Non-formal Education: The RIO Declaration

The World Non-Formal Education Forum is an international platform co-convened by World Scouting, UNICEF, UNFPA and the OSGEY, involving more than 70 leading international organisations, youth organisations and UN entities working on non-formal education and youth development. Over the course of three days in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2019 the Forum addressed the joint challenges facing the sector and built more support and recognition around the role of non-formal education in the global education agenda.

The final document, the Rio Declaration on Non-Formal Education is an ambitious action agenda capturing the ideas and inputs of stakeholders at the event to lay the foundation and define a direction for the future of non-formal education.

Together as a collective voice, the Rio Declaration calls for the recognition of the right to non-formal education, innovative technological approaches to learning methods, greater investment, stronger partnerships, and enhanced coordination between non-formal educational stakeholders and partners.

The Rio Declaration was developed through an active and participatory process involving digital polls, focus groups, and innovation labs during the three-day event.

The outcome of discussions over the course of the Forum helped assess the state of non-formal education and forged a consensus among stakeholders for actions needed to advance it as a powerful vehicle for the development of young people, and their role as active global citizens.

The Forum brought together more than 400 participants from over 70 international organisations, youth organisations and UN entities from across the non-formal education sector.


See also:

Rio Declaration on non-formal education


254 reads
How useful was this content?0009