Is Girls’ Education really a silver bullet for UK Foreign Policy?
CGP were delighted to partner with Global Partnership for Education at Conservative Party Conference 2023 to discuss how girls’ education is a “silver bullet” for UK foreign policy.
Panellists:
Theo Clarke MP (Member of the International Development Committee)
Professor Dominic McVey MBE
Heela Yoon (Founder, Afghan Youth Ambassadors for Peace Organisation)
Leila Bousbaa (Head of Overseas Visits and Events, CGP)
Heela Yoon opened the discussion by talking about the importance of local actors: “help women at the local level and they will help women at the local level.” “Don’t interrupt the journey of education — respond quickly, work with local institutions and digitise curriculums”, she said.
Professor Dominic McVey MBE spoke about how we can protect education in conflict settings, highlighting lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic. He shared his takeaways from a visit to a refugee camp in Kenya on the border with South Sudan, underlining the importance of robust investment in digital education and scholarship programmes.
Theo Clarke MP was clear in her support for girls’ education: “We can deliver genuine value for taxpayers’ money when we spend our overseas aid budget on education.” She commended the UK’s $4 billion pledge at GPE’s Summit in Kenya. The “lost generation of children” — those displaced refugee children — can return to their countries and rebuild their homes.
In her role as PPS to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Theo also underscored her support to embed gender into UK trade agreements. She said that she has pushed for the addition of a gender clause or chapter. Dominic said that he would like to see girls’ education included, with themes identified across departments and aligned in an overarching strategy, particularly as development aid and import strategy can sometimes find themselves at “loggerheads.”
The panellists also discussed school retention, female representation in Parliament, investment in countries “upstream”, and the role of women as mediators to secure lasting peace.
Watch the full discussion below.