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"I have a challenge for you. Let us be strong advocates for peace and development. Let us do it for children and women, because they are the most vulnerable people. Let us not wait for our leaders to do it, because we have the power to make the world a better place."
Gabriel Bol Deng, refugee of civil war in the Sudan

Highlights:

• Gene Sperling, Council on Foreign Relations, Global Campaign for Education

Sperling leads the U.S. chapter of the Global Campaign for Education, a worldwide effort to ensure that all children can go to school. He told the GCC Leaders how they could play a role in Global Action Week and fielded questions about access to education.

• Gabriel Bol Deng, Lost Boys of Sudan

Gabriel is one of the "lost boys" - a survivor of the brutal civil war in Sudan that lasted decades and claimed more than 3 million lives. At ten, he was separated from his family and made his way across the country, crossing the Nile and the Sahara to escape the conflict. He shared his experiences with GCC Leaders and talked about his plan to pursue a life of education.

• Gary Knell, CEO and President, Sesame Street

Knell, who leads an organization dedicated to helping children around the world realize their full potential through education, was the keynote speaker at the GCC banquet. He spoke about the challenges of making educational programming relevant and interesting for children, drawing on experiences like developing HIV/AIDS programming for South Africa.

Learning Sessions:

Leaders took on the role of real students living in Tamil Nadu, India, by playing the NetAid World Class Game. In the process, they learned about the barriers that prevent over 100 million children worldwide from going to school.

Leaders Speak:

"We don't often think of people in an emergency as needing education, but we must. When a crisis occurs, education is one of the first things to go-and it must be part of our humanitarian response."
Jenny Perlman, Commission for Refugee Women and Children

"A lot of poor countries will just educate the elite because they say it's all they can afford. You can't focus on educating the elite until every child gets a basic education."
Gene Sperling, Global Campaign for Education, Council on Foreign Relations