of experience in strategic planning, policy and campaigns who has worked extensively on non-discrimination and anti-racism. Koivulaakso has co-authored two non-fiction books.