Qingdao Declaration | Education | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

"1. We, Ministers responsible for Education, high-level government officials, representatives of civil society organizations, teachers’ organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies and development partners, and members of academia and the private sector, have gathered at the International Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Post-2015 Education from 23 to 25 May 2015 in Qingdao, People’s Republic of China, to affirm our collective understanding of how to unleash the full potential of ICT for education and for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We thank UNESCO, the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Qingdao Municipal Government and the Shandong Provincial Government for convening this milestone event. 2. We reaffirm the new vision of Education 2030 articulated in the Declaration adopted at the World Education Forum 2015 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, with access, equity and inclusion, quality and learning outcomes – within a lifelong learning perspective – as the key pillars. We are convinced that equitable and inclusive access to quality education for all across life is an imperative for building sustainable and inclusive knowledge societies, and as a key means of implementation to achieve all of the SDGs. 3. Inspired by a humanistic vision of education based on human rights and social justice, we further affirm that the remarkable advances in ICT and the rapid expansion of internet connectivity have made today’s world increasingly interconnected, and rendered knowledge and familiarity with ICT essential for every girl and boy, woman and man 4.  To achieve the goal of inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning by 2030, ICT – including mobile learning – must be harnessed to strengthen education systems, knowledge dissemination, information access, quality and effective learning, and more efficient service provision.  5. Technology offers unprecedented opportunities to reduce the long-existing learning divide. The application of ICT is essential if we are to deliver on our commitment in the Incheon Declaration to non-discrimination in education, gender equality and women’s empowerment for sustainable development. We commit to ensure that all girls and boys have access to connected digital devices and a relevant and responsive digital learning environment by 2030, irrespective of their disabilities, social or economic status, or geographic location. In striving to achieve universal access to basic education and skills development, we recommend that all education stakeholders recognize enrolment in quality-assured online courses as an alternative or complementary mode to face-to-face programmes of study ..."