This week, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona traveled to France for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial summit on “Re-building an Inclusive and Equitable Society through Education.” Discussions before and during the meeting with counterparts from member and non-member countries and U.S. diplomats focused on lifelong education and reimagining education for an equitable future.
“The OECD summit is a great opportunity for intentional collaboration with ministers of education from across the world. As we learned during the pandemic, the economic success of our countries depends on the educational opportunities provided to students in K-12 and beyond,” said U.S. Secretary of Education. “We are focusing now on how to leverage the disruption from the pandemic to raise the bar in education. This is our opportunity to be bold and reimagine education in a way we never could before.”
Secretary Cardona began the week by meeting U.S. Ambassador to the French Republic and to the Principality of Monaco Denise Campbell Bauer. They discussed the importance of post-pandemic collaboration with French leaders to help students in both countries not only recover but thrive academically.
On Wednesday, the Secretary started the day by meeting with Ambassador to the OECD Jack Markell. They discussed educational priorities in the U.S. and the importance of aligning elementary and secondary education with higher education. He also had the opportunity to engage with and greet OECD staff.
Throughout the day, Secretary Cardona had bilateral meetings with education leaders from around the world, including Ireland Minister of Education Norma Foley; Saskatchewan Minister of Advanced Education Gordon Wyant, who represented Canada; and Costa Rica Minster of Education Anna Katharina Müller Castro. He also had pull-aside meetings with Netherlands Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf; United Kingdom Minister of State for Schools Nick Gibb; German Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research Jens Brandenburg; and Berlin Permanent Secretary for Education Alexander Slotty.
Wednesday also kicked off with the Ministerial High-Level Policy Forum for the OECD summit. Secretary Cardona participated in two sessions: “Education: Investing in the Future” and “Building Democratic Societies through Education.”
Thursday’s agenda included official Ministerial events where Secretary Cardona spent the day participating in panel discussions about topics such as reimagining education.
Building on his commitment for intentional collaboration, Secretary Cardona moderated a session on Thursday with representatives from approximately 25 countries titled “Foundations for Lifelong Learning, from Birth through Work and Beyond.” The conversation explored early education, pathways to careers, and multilingualism.
The day included additional bilateral meetings with France Minister of National Education and Youth of French Pap Ndiaye and Finland Minister of Education Li Andersson.
The OECD Summit commemorated the event with a “family photo” of the heads of all delegations in attendance, including Secretary Cardona.