(ANS - Bonn)- On 19 January at the 9^th Don Bosco Forum, in the presence of 600 people, the former German Federal President Prof. Dr. Horst Koehler and the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, together called for increased investment in education and the creation of jobs for young people in developing countries.

"Without a new model of development, we cannot eradicate poverty in the world." With these words, Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga called for a new approach to tackling global poverty. Speaking at the Don Bosco Forum at the University of Bonn, he went on to say that "globalization as we know it has globalized the market, but has not reduced poverty in many parts of the world."

Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga who heads the Council of Cardinals set up by Pope Francis for the reform of the Curia, took part in a roundtable discussion with former German Federal President Prof. Dr. Horst Koehler, on the theme "Education Changes Everything? - Prospects for Young People post-2015."

"Education is the key to development" - was the answer of Horst Koehler. In 2012, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, appointed Horst Koehler and a group of 27 high-level experts to give an opinion on the global development framework after 2015, which is the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In the discussion at the 2014 Don Bosco Forum, Koehler pointed out various achievements in the education sector that have been accomplished over the past ten years." Many schools have been built and many teachers have been hired. This is essentially a quantitative success!" However, the quality of education remains unsatisfactory in many poor countries."

For this reason, the group of high level experts of the United Nations has proposed the inclusion of the quality of education and lifelong learning in the post-2015 development goals.

Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, a member of the Board of Trustees of the NGO Don Bosco World, and a member of the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco, said that the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations that aim to reduce poverty in the world by half by 2015, are far from being achieved." The setting of the MDGs was a great idea, but few governments have made it a priority of national policy." Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga pointed out that there are too few resources allocated to the education sector. "What quality can we expect if teachers earn so little that they are not even able to feed their families, and if students come to school on an empty stomach?" Both Koehler and the Cardinal agreed that education and training have not yet become the basis of social development.

Koehler pointed out that the promotion of education and training should not fail because of lack of money. He proposed a global tax on carbon dioxide emissions for the financing of education in developing countries. He also suggested to business companies to make direct investment in developing countries through the promotion of vocational training.

Don Bosco Mondo and Don Bosco Missionhave persuaded many countries to make education and training more practice-oriented, in order to enable young people to earn a living for themselves. In addition, the training of teachers needs to be improved, as well as access to education, particularly for young people from disadvantaged families.

Published 30/01/2014