Every April, the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) brings people together around the world for Global Action Week for Education (GAWE). It is a time when students, teachers, campaigners, and communities unite to stand up for one simple idea: that every child has the right to a quality education.

For the Send My Friend to School coalition in the UK, GAWE is an important moment in our campaigning year. It reminds us why we do this work and why young people’s voices are so powerful in pushing for change.

Why GAWE 2026 matters

This year’s Global Action Week (20–25 April 2026) focused on education financing under the theme “Hold the Flame High for Education”. This included exploring how education is funded around the world, such as how governments invest in schools, teachers, and learning resources and asking whether governments are doing enough to ensure every child can access a quality education.

Right now, many education systems are under serious pressure. Some countries are facing cuts to education budgets, rising debt, and fewer international funds. At the same time, more children than ever need access to school and quality learning.

When education is underfunded, it is often the most vulnerable children who are affected first. GAWE is a chance to say clearly: education must be fully funded and protected, no matter what.

A key part of GAWE 2026 is also learning and sharing ideas. Send My Friend to School recently took part in a GCE webinar on education financing which brought together campaigners from different countries to discuss how governments can better invest in education and make funding fairer and more effective. As part of this, Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly taking part in this webinar on behalf of Send My Friend, highlighted the importance of national coalitions working with their governments to strengthen advocacy on education financing. He said:

“One thing that national coalitions in partner countries can do is encourage their governments to share the value of external support to education, especially the support they receive from the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait. As bilateral aid is cut, donor governments can and must continue to support education by funding the two education global funds.

Hearing clearly from low-income and crisis-affected country governments that the support they receive from GPE and ECW is critical to their efforts will help reinforce the case in donor states for these two important organisations.”

How this connects to Send My Friend to School

In the UK, Send My Friend to School works to make sure that young people are not just learning about global education issues but are taking action on them.

Across the country, young people from hundreds of schools learn about global education, take part in classroom campaigns, write letters, and sometimes meet their MPs to speak up for the right to education.

In addition, a smaller group of Campaign Champions takes this work further by taking part in deeper training and leading national campaigning moments such as Parliamentary Action Day and party conferences. Each year, these students bring their experiences from their schools and communities directly to Westminster, where they meet MPs and policymakers to advocate for global education for all.

GAWE connects all of this to a global movement. It shows that when young people in the UK raise their voices, they are part of something much bigger: Young People and campaigners around the world are all calling for the same thing: education for all.

Why young people’s voices matter

One of the most powerful parts of GAWE is the role of young people. Across the world, youth campaigners are not just taking part in discussions, but they are also leading them.

Young people understand what education means in their own lives and futures. That is why their voices are so important in conversations about education funding and policy.

In Send My Friend to School, this is at the heart of everything we do. When young people speak to MPs or take part in campaigns, they are helping to shape real decisions about education around the world.

Keeping the flame alive

GAWE 2026 is a reminder that progress is not guaranteed. Education systems need constant support, investment, and attention. Without that, millions of children risk being left behind.

“Hold the Flame High for Education” is a call to keep going, to keep pushing for better funding, fairer systems, and equal access to education for all children.

For Send My Friend to School, it is also a reminder that our work is part of a global effort. We are connected to a movement that believes education should never depend on where you are born or how much money your country has.

As we take part in Global Action Week for Education, we are reminded of something simple but powerful:

Education changes lives, and every child deserves that chance.