WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Associate Administrator Eric Postel will lead a U.S. delegation at the Oslo Summit on Education for Development, July 6-7, 2015 in Oslo, Norway. Postel will speak as part of a high-level panel on the subject of "Quality and Learning." During his visit, he will also meet with government officials, heads of state, other donors and global leaders in education. The Oslo Summit is one of a series of high-level events this year in which the importance of global education is highlighted, including: the World Education Forum in Korea in May 2015, the third International Conference on Financing for Development in Ethiopia in July 2015, the UN high-level meeting in September 2015 where the Strategic Development Goals will be adopted, and the 2015 Global Education Summit to be held by USAID in November 2015.

USAID Education programs provide a pathway out of extreme poverty by teaching children to read, helping youth find employment opportunities, and ensuring that those living in areas affected by crisis and conflict are given access to an education. Since 2011, USAID has worked in more than 50 countries to improve reading skills for more than 30 million children in primary grades, create new or better employment opportunities for more than 127,000 youth, and provide access to education for more than 1.1 million children and youth in conflict-and-crisis-affected environments.