Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4)—Education 2030—provides an opportunity to strengthen the role of curriculum as an effective tool for improving the quality, inclusiveness and development relevance of education.

Well-designed and implemented curricula equip people with the knowledge and skills they need to face emerging challenges and shape more just societies. They help them develop lifelong learning competences, social attitudes, and skills, so they can lay the foundation for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles.

A good curriculum mainstreams gender, supports learners’ personal development, and responds to the needs of each society. It ensures learning opportunities through a consistent framework of formal, non-formal, and informal settings and modes of learning. Today, curriculum has also become an increasingly powerful tool to restore learning opportunities in crisis and post-conflict contexts for both children and adults.

As the specialized United Nations agency for education, UNESCO has been entrusted with leading and coordinating the implementation of SDG4 and the implied global Education 2030 Agenda. In the framework of the overall strategy of UNESCO’s Education Sector, the International Bureau of Education (IBE-UNESCO) plays a key role in promoting and supporting curriculum development worldwide.

Member States are increasingly requesting UNESCO’s assistance to address the challenges of the 21st centuryand to design effective teaching and learning strategies to respond to the needs of all learners.

With its wealth of experience and specialized knowledge of curriculum development, the IBE is well positioned to contribute to UNESCO’s action to pave the way towards inclusive and equitable quality education on the road to 2030.