Building just futures with girls, teachers, and communities
Research and policy symposium on gender equality in and through education

Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. EST 
Online only: https://www.brookings.edu/events/building-just-futures-with-girls-teachers-and-communities/ 

Thirty years on from the landmark global commitment to gender equality expressed in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, many regions of the world are facing a growing anti-gender agenda and backlash against girls’ and women’s rights. Hard-won gains are being undermined as initiatives and programs that promote gender equality in and through education are increasingly challenged, politically constrained, or stripped of funding, reshaping the landscape that young people, teachers, communities, and policymakers must navigate. In this complex climate, how can researchers and policymakers collaborate more closely with girls, teachers, and local communities to ensure that gender equality efforts are grounded in lived knowledges and realities, adapted to local needs and priorities, and oriented towards more just futures? 

On December 2-4, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings will host the annual Research and Policy Symposium on Gender Equality in and through Education. The event will open with a plenary discussion among the 2025 Echidna Global Scholars, who will share their research, which centers the voices, leadership, agency, and rights of marginalized girls and women across diverse contexts. The scholars’ research focuses on the construction of more just and inclusive education systems, including by elevating girls’ lived experiences to inform justice-oriented, skills-based education in post-conflict northern Uganda; strengthening pathways and promoting the agency of Indigenous women teachers in Argentina; examining gender-responsive pedagogy within Zimbabwe’s education system; and advancing a community-rooted framework, Ubuntu Womanism, to engage and promote the leadership of girls in rural Zambia.

The plenary conversation on December 2 will be followed by interactive workshops on December 3 and 4, which will allow participants to engage more deeply with each topic and geography. 

Viewers can submit questions via email at events@brookings.edu.

Interactive workshops 

Bridging policy and practice: Advancing gender-responsive and inclusive pedagogy in Zimbabwe
Wednesday, December 3, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. EST

When girls lead: Toward an indigenous approach to engaging the leadership of girls in rural Zambia
Wednesday, December 3, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST

From passing exams to promoting sustainable livelihoods: Justice-oriented skills education for girls in Northern Uganda
Thursday, December 4, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. EST

From erasure to indigenous futurities: Transforming intercultural bilingual education centering the experiences and voices of indigenous women teachers
Thursday, December 4, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST