SDG 4: QUALITY EDUCATION

Iberdrola is committed to education as a means of transforming society

#society #social action #social transformation

As part of its commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, Iberdrola group is committed to quality, inclusive and equitable education. Achieving this goal requires encouraging lifelong learning opportunities for everyone.

OUR CONTRIBUTION TO SDG 4: QUALITY EDUCATION

 Iberdrola group invested €6.9 million in quality education in 2020. The company has also taken on over 900 young people on placements and has boosted its Scholarship Programme, through which it has now issued nearly 1,000 grants to students to receive top-quality training in institutions around the world.

 Promotion of corporate training, with 53 hours of training per employee in 2020 and the goal of increasing them to 55 hours by 2022.

 Corporate volunteer projects and the work of the different foundations.

 Collaboration agreements with the main universities where Iberdrola is present through the Iberdrola U programme, with more than 40 initiatives between now and 2022.

 Support for education, technology transfer and the universalisation of energy services through several professorships with universities.

 Iberdrola Campus, a model of sustainability and energy efficiency, is an established international knowledge and innovation centre focused on promoting talent, open to companies and professionals.

 In Spain, we have more than 70 measures to achieve a healthy work and family life balance.
 

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 4: QUALITY EDUCATION?

Quality education is crucial to achieving upward social and economic mobility. According to United Nations data, great progress has been made over the last 10 years to increase access to education and school enrolment rates at all levels, particularly for girls. But despite this, some 260 million children were still out of school in 2018.

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries announced temporary school closures, affecting more than 91 % of students worldwide. In April 2020, almost 1.6 billion children and young people were out of school.

Furthermore, to protect and ensure access to lifelong learning, UNESCO launched the Global Coalition for Education COVID-19 in March 2020. It is a multi-sectoral partnership between the UN system, civil society organisations, media and IT partners to design and implement innovative solutions.

WHY IS SDG 4: QUALITY EDUCATION SO IMPORTANT?

Quality education is the main way to emerge from the poverty cycle, and it empowers people to lead more sustainable, healthier lifestyles, thus benefiting society as a whole. Therefore, guaranteeing inclusive, equitable and quality education is SDG 4 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, approved in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda.

IBERDROLA ALIGNED WITH THE SDG

KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING ILLITERACY IN THE WORLD

WHO IS AFFECTED?

758 million adults

(over 15 years of age) do not know how to read or write.

13,7 % are young people between 15 and 24 years of age,

two in three of whom are women.

HOW IS IT DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE WORLD?

The 10 countries with the highest illiteracy rates

are in Asia (62.6 %). It is worse in the south (49 % are illiterate), and Sub-Saharan Africa (27 %) — in thousands —:

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Afganistan

D.R. Congo

Niger

Tanzania

Iran

Nepal

Burkina Faso

MAIN CAUSES

Lack of appropriate educational facilities for all children's needs, lack of motivation and qualification of teachers and few academic grants, which means that many young people and adults cannot afford to study.

HOW CAN WE END IT?

We must invest more resources to build and adapt educational facilities, motivate and professionally qualify teachers and provide more grants.

Source: UNESCO (2017)

 

 SEE INFOGRAPHIC: Keys to undestanding illiteracy in the world [PDF]

SDG 4 GOALS: QUALITY EDUCATION

UNESCO says that illiteracy will still be in existence in 15 years' time, and that we will not have achieved 100 % global literacy. However, the goals set for 2030 are:

  • To ensure that all children finish primary and secondary education, which must be free, equitable and of quality.
  • To ensure that all young people and a considerable proportion of adults are literate and have elementary numeracy skills.
  • To increase the number of young people and adults who have the necessary skills to access employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
  • To ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable people.