Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, who is also the President of the South African National Commission for UNESCO, met with the leadership of the Commission in Pretoria on 9 April 2025, to chart a way forward in terms of advancing the Education for Sustainable Development (SGD) Goals. One of the key goals is SDG 4, which intends to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
The National Commission, led by the Chairperson, Professor Ihron Rensburg, briefed the Minister about South Africa’s proposed priority focus areas in UNESCO programmes and activities: “The UNESCO International Teacher Task Force for education 2030 (TTF) remains a key focus area, with South Africa and Germany as co-chairs. South Africa hosted the TTF 14th Policy Dialogue Forum in February 2024, and given the important role South Africa plays in the TTF, there is a need to upscale the support for the DBE and South Africa’s leadership. The overarching programmes for UNESCO include Open Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). South Africa plays a crucial role in the establishment of the National Research Foundation of the African Open Science Platform (AOSP) and is currently developing a policy on Open Science since there is a need to pursue the area of Open Science for UNESCO Category 1 Institute. I can confirm that South Africa is making progress in terms of AI. However, there is a need for AI policies and a regulatory framework to ensure the ethical use of these kind of technologies, either in the academic and corporate environment. South Africa participated in the AI Readiness Assessment Methodology aimed at assessing the impact of AI in local and international communities”.
The Minister was also briefed on other important areas of UNESCO in South Africa, which included the African World Heritage Fund, chaired by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture; the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme; and the General History of Africa, coordinated by the Department of Social Development.
In her response, Minister Gwarube applauded the UNESCO leadership for carrying out their roles and responsibilities diligently. She thanked the Chairperson, Sector Chairs and officials of line function departments for their commitment towards improving quality learning outcomes in public schools under the UNESCO umbrella: “We need to upscale the support for the DBE and South Africa’s leadership on the global stage. The TTF also links well with the G20 Ministries of Education, with the focus on ECD, teacher development and recognition of skills. AI offers many benefits and opportunities for economic growth in local communities. We just need to find the best way to regulate it so that it is used ethically and responsibly”. Minister Gwarube is expected to meet with the UNESCO Chairperson, Secretary-General and the Director-General for the Department of Basic Education to discuss support for the work of UNESCO during the 7th Administration.