Most inspiring moment of 2024 by

2024-12-19 09:18:33 UTC

Out of the many inspiring moments of 2025, my visit with the colleagues to this beautiful primary school in Osmanabad- India is the most memorable one. The joy of the students, the excitement of the teachers & school leadership and stories we heard from parents warmed our hearts. This is a partner school of UNGEI's Ending Gender Stereotypes in Schools programme.

02.24 : Refugee community school Little Step in Maadi - Egypt

2024-12-19 14:59:41 UTC

Meeting and hearing the feedback of children who continue learning on the Sudanese curriculum in Egypt with the Learning Passport Offline. Loved how switched on and tech savvy they were (much more than their teacher) and all their ideas on how to make the LP better.

05.24 Setting up MoPSEZW LP Offline and visiting solarized rural schools in Chidazuru - Eastern Zimbabwe

2024-12-19 15:09:29 UTC

Teachers and learners now have access to electricity and interactive and digital resources without the need of a mobile connection. That means they can watch videos and other learning content in super high quality and they were very happy :) There’s a video if you’d like to see it : https://youtu.be/alNemwNyMos

Young feminist-led solidarity circle at PANCOGED

2024-12-19 15:20:16 UTC

One of my highlights was the solidarity circle the young feminists from Niger and Mali organized at the AU Pan-African Conference on Girls' Education. Ministers, young people, civil society representatives and UN colleagues all held hands, meditated together and shared their challenges and hopes for girls' and women's rights. UNGEI, through the Gender at the Centre Initiative (GCI) supports Feminist Youth Coalitions in Mali, Niger and Nigeria. I'm very hopeful about what they will achieve in 2025!

2024-12-19 23:47:52 UTC

2024, the year that I joined the Education and Adolescent Development team in HQ, was a year filled with so much inspiration – the schools, the children, milestone events... each day brought a new opportunity to be amazed. My team inspires me every day -as a group of incredibly talented and dedicated individuals, consistently go above and beyond. Their passion for education and their unwavering commitment to learning for children and young people truly inspiring. Through these days of the year, one moment stands out, a moment that will forever be etched in my memory. I had the privilege of meeting a young Afghan refugee girl. Her eyes, full of both hope and hardship, spoke volumes. She shared her dream, along with the dreams of other girls like her, to study, to learn, to break free from the chains of circumstance. Her voice, her tears, her words were a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, especially in the face of adversity.

That meeting was a catalyst for action. It further fueled the fire within me, a determination to create a world where every child, regardless of their background, has the chance to reach their full potential. It’s a responsibility we all share, and it’s a responsibility I’m committed to fulfilling inspired by her call to action.

Joining the Edu&ADAP section has been my inspiration this year :)

2024-12-20 14:01:50 UTC

Hard to pick one moment. I have felt inspired so many times hearing incredible stories from so many colleagues since I joined the section before summer 2024. Feeling very privileged. Sharing some good news for child's rights in 2024.

THE Quote

2024-12-20 21:35:02 UTC

November 5th, 2024 EDU-ADA Section Meeting on Strategic Plan

It's Pia's 12th week in as the Director, and she shared this beautiful quote by George Bernard Shaw as her inspiration:

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

It was a touching moment. And this message continues to bring tears to my eyes whenever I read it.

Inspired by my colleagues

jgiraldo33 — 2024-12-20 22:22:41 UTC

2024 was a year marked by many happy welcomes and moving farewells of colleagues. I was inspired by their dedication until the very last moments with our team. Two moments particularly stand out. In April, Rachel shared the first draft of the Digital Education strategy at 4:56 pm on her last day with UNICEF as a staff member. Her dedication to crafting our team's long-term vision, a team she was leaving shortly, moved me deeply.

This same extraordinary level of commitment was evident in Philippe's departure from UNICEF Sweden, which left a lasting impression. After reaching UNICEF's mandatory retirement age, he spent seven additional years with the NatComm ensuring the success of our partnership with the Akelius Foundation on digital education. When announcing his retirement, he reflected "my body cannot support my passion anymore and is asking me to slow down". That passion is in all of us, and when it comes to our work for children and our commitment to the team, it is a gift that keeps on giving.

2024-12-22 18:34:31 UTC

One (..actually two ..) of the most inspiring moments in 2024 was visiting schools in Kono District, Sierra Leone, and Janakpur, Nepal, during the inception mission of the Safe to Learn - GPE Technical Assistance Initiative on Safe Learning. Meeting students alongside our dedicated country and field office colleagues and partners was truly uplifting. The resilience, hope, energy and smiles of the children and youth, as well as the unwavering commitment of our colleagues and partners in countries, are what inspired and motivated me most. Thank you !

2024-12-26 14:16:32 UTC

Highlight of 2024 was the launch of our beautiful youth-led action website, which brought together so much of our work with young changemakers and will offer them ways to move forward and continue to engage and learn! It was inspiring to see this body of work, built over 6 years, get to this point. - Marcy

Working closely with education colleagues from COs

2025-01-09 08:46:51 UTC

It’s always so rewarding and heartwarming to work with colleagues from country offices. I deeply admire the passion and commitment of the education team. I don’t have great pictures, but the lovely memories. Here’s one of our colleagues from Ethiopia leading a workshop with regional government stakeholders on integrating refugees into the school system and making sure they have access to school based mental health and psychosocial support too.

The power of youth!

ehamilton70 — 2025-01-23 21:48:12 UTC

Top moment was at the Continental Education Conference- Hearing these powerhouse youth tell leaders from across across Africa why they must invest in education! They had the whole room in the palm of their hand :)

Teacher is the Magician!

sachdevasuman2016 — 2025-01-24 08:46:12 UTC

After a long-drawn day in Solwezi district in Zambia, feeling dejected looking at teachers trying their best to conduct a catch-up class in overcrowded, low resourced classrooms, I was not expecting much from our last school that day that was about 45 kms from the main road, located in massive farm blocks with community engaged in agriculture labour. Soon I was to witness a most enjoyable and amazing primary class in the wilderness which is attended by children coming from far and near, some children walking in groups from a range of 5-10 kms and waiting for the older children to finish school to go back together. The reason was Andrew, a 38-year old magician teacher who was symbolic of positivity, energy and motivation. He mobilised contributions from his fellow teachers and himself to buy material and developed teaching-learning materials and white coats for all teachers to make them feel proud to be teachers. His class was exceptional and truly fun to watch which did not have a moment of boredom and such an easy way to learn. Andrew said ,"nothing is impossible if we are committed to teach and one day all my children will make me proud". I was moved with this commitment and passion from this one teacher who is igniting several others to work for the foundational learning.