We knew before 2020 that attaining Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 targets was off-track. It is evident that learning gaps have widened with COVID-19.

The importance of data to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been repeatedly emphasised since the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Yet now – six years after the SDG commitments were adopted, significant data gaps still exist, impeding informed policymaking to ensure needed progress. As estimated by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the World Bank, 97 countries in the world do not have the necessary learning or schooling data needed to measure learning poverty.

The Mission Recovery plan, implemented by UNESCO with UNICEF and the World Bank, aims to help countries recover learning losses accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, the three organizations have launched a global commitment towards a “Learning Data Compact” (LDC) to ensure that all countries have quality learning data by 2025. The compact offers a menu of evidence-based methodologies, tools, and solutions developed by and with developing countries.

A holistic and programmatic LDC aims to:

• leverage existing learning assessment data
• Improve the availability and quality of new learning assessment data
• Foster innovation in the creation and collection of complementary sources of learning data.

This virtual event will feature the voices of the international organizations behind the LDC as well as representatives from the countries involved in its development. Speakers will share their experiences and insights into how the LDC can support countries to ensure that all their children acquire the necessary skills they need to function as productive citizens.