Global citizenship forum in Salzburg pushes peace-focused education beyond 2030

More than 100 policymakers, educators, youth and civil society leaders met in Salzburg on 4 November 2026 to map how Global Citizenship Education can support peace, partnerships and social cohesion after the SDG deadline. The forum’s recommendations are intended to feed into global consultations, including UNESCO-led work on the future of education.

Why it matters: - Education is often among the first sectors hit by conflict and crisis. - The forum centered on Global Citizenship Education as a tool to address fragmentation, polarization and declining trust. - Organizers said the discussion is meant to inform global consultations on education beyond 2030, including UNESCO-led processes. - The stakes are high: 273 million children and young people are out of school worldwide, including 127 million in crisis-affected countries.

What happened: - More than 100 participants from politics, formal and non-formal education, youth and civil society met on 4 November 2026 at Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria. - The International Forum on Global Citizenship Education, Peace and Partnerships focused on the future of education beyond 2030. - The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the Ban Ki-moon Foundation and Salzburg Global. - Opening remarks came from Ambassador Lee Kyung-ah, Benjamin Glahn, Ban Ki-moon, Martina von Künsberg Sarre and Christoph Wiederkehr. - Isabella Glady moderated the forum.

The details: - Ambassador Lee said peace requires listening across differences and working together even without full agreement. - Ban Ki-moon said Global Citizenship Education can foster empathy, mutual respect, critical thinking and a sense of common humanity. - A fishbowl discussion on intergenerational perspectives examined how cooperation across generations can shape education systems for current and future challenges. - Dr. Heinz Fischer said each generation brings different experience, but the common goal is lasting peace and equal rights. - Gheida Abdala Omar argued education should prepare young people for life and also give them power to question systems. - Jakob Mohl said education must connect people, nature and the economy to help address the climate and biodiversity crises. - Participants stressed the need to listen to young people and give them a meaningful role in decisions that affect their lives, including budget decisions. - Rina Malagayo Alluri said fragility, conflict and violence are reshaping education and that peace education is fundamental beyond conflict-affected settings. - Alluri proposed five pillars for the post-2030 agenda: recognize peace education, protect education, invest in educators, make education plural and decolonial, and sustain partnerships. - Afternoon Shift & Share sessions covered AI, partnerships, youth-led peacebuilding and media. - Those sessions were led by Rilli Lappalainen, Atsufumi Yokoi, Lia Holla and Jade Bowler. - The forum said the session outcomes will appear in a forthcoming outcome paper. - Social media links included LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X.

Between the lines: - The forum frames education as a peacebuilding strategy, not just a delivery system for academic content. - The repeated focus on youth participation suggests a shift toward shared decision-making rather than top-down reform. - The inclusion of AI, media and partnerships signals that post-2030 education debates are moving beyond schools alone and toward wider social systems. - The emphasis on decolonial and plural education points to a broader rethink of whose knowledge and values shape policy.

What's next: - Organizers said the forum’s insights and recommendations will contribute to ongoing international consultation on the future of education. - The forthcoming outcome paper will compile the practical ideas generated in the Shift & Share sessions. - The Salzburg discussion is likely to feed into wider debates on how education systems can support peace, climate resilience and social cohesion after 2030.

The bottom line: - The Salzburg forum cast Global Citizenship Education as a key lever for peace, youth agency and cross-sector cooperation in the post-2030 education agenda.