Steen Jorgensen, who is sector director for human development in the Middle East and North Africa region, said the Kingdom should be commended for investing heavily in education and focusing on improving opportunities for its youth.

“I think they (the Saudi government) are very dedicated to education, especially as part of its Saudization program. I think it’s essential,” he said. “I really praise them for their bravery in experimenting. Experimenting with education, which is so linked to culture, is a very rare thing to do, so we very much look to Saudi Arabia to how it can be done in Arab countries.”

Jorgensen said the Middle East has already taken the first step in overcoming funding challenges in their respective countries when Arab education ministers met to discuss the issue.

“(The Arab ministers) came together and decided that yes, we have national programs, but you also need a regional dimension, and this is what is important,” he added. “Because in the Arab world, we share a language, we share a culture, so why not also think about that in terms of funding?”

He said rich organizations in the Middle East are very interested in funding education initiatives and, coupled with the region’s newfound emphasis on education, this could provide very exciting opportunities for the youth. “I think we have taken the first step, and I am very impressed with the leadership that the ministers are taking.”

Jorgensen, who spoke earlier at a plenary session examining the funding challenges of education globally, floated the idea of so-called “education credits.” He said that they could be an incentive for companies to invest in education in the same way carbon credits encourage organizations to cut down on their emission levels.

However, he said the idea, a new concept, had not been touted much among Arab countries.

“We have discussed it with some entrepreneurs very informally here, (but) right now we are focused on the traditional sources of funding at the moment in the Arab world,” he said.

“But, we are open and if anyone has a great idea on how to do this in practical terms … let’s get this done.”

Jorgensen was also joined at the plenary session by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Chairman of the Citizens Foundation in Pakistan Mushtaq Chappra and President of USA’s Tulane University Scott Cowen.

Bokova told delegates “business as usual is not working,” adding that aid disbursements to basic education have stopped increasing for the first time since 2000 — stagnating at $4.7 billion in 2008.

“Education is the way to invest out of the economic crisis,” she said. “We must explore tangible proposals for innovative financing as decisions we take now will lay the foundations for the century ahead.”

She added that education must play a central role in employment creation, income generation and poverty reduction. “We must explore tangible proposals for innovative financing as decisions we take now will lay the foundations for the century ahead,” she said.

“Quality education also promotes better health, democratic participation, gender equality and environmental sustainability.”

Bokova’s sentiments were echoed by Cowen, whose New Orleans based university was affected when Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005. He said the disaster was almost a catalyst for educational change in the area, starting by tackling an “inability to convert thoughts into action.”

He claimed high school graduates live longer and are 40 percent less likely to be overweight than dropouts. He said education funding could go a long way by empowering schools to meet student needs and increasing their accountability.

Cowen added that decentralizing educational control, improving school choice, investing in human capital and introducing strong accountability is the only way to ensure education funds were well spent.

However, he warned that “education is a marathon, not a sprint. Failure is simply not an option.”

The speakers called on governments to protect their education budgets and invest in education as a solution to economic uncertainty. They also told the summit that educators must demonstrate that education is vital for economic recovery and that investment will result in a substantial return through increased employment and poverty reduction.

Finally, they said education requires innovative financing to secure the long-term future and viability of projects. Bokova cited the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development’s Task Force on Education, which identified a tax on international financial transactions. She said a 0.005 percent levy on transactions between four major currencies could raise $30 billion a year.

Local currency education bonds, an education venture fund, debt swaps for education, public-private partnerships and micro-donations from bank transactions were also identified as viable financing mechanisms which could be implemented without great difficulty.