Education Diplomacy:
Greasing the wheels of collaboration and collective action
By Amlata Persaud
The education space of today has changed in unprecedented ways.
In many ways, the education sector of today is not recognizable from the education sector of the past. An important change has been the drastic increase in the number of stakeholders who have initiated and joined education initiatives. There are new actors and organizations at global, regional, and local levels, in education and related sectors. Together with existing entities, they create a large and complex mélange of well-intentioned stakeholders working to advance educational outcomes.
Stakeholders need to be better at working together.
A key challenge is harnessing the collective energies and efforts of all these stakeholders to create change in a sensible and meaningful way. This requires good coordination, communication, and collaboration among all those involved in educational change. To do this, stakeholders need to improve their skills and abilities to work together efficiently and effectively. Too often, what takes place in the name of collaboration and collective action does not represent good practice, and instead wastes resources, time, and energy.
Education Diplomacy will get us to better outcomes through collective action.
Education Diplomacy is a concept and practice that can be effective when building partnerships and working collaboratively in the education sector to achieve and amplify outcomes. Through its incorporation of diplomatic skills and insights, Education Diplomacy prepares education stakeholders to create strong and effective partnerships. Education Diplomacy addresses the key competencies to be built and steps to be followed in undertaking collective action to achieve collective impact. It presents an actionable way forward for education stakeholders in better navigating the ever-expanding education space in which we work today.
Childhood Education International has pioneered the concept and practice of Education Diplomacy. We have developed guidance, resources, and training for Education Diplomacy, including courses and consulting services.
To learn more about Education Diplomacy and how it can help you in your work, click here.
Amlata is the Global Practice Area Lead for Leadership at Childhood Education International. Her expertise is in multi-sectoral collaboration and systems-based approaches to advancing education reforms, and she centers her research and work in early childhood development. Contact Amlata here for questions related to Education Diplomacy.