The Arab Campaign for Education for All (ACEA) and its partners organized the virtual regional meeting on (Transformational Education in the Arab Region), which was held under the slogan (Towards Redefining Education to Become Education for Thinking and Understanding) on ​​Monday, September 5, 2022, with wide international participation, and in the presence of the Arabic education coalitions in: Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Tunisia, Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania, Lebanon, and Iraq. As this meeting sought to promote regional and national dialogue in the Arab region on the concept of (transformational education) in its five tracks in order to evaluate efforts to recover learning losses associated with the Covid-19 epidemic, and to reconsider the reality of the current educational systems and their ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4

This meeting comes in the context of an Arab educational movement that precedes the convening of the World Summit on Transformational Education, which will be held in New York City during the period between 16-19 September, and as a culmination of the results of the regional consultations process conducted by the campaign during the month of August of this year, and as a response from the Arab campaign Education for All for the global initiative launched by UNESCO and various international bodies on deepening the global debate on (transformational education) as a new concept within the efforts to achieve the fourth goal of education, and part of the contribution of the campaign and its partners in Arab educational coalitions in enhancing the ability of this ambitious global initiative to reach educational grassroots in the Arabic region and its involvement in the process of shaping the future of education.     

The meeting was opened with welcoming words by Dr. Zahi Azar, the President of ACEA, and Mr. Refat Sabbah, the campaign’s General Secretary, during which they confirmed the campaign’s attitude and efforts towards promoting this concept and the series of steps that the campaign will take in the future in this direction. During the meeting, a number of interventions were presented. By the campaign’s international partners: Mr. Grant Kaswanjit, GCE Global Coordinator, Dr. Abdul - Salam Al-Jufi, Advisor to the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, Ms. Beathe Ogard from Norwegian Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund (SAIH) Mr. David Archer from ActionAid, Ms. Nelsey Lizarazu from the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE), Dr. Dennis Sinyolo from the International Education Organization

Ms. Helen Dabo, Secretary General of Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), Ms. Solange Akpo, Regional Coordinator of Africa Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA), and Mr. Lars udsholt, Global Program Manager at Oxfam IBIS.

During the regional meeting, they discussed the concept of transformative education related to the efforts of achieving the fourth goal of education, specifically target  (4.7), which states (to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and nonviolence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development, by 2030.

The discussions focused on identifying issues and problems related to the five tracks of the concept of transformative education, and developing practical suggestions for how to rethink  in the efforts to achieve the fourth goal of education in the Arab region with a vision, tools and various interventions that keep pace with the developments in the world, especially after Covid-19 pandemic. During the meeting, parallel dialogue sessions were organized, in which a set of orientations and suggestions were reached to contribute to addressing the problems and challenges facing education according to the priorities and needs of the learner in the Arab region. In addition to trying to reach consensus to achieve a common understanding of emerging issues in education in the Arab region, based on an accurate diagnosis related to the five tracks of the concept of transformative education. During the discussions within the meeting, practical suggestions were developed for how to proceed towards achieving the fourth goal of education, and to monitor new challenges and barriers that impede achieving this goal in the Arab region.

After the regional meeting, it is expected that the Arab Campaign for Education for All will produce a position paper that reflects the attitude and opinion of the Arab Campaign for Education and its partners in the concept of transformative education and its five tracks, to deliver it to the entities based on Transforming Education Summit, which will be held in New York City from 16-19 September 2022 .