By External Source
Apr 3 2025 (IPS-Partners)
Sigrid Kaag is the new Chair of Education Cannot Wait’s High-Level Steering Group. Kaag brings a wealth of experience in political, humanitarian and development affairs, as well as in diplomacy. In 2025, she was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, a.i. Kaag has just concluded her mandate as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, a role she held since 2024. She served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and first female Minister of Finance in the Dutch government starting in January 2022. Prior to this, she was Dutch Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation from October 2017 until May 2021, and Minister for Foreign Affairs until September 2021.
Kaag has held a wide range of senior positions in the United Nations system. From 2015 to 2017, she was the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, and from 2013 to 2015, she was Special Coordinator of the Joint Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations Mission in Syria. She served as Assistant Secretary-General with the United Nations Development Programme from 2010 to 2013 and as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa with UNICEF in Jordan from 2007 to 2010. Prior to that, Kaag served in several senior positions with UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Kaag holds a Master of Arts in Middle East Studies from the University of Exeter, a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo.
ECW: Congratulations on your appointment as the new Chair of ECW’s High-Level Steering Group. What do you hope to achieve for crisis-affected girls and boys who urgently need education support through ECW’s work with our strategic donors and partners?
Sigrid Kaag: Thank you very much. I have both observed and been a partner with Education Cannot Wait (ECW) from its early years, notably in my Ministerial roles in the Netherlands. As Chair, it is a great privilege to build upon the success which The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown established as the founding father of ECW. I have had the honor of working alongside him for many years to champion education in emergencies and protracted crises, and to position it higher on the international agenda. ECW and its implementing partners continue to drive results that help achieve our vision of quality education for all, including the 234 million crisis-affected children and adolescents around the world who urgently need education support.
Education is often the first service to suffer when people are on the move or schools and teachers are targeted in armed conflicts. ECW fiercely advocates for the rights of all girls and boys to a safe, inclusive quality education, and it brings together the strategic complementary partners who are best placed to make true impact on the ground. Through donor financing, ECW’s funded partners work around the clock to re-establish a sense of normalcy for crisis-impacted children, and to provide the continuous, quality learning to which every child is entitled.
If you look at the state of the world today and the diverse crises that so many countries face – with children always the hardest hit – ECW is more important now than ever before. We are a proven model that funds to deliver life-saving quality education with speed, agility, depth and impact.
ECW and its partners – including donors, the private sector, ministries of education, UN agencies, civil society, and local communities – have consistently demonstrated that it is possible to create meaningful change and have a significant impact in the lives of crisis-affected children through education when we have the funding needed to do it together.
ECW: We are experiencing a fast-changing humanitarian funding landscape resulting in the first drop in humanitarian funding for education in over a decade. Why is investing in education for children impacted by armed conflicts, climate change and forced displacement essential in global efforts to build peace, security and economic growth?
Sigrid Kaag: To ask the question is to answer it. It’s an issue of human rights, opportunity, emancipation and development. Learning is a continuous journey in a person’s lifetime under normal circumstances. Children and adolescents who are impacted by armed conflicts, climate change and forced displacement are often deprived of this opportunity and of the support circles that would enable them to grow and flourish into young adults, equipped to chart their destinies. Education in crises is nothing less than lifesaving and must be a priority for humanitarian funding. Along with food, healthcare and shelter, education is critical in creating a systems-wide approach that protects and safeguards children and builds toward lasting solutions. Funding education programmes targeted for crisis-affected girls and boys – alongside mental health and psychosocial support – is both foundational and fundamental.
When children are denied access to education, not only are their future opportunities limited, but socio-economic disparities are perpetuated, fueling armed conflicts, forced displacement and environmental degradation. Providing education opportunities offers those left furthest behind a pathway to resilience, helping them adapt to the challenges posed by these crises and empowering them to create positive change in their societies.
Education in crisis contexts is also a fundamental tool for promoting peace and security. Schools offer safe spaces, reducing children’s vulnerability to forced recruitment into armed groups, exploitation and violence. Educating children in these settings fosters a sense of hope and stability, allowing young people to envision a future beyond their immediate circumstances, and promoting peacebuilding efforts within and across borders.
Finally, investing in education is key to fostering economic growth, which is important even amidst crisis and is crucial in post-crisis recovery efforts. Education develops the next generation’s skills and potential, which is vital for rebuilding economies and strengthening societies. Without these investments, the long-term prospects for economic recovery remain bleak, as an uneducated population will struggle to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy. Education, in this context, is not just a humanitarian issue but also a strategic investment for sustainable peace and development.
ECW: As the new Chair of ECW’s High-Level Steering Group, what is your message to donor governments and the private sector regarding their role in ensuring that crisis-impacted children receive the education they deserve? How can they step up and fulfill their commitments to achieve ECW’s goal of reaching 20 million children?
Sigrid Kaag: Support for Education Cannot Wait is an investment in stability, opportunity and human dignity in the world’s most fragile places. ECW has done an incredible job, mobilizing over US$1.6 billion to date. With global needs spiraling, ECW’s funded work in places like Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has never been more crucial. With its efficient operating model and low overheads, donors – whether governments, private sector or philanthropists – can look to ECW to make their money and their impact, go further. For just US$250, ECW can support a young girl or boy to stay in education for three years. That’s incredible value for money.
We need to think smartly about how to leverage new sources of funding. We need to harness the power and innovation of the private sector to co-create new solutions. For the private sector, investing in education is not just philanthropy, it is an investment in the stable, prosperous markets of tomorrow. We will also need the strong support of our government partners to prioritize education in emergencies in their aid budgets.
We are at a critical juncture, and the time to act is now.
ECW: You are a visionary leader for girls’ education and for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), particularly for crisis-affected children and adolescents. These are two key priorities for ECW. Why should we invest in the education of girls today to build a better tomorrow? Why is MHPSS crucial in the holistic education approach for crisis-affected children?
Sigrid Kaag: Investing in girls’ education should no longer be a question. Girls and women are half of the world’s population. I’d like to think that, in 2025, we don’t even have to answer that question anymore.
It is a no-brainer. We’ve known for a long time that investing in girls, adolescent girls and women is essential if you look at well-being, health and educational outcomes, but also the income of the family and future of the community. Education translates to economic progress. By investing in individuals, you’re also investing in a future workforce.
There’s an economic argument and there’s a rights argument. Then there is a protection and emancipation argument. They all come together. That said, sadly, there are places in our world where this argument still needs to be made, and we will continue making it. But for the partners of ECW, and certainly me as the Chair, it’s quite the reverse. Together, we champion every child’s right to a quality education and have no doubt of the value in making that investment.
In terms of the importance of MHPSS, I’ve seen the gap in this support since 2005/2006, when I was the UNICEF Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa. Back then, MHPSS was being treated as an afterthought, as an extra activity that could be an add-on – haphazardly tagged on when we were talking about education in crisis settings. So, when I became the Dutch Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, I made sure that we mainstreamed MHPSS in all of the crisis activities, particularly education and health. As we focus on education, it is important to underscore that MHPSS is taken along as a core activity for the teachers and those that work at the schools, the children and the parents as well. It is one way to assist crisis-impacted children to begin the journey to tackle at least part of the trauma inflicted on them in crisis settings. It is essential.
ECW: We know that ‘readers are leaders’ and that reading skills are key to every child’s education, no matter who or where they are. What are three books that have most influenced you personally and/or professionally, and why would you recommend them to others?
Sigrid Kaag: Three interesting books that I have recently read include The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif, Grand Hotel Europa by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, and The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf. Global politics is the underlying theme that threads through all three books. The historical fiction novel, The Map of Love, is about an intergenerational, cross-cultural journey that unfolds between an Egyptian and an American family. Politics and personal relationships become intertwined as both the ancestors and their descendants embark on their journeys. Grand Hotel Europa is also historical fiction and follows a writer who stays in the once glorious but now decaying Grand Hotel Europa. The story of the hotel and the memorable hotel guests serve as a metaphor for globalization and the European condition. The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism points out that democratic capitalism, despite its flaws, remains the best choice for retaining our political and economic freedom. Each of these books invite the reader to take a step back, examine the bigger picture of our well-being as a world, and consider how we are all connected to each other as global citizens.
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