Send My Friend to School is a UK civil society coalition of international development NGOs, teachers’ unions and charities. It brings together young people, politicians, teachers, civil society and the media in join campaigning to demand quality education for all children across the globe.
Why we campaign for education
Education is powerful.
Not just for individual children and their families, but for whole communities, countries and the world. Education can provide stability to children who are displaced, open up paths out of poverty, reduce the likelihood of conflict, contribute to a healthy planet and is vital for long-term growth.
Education is critical for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. By calling on world leaders to make education a priority we aim to unleash the power of education and ensure that no child is left behind.
The international community has committed to ensuring inclusive and quality education for all by 2030. However, 251 million children are currently out of school, and for those that are in school many are not actually learning. The situation is heightened for those groups that face increased and intersecting barriers such as marginalised groups, children with disabilities, girls and those living in conflict situations.
How we campaign
Send My Friend to School takes a youth-centred approach to campaigning. Each year we support thousands of schools to carry out campaigning, empowering young people to use their voices and engage in critical thinking about the current state of global education.
Through our school campaign packs, we encourage schools to support their young people in learning about global education and to develop campaigning skills. Each year thousands of young people are putting out the call to the UK government to work towards an inclusive and equitable quality education for all children and young people around the world. Download our school pack here.
Each year, we work with a group of year 9-10s, the Send My Friend to School Campaign Champions, to take the voices of young people straight into Parliament and even sometimes to the door of No.10 Downing Street! These young people work hard throughout the year to campaign for global education for all within their local communities and host a day of action in Parliament each summer where they speak directly to MPs.
Our campaign theme changes every two years, each time focussing on a different factor challenge to achieving education for all around the world. Our current campaign theme is “Invest in My Friends’ Learning” and highlights the current risks to education due to a lack of funding. Learn more by reading our policy report here.
Global Campaign for Education
Send My Friend to School is the UK coalition of the Global Campaign for Education.
The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is a global organisation working to ensure quality education for all children, with members in over 90 countries.
Here in the UK, each year thousands and thousands of schools and young people take part in the Send My Friend campaign, teaching young people the power and importance of using their voices in chorus with others across the globe to create positive change.
Send My Friend to School brings together thousands of children across the UK to speak up for the right to education.