FAQs
What is the International Parliamentary Network for Education?
The International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd) is a new initiative aiming to help mobilise the political leadership necessary to accelerate quality education for all.
As the first global parliamentary network dedicated to education, IPNEd seeks to grow and deepen political understanding of and commitment to inclusive and equitable quality education for all. To do this we work with individual parliamentarians along with groups of parliamentarians at the national, regional and global levels.
The Network consists of parliamentarians from around the world who are committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Quality Education - through increasing the funding, access and equity of education globally.
How is IPNEd structured?
IPNEd is formed of three components - member parliamentarians, the Global Executive Committee and the secretariat.
Member parliamentarians are MPs who have joined the Network from across the world. They consist of committed champions for education at both the national and global levels.
IPNEd's Global Executive Committee is formed of two Global Co-Chairs, MNA Mehnaz Akber Aziz of the Pakistan National Assembly and Harriett Baldwin MP of the UK House of Commons. The Co-Chairs are supported by a Global Executive Committee formed of Regional Representatives for seven regions: Africa, Asia, Arab States, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania. Members of the Executive Committee support the development of the Network's plans, campaigns and membership recruitment, and meet regularly.
The member parliamentarians and Executive Committee are supported by a small secretariat team who coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Network. The secretariat establish and maintain relationships with our members and key stakeholders in the global education sector. IPNEd is hosted by RESULTS UK in London, United Kingdom.
Who can join the Network?
The Network is open to any parliamentarian who is committed to inclusive and equitable quality education and subscribes to the values outlined in IPNEd’s Declaration. IPNEd is non-partisan and non-party political.
Parliamentarians become members of the Network by signing IPNEd’s Declaration. Joining the Network is a voluntary commitment by parliamentarians, no members of IPNEd, including IPNEd’s Co-Chairs, receive any remuneration.
IPNEd seeks to amplify the voice of parliamentarians from under-represented groups. We strive to ensure that the voices of women parliamentarians are prominent in our Network and that we engage with parliamentarians of all ages as well as legislators with disabilities, those from ethnic or religious minorities.
How do I join the Network and sign the Declaration?
Parliamentarians join the Network by signing IPNEd’s Declaration. Parliamentarians can sign the declaration by emailing info@ipned.org or via our website. We do not require a physical or electronic signature.
Once a parliamentarian has signed our Declaration they become part of our global network of parliamentary champions for education.
Why join the Network?
In joining the Network, parliamentarians become members of IPNEd’s global network of parliamentary champions for education. IPNEd and its civil society partners then support those parliamentarians in their capacity as policy makers, legislators and advocates. For example, IPNEd will provide parliamentarians with briefings, introductions to key stakeholders, and suggestions of parliamentary activities to accelerate quality education for all.
We will support our parliamentary champions to take on leadership roles within their parliaments. Where they already exist, we will help enable our members to play a highly active role in the ongoing work of national multi-party groups on education, and where they don’t, IPNEd will work with parliamentarians to establish such groups.
Joining the Network also connects MPs to their peers regionally and globally, as well as with stakeholders outside of parliaments. The relationships that IPNEd helps to facilitate between parliamentarians fosters learning, the sharing of ideas and agreement on actions to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4.
What happens after a parliamentarian signs IPNEd’s Declaration?
IPNEd’s Declaration sets out our shared vision of how SDG 4 can be achieved and the role of parliaments and parliamentarians in delivering a properly-funded system of education that is high quality, inclusive and accessible to all children and young people.
In signing the Declaration, parliamentarians commit to take action and demonstrate leadership to deliver quality education for all.
Once a parliamentarian has signed our Declaration they become part of our global network of parliamentary champions for education. IPNEd and its civil society partners then support those parliamentarians to help deliver on the commitment they have made.
We will do this through working with individual parliaments supporting them as policy makers, legislators and advocates, and connecting them to groups of parliamentarians at the national, regional and global level.
What are national multi-party groups on education?
National multi-party groups operate in parliaments all around the world. Different parliamentary systems have different provisions for these groups. However, they share a common function: they are cross-party, are typically led by at least one chairperson with secretariat support provided by stakeholders outside of parliament, and members meet regularly to discuss and explore relevant issues relating to the topic of their group.
In the UK national multi-party groups are called All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), in the US and Canada they are called ‘Caucuses’, in Brazil there are ‘Parliamentary Fronts’ and where they exist in other national parliaments such groups are sometimes identified as ‘Friendship Groups’ or ‘Chapters’.
Multi-party groups on education provide a focal point for parliamentarians to work across political divides to support collective action on education. They provide a platform for parliamentarians to come together to share ideas and agree on joint actions that accelerate quality education for all. For example, members put forward joint-recommendations and mechanisms to strengthen the implementation of education policy and legislation. As such multi-party groups help forge parliamentary consensus and drive action on education.
In the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Education for All is a group of around 50 parliamentarians who work together to build political will to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4.
Example activities that the APPG undertake include parliamentary events to raise the profile of education issues, meetings with key stakeholders - including government representatives and multilateral organisations - and bilateral visits. The APPG also works closely with civil society organisations and academia to disseminate briefings and policy recommendations as well as producing policy documents themselves for parliamentarians.
How will IPNEd support the work of national multi-party groups on education?
Where they already exist, IPNEd will support the work of national multi-party groups on education and, where they don’t, IPNEd will facilitate the creation of new cross-party groups.
We will provide support in the form of advice, briefings and programmes of parliamentary events. We will help ensure that the national multi-party groups that we support have a strong programme of parliamentary events, including meetings with key stakeholders, and visits to maintain sustained engagement.
IPNEd aims to foster strong and sustainable local leadership on education. The participation of local stakeholders, including civil society organisations, in national multi-party groups on education is therefore crucial and IPNEd will work closely with partners in-country to support them to play an active role in the development of those groups.
As we expand, we want to establish national cross-party groups on education in as many parliaments as possible. Over time, we are confident that the national multi-party groups on education that we support will play a critical role in delivering inclusive and equitable quality education for all, and that many groups will affiliate with IPNEd.
What are IPNEd’s priorities?
Our three broad policy priorities are:
- Achieve higher total and better quality financing for education.
- Ensure policy makers prioritize helping the furthest behind first.
- Secure a focus on the quality of education and improved learning.
In signing IPNEd’s Declaration Parliamentarians make a commitment to helping to achieve these three goals. A focus on education financing, equity and quality will subsequently run consistently across all of IPNEd’s work.
Within these broad priorities, and led by the interests of our parliamentary members, we expect to launch initiatives focused on specific areas of concern. Example areas include girls education, refugee inclusion and disability inclusive education.
How does IPNEd work with parliamentarians?
IPNEd’s approach to mobilising political leadership to accelerate quality education for all occurs in four mutually supportive ways.
Supporting individual political leaders
IPNEd works with individual parliamentarians supporting them as policy makers, legislators and advocates.
Collective action and advocacy in national parliaments.
Recognising that sustainable reform relies on alliances, IPNEd supports collective action and advocacy by parliamentarians working together.
Where they already exist, IPNEd supports the work of national multi-party groups on education and, where they don’t, IPNEd facilitates the creation of groups.
We encourage and facilitate collaboration with national stakeholders outside of parliaments, building broad alliances that support sustained political commitment to, and leadership on, education.
Regional learning and joint action
IPNEd brings together parliamentarians from across their regions to learn, share ideas, and agree on joint and individual actions that expand and accelerate educational progress.
We promote and share best practices among parliamentarians, including by working with global civil society and multilateral organisations. We also facilitate high-level bilateral visits between parliamentarians to donor and recipient countries.
International collaboration for better implementation and accountability
At the global level IPNEd facilitates collaboration of parliamentarians across countries to deliver coordinated messaging, calls for action and improved accountability at international fora.
We empower parliamentarians to have a real voice on the international stage, helping them to hold governments to account for the delivery of commitments they have made.