In less than five months Japan will host the next summit of the Group of Eight industrialised countries in Hokkaido. The Japanese prime minister has put climate change and African development high on the agenda, where both belong. But I hope the G8 leaders will give equal attention to education. In particular I hope they will look at setting up a World Education Bank in partnership with all United Nations member states and with business, banks, foundations and non-governmental organisations.

Education is a well-established global development priority. This was reiterated in 2000 when, at the UN millennium summit, the goal of “universal primary education for every child” was enshrined as the second of the eight millennium development goals the international community set itself to attain by 2015.