In the year 2000 world leaders came together at Dakar, Senegal and then again at New York to discuss our collective responsibilities in this globalised world. One of the most important areas in which development was desperately needed, they said, was education. To receive an education - the chance to learn, to better oneself, to read, to write - is to become a global citizen. To be denied an education is like being denied a chance at life.

So the leaders of the world came together and declared that this would no longer be the case, and that all people are entitled to an education. This statement was enshrined in Millennium Development Goal 2; that all children should complete a cycle of primary education.

Since then, the number of children out of school has fallen dramatically and real progress has been made. However, there are still 67 million children who do not have the opportunity to go to school and to learn. The Education for All Fast Track Initiative was created to help galvanise education spending, to coordinate the work of donors and to reward sound policy making in developing countries. To make sure that it can meet the demands developing countries have for financing for education between 2011 and 2014 the FTI is holding a pledging event to raise $8 billion. We want to ensure that it has all the support it needs, and this month we’ll be working to make sure the UK plays its role.