Foreword by the Director-General of UNESCO

The comprehensive high-level mid-term review of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), held from 27-29 May, 2016 in Antalya, Turkey, is an opportunity to review the progress achieved by the LDCs’ in meeting their development priorities. It is also a moment to identify new drivers for progress and to align all efforts with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Change Agreement – all trends are pointing in the same direction. 2015 saw momentous agreements, embodying a new commitment by the world to support LDCs. Taken together, I believe that these chart a new vision to eradicate poverty, to promote new paths to inclusive sustainable development, to strengthen the foundations for peace and to protect the planet, bringing all countries together under a single, universal and transformative vision.

Between 2000-2015, there was significant progress in many LDCs in lifting people out of poverty, and in reaching major milestones in education, water and sanitation, expanding access to communication and information, and increasing science, technology and innovation capacities. However, there remains still a long way to go.

Take education, for instance. For many children and young people in the LDCs, education remains a distant promise. The percentage of children of primary school age who are in school has risen from 60% in 2000 to 82% in 2013 in the LDCs – but there remain still over 24 million children of primary age not in school. There are a further 22 million adolescents of lower secondary age also out-of-school. In total, almost two-in-five of all out-of-school children and adolescents in the world are in LDCs.

The Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) (2011-2020) and the 2030 Agenda open a new horizon of opportunities to strengthen our collective support to the LDCs in addressing the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All, and to tackle new challenges. For this, we cannot rely on business as usual – we need new forms of support, new integrated approaches, new partnerships for innovative action.

These goals guide all of UNESCO’s action to support the LDCs in an integrated and comprehensive approach to inclusive quality education for all, bolstering STI for sustainable development and in response to climate change, advancing the empowerment of girls and women, supporting social inclusion and youth engagement, strengthening culture as an enabler for sustainable development, and upholding freedom of expression.

Many countries have expressed their determination to graduate from LDC status by 2020 and are integrating targeted action plans to that end in national development plans. Through an integrated approach to sustainable development, harnessing the power of education, the sciences, culture, communication and information, UNESCO will remain ever more focused and committed to help countries achieve their goals, working in cooperation with all partners and stakeholders.

We know the ingredients of progress – continued strong national leadership, dedicated support from national and international partners, and the mobilisation of sufficient resources and partnerships. UNESCO will do everything it can to support the LDCs in their quest to build a more inclusive, sustainable and peaceful future for all. No country and no person can be left behind – this is UNESCO’s message today.