8:30 am CST - 5:00 pm CST
Past Event
Around the world, few education systems are equipping all children and young people to thrive today—let alone prepare them for tomorrow. Efforts to reform these systems are failing not for lack of effort or evidence, but because existing systems tend to reproduce the very challenges they seek to address: knowledge flows downward, decisions are made far from classrooms, resources fail to reach those who need them the most, and the actors closest to the challenges are treated as beneficiaries rather than agents of change.
What is needed is not incremental reform, but a fundamental rethinking of the purpose of education—and a rebuilding of systems around that purpose. Transforming education systems requires more than policy and global expertise alone. The voices, knowledge, and lived realities of those routinely excluded from these conversations must be included as well.
On June 4, join the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, Educación para Compartir, and Vozes da Educação for a symposium on education systems transformation, which will feature panels, interactive workshops, and ample time for strengthening relationships and building new connections. Grounded in Latin American perspectives, the symposium will center Indigenous communities, educators and learners in marginalized contexts, and young people whose experiences offer critical insight into what it takes for children and young people to thrive. The program will showcase collaborative research and action as an approach that bridges research, practice, and policy, while elevating locally rooted solutions on key issues such as education in emergencies, youth workforce, and pedagogical transformation.
This event is a part of the Global Symposium Series 2026 and builds on the collaborative work of the Knowing Doing Network (KDN). It is co-hosted and co-designed by An Giang University, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, EducAid Sierra Leone, Educación para Compartir, Mizizi Elimu Afrika, Society for Access to Quality Education (SAQE), and Vozes da Educação.
This event will be open to attend in person in Mexico City with most sessions held in Spanish and limited sessions interpreted into English. The opening plenary will be available to watch online in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
8:30 am - 9:00 am
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Youth perspectives on thriving in today's world
Fireside chat: collaborative research and action for education systems transformation
10:00 am - 10:30 am
What do young people need to thrive and how do we understand it across countries?
10:30 am - 11:30 am
In-person participants are invited to select preferred workshops during registration. Workshops will be preassigned as space allows.
10:30 am - 11:30 am
10:30 am - 11:30 am
This workshop will be conducted in English with interpretation into Spanish.
10:30 am - 11:30 am
11:30 am - 11:45 am
What does it take to build strong education ecosystems around young people?
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
This workshop will be conducted in English with interpretation into Spanish.
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm
2:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Whose knowledge is valued in education research—and whose is missing? What does it take to build more inclusive, participatory, and community-centered research practices?
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Panel: How can education systems respond to crisis and emergency contexts while supporting equity and well-being?
Keynote and closing reflections
Sweta Shah, Lucy Bassett
June 3, 2026
Faith Nkala
May 29, 2026
Arushi Sharma
May 29, 2026