"Innovation without equity is not progress" – what can we learn from local government education policy?

The Education World Forum brings together policymakers, educators, and researchers from across the globe who are committed to shaping the future of education.

Earlier this year, as a Master of Public Policy student at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, I had the opportunity to attend. As the world’s largest gathering of education and skills ministers, the EWF provides a platform for countries to exchange ideas, explore challenges, and share innovative policy solutions to enhance learning outcomes and promote educational equity worldwide. The theme for 2024, “Encouraging AI understanding, building human relationships and resilience, and accelerating progress,” sparked rich dialogue on how technology is impacting education policy and the lived experience of learners. 

The EWF has traditionally brought together national authorities; however, in recent years, the British Council has encouraged the participation of local and subnational governments, which are responsible for the day-to-day functioning of education systems. This shift opens new opportunities for sharing grounded strategies and programmes that directly respond to local challenges and contexts. 

During the event, I spoke with Isabel Segovia, Secretary of Education of Bogotá in Colombia. With more than eight million inhabitants and around 1.2 million children enrolled in its education system – 750,000 of them in public schools – Bogotá represents one of the largest and most complex urban education systems in Latin America. Its scale and diversity offer a unique testing ground for educational innovation, allowing the city to pilot and adapt inclusive policies that many other urban centres can learn from. Its size, complexity, and diversity make it a powerful case study in how local governments can advance educational transformation, even amid structural constraints. 

The lessons from the Education World Forum 

Our conversation began with a simple but powerful reflection: “These events encourage policymakers to step outside the narrow lens of their immediate responsibilities and consider how shared challenges are approached elsewhere.” Bogotá’s delegation came to the EWF to share their advances in promoting a more equitable education, especially for girls, and to learn about the opportunities that AI offers to improve learning outcomes. 

Secretary Segovia emphasised the need to ground policy discussions in the everyday reality of public education. She noted how global conversations often leap ahead to the next technological breakthrough while foundational issues – such as lack of connectivity, inadequate infrastructure, and social inequality – remain unresolved. 

“Sometimes we speak of problems as if they were already solved. But they persist, quietly, structurally, especially for the most vulnerable communities.” 

She argued that innovation in education must be framed through a lens of equity. Bogotá’s recent education agenda reflects this approach, centring care and inclusion. The city has prioritised support services, expanded psychosocial programmes, and redefined schools as community hubs. These policies are particularly targeted at girls, migrant students, and communities affected by violence. 

Care and equity as goals of education systems 

This emphasis on care and inclusion was evident during Bogotá’s participation in the panel “Girls’ Education: From Local Success to Global Commitment.” There, Secretary Segovia shared concrete steps Bogotá has taken to prioritise girls’ education, ranging from infrastructure improvements to targeted support strategies to encourage more girls to pursue a career in STEM. Her message was clear: “caring for girls means caring for society.” 

Such statements are not just rhetorical. Bogotá’s local policies reflect this vision. As noted in recent press releases from the city’s administration, the education department has advanced curricular reforms, improved school infrastructure, promoted digital inclusion, and strengthened teacher development. These initiatives are aimed not just at improving performance but at building an education system rooted in care, relevance, and social cohesion. 

In a final reflection, Secretary Segovia noted that real progress often stems not from grand announcements but from consistency, humility, and local ownership. “Education policy must begin with listening,” she said. In a city as large and diverse as Bogotá, this means being in constant conversation with teachers, students, and families, and responding accordingly. 

From Bogotá to London, her message was a timely reminder: innovation without equity is not progress. If the global education community is to build more resilient systems, local leadership must be recognised not only as implementers of national plans, but as co-creators of the future of education.