Gordon Brown to become UN special envoy for schoolchildren

Gordon re-enters the arena stage left.

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, will become the United Nations special envoy for education – marking a return to frontline diplomacy. Brown will launch a new UN push on universal education in September, calling for a fund to finance schools and train 2 million teachers. The unpaid appointment by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, underlines concerns that the world will miss its target in 2015 to ensure that all children will be able to complete primary school. Unlike health, education has suffered from a lack of interest and cash from international donors.

www.guardian.co.uk...

I personally think this role will suit Mr Brown quite well. He may not have been the greatest PM and helped from his position as Chancellor to deregulate the City of London to such an extent as to create the conditions for the crash (who didn't/wouldn't have?), but I think he is genuinely passionate about helping people. Boosting the profile of the importance of education across the world is a fantastic cause and I wish him luck.

I'm sorry guys.. this is almost funny.. I have to comment here. In the United States, former leaders go on the lecture circuit and make bank in retirement. Lower functionaries go to Goldman Sachs or Chase or the Fed Bank. In the UK it seems, the UN is the retirement plan. It's just striking me funny how that all works out. If Gordon Brown is as effective on Children's Education as Tony Blair has been for Middle East Peace though, someone needs to get out there and save the Children! Poor things...they have no idea what's coming.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Ha yeh very true on US politicians retirement and mid-career break choices. That is also a fair point on Blair's "success" as Middle East peace envoy. The difference is though, maybe, that Blair's role was never to succeed in ushering peace but in maintaining the status quo of power balance in Israel's favour where as the education of the future of the world is in everyone's interest.

reply to post by Peruvianmonk


From the Huffington Post. Seems like it has been of interest to him for a while.

Brown said: "My hope is that the Secretary-General’s ‘Education First’ initiative will accelerate progress not only towards the Millennium Development Goal on education, but across all the goals." Brown, who blogs for The Huffington Post, has previously condemned the international community for failing to protect the rights of children in countries ravaged by war to an education, calling the effects "devastating". In January, Brown called for the creation of a worldwide fund to combat what he describes as the "hidden and silent emergency in education".

At the time, he claimed progress towards the United Nations' goal of universal primary education by 2015 had stalled and urged the developed world to reignite the drive to provide education worldwide.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk...