Think20 (T20), the G20's research and policy advice network, stressed the importance of activating basic elements to transform education into an investment sector that achieves the largest public and economic benefit.
Lead co-chair of the Migration and Young Societies Task Force of Think20 Princess Maha bint Mishari bint Abdulaziz Al Saud told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group highlights the importance of focusing on finding solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining the world's attention on the most vulnerable population groups.
This comes in line with transforming education into a real investment that serves humanitarian goals and achieves economic returns, she explained.
The call for economic and public investment come as the United Nations affirmed that only 50 percent of refugee children have access to primary education, compared to a global level of more than 90 percent.
This figure demands international cooperation between organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other humanitarian stakeholders, to achieve the goal of allocating four percent to education as a total proportion of the world’s humanitarian aid budgets.
According to Princess Maha, Think20 calls for multi-stakeholder approaches to find solutions to the current crisis.
Investing in education brings significant economic returns, she stressed, noting that stakeholders from various sectors realize that education is not limited to providing opportunities for professional growth and increasing individual and family incomes.
Instead, she added, it has more important and influential societal consequences, as education can contribute to ending poverty.
The Princess pointed to the importance of activating 10 stimulating elements for the education sector, as a potential future investment sector.
These include promoting the concept that education is a real investment for the future that achieves public international benefit, as well as ensuring access to education and the continuity of the educational process with a focus on the most vulnerable groups.