25th Anniversary Special Conference of the Harvard College China Forum

A recording of this message can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank the Governing Council of the Harvard College China Forum for the invitation to address the 25th Anniversary Ceremony of the Harvard College China Forum.

Harvard, one of the oldest institutions of higher learning, has been at the frontiers of academic and intellectual discovery, with its’ students acting in pursuit of truth, knowledge and a better world. This is the very purpose central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. SDG 4 is specifically focused on quality education, with the aim to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Education remains critical to achieving sustainable development, as it allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. SDG 4 is not just about providing equal access for all to education, but more importantly, giving people the knowledge and skills they need to stay healthy, gain employment and facilitate mutual understanding.

Over the past decade, major progress has been made toward increasing access to education and school enrollment rates at all levels, particularly for girls. Yet eight years on from the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and rising conflicts and inequalities, have all threatened progress on the SDGs, including in quality education. More than 90% of the world’s children have had their education interrupted by the pandemic - the largest disruption of education systems in history.

For many students, especially girls and young women, this break may become permanent, with potential consequences for their futures and for future generations that follow.

But even before the pandemic, progress in quality education has been too slow and uneven. 70% of countries allocate less than 4% of their GDP to education, 771 million young people and adults lack basic literacy skills, 69 million teachers still need to be recruited to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030, and 244 million children and youth are out of school globally.

In response to this global crisis in education, the United Nations convened the Transforming Education Summit during the 77th Session of the General Assembly in September 2022, to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and to mobilize action, ambition, solidarity and solutions. In building on the momentum the Summit has helped to build, the efforts of a broad range of partners, including academic institutions like Harvard, will be critical in recovering from pandemic-related learning losses and transforming education in a rapidly changing world.

As the torchbearers of the 2030 Agenda, young people are the great hope of tomorrow, the strongest and loudest voices calling for change. They embody hope for better, innovative, and more effective solutions to the world’s challenges. We are reminded that young people are leading the struggle for climate action, and mobilizing for racial and social justice while putting forward innovative solutions that advance progress and inspire change. Their anxieties are real, and we need to ensure that their voices are heard, and their needs are met, because we cannot achieve the future we want without them. We need to work in partnership with youth to secure and uphold the rights and dignity of their generation and help empower them as leaders to reach beyond the achievements of generations that have come before.

The intellectual capital, expertise and network of Harvard, as with other educational institutions, can help push further the universal agenda for peace and security, human rights, and development – the key pillars of the UN system. Here, I urge Harvard alumni across the world to lead by example and contribute their abilities to build a better world and leave no one behind.

I congratulate the Harvard College China Forum for helping to forge people-to-people ties while enhancing mutual understanding and collaboration between academics and young people in China and the United States. International cooperation remains critical to building the trust and solidarity needed to achieve the SDGs. As an important bridge between these two powers, I urge your forum to continue directing such efforts toward a more peaceful, sustainable future.

I wish a happy 25th Anniversary to the Harvard College China Forum and offer my hope for the success of today’s event.