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The Conference represents a critical moment to advance reforms of the international financial architecture and to unlock investments, as development financing trends undergo major shifts and demands new and more responsive approaches that respond to country needs and global challenges.

Financing for Development (FfD) convenes global leaders and stakeholders to mobilize collective action and forge renewed commitments to support the reform of the international financial architecture and financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

As a once-in-a-decade summit, FfD4 marks ten years since the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (FfD3, 2015) and takes place at a critical juncture to assess progress and advance a coordinated global investment push to better serve the needs of developing countries and foster economic development and growth. With the SDG financing gap now estimated at 4 USD trillion annually—up from 2.5 USD trillion a decade ago—this becomes ever more urgent.

FfD4 offers a strategic opportunity to articulate a renewed framework for action, reaffirming the central role of multilateral cooperation in tackling global challenges and enabling transformative change in line zith the Conference objectives.

The UN General Assembly, in its resolution 78/231, decided to convene a fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) in 2025 to, inter alia, assess the progress and the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, the Doha Declaration and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

Spain serves as host country, with the conference to be held in Seville. An intergovernmental Preparatory Committee, co-chaired by Burundi and Portugal, is leading the organizational and substantive preparations of the Conference. The co-facilitators of the outcome document, appointed to guide the drafting and intergovernmental negotiations of FfD4, are Mexico, Nepal, Norway, and Zambia.UN DESA (the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs) is supporting the as Secretariat and is convening the UN Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development.

In the lead-up to Seville, the intergovernmental preparatory process has combined formal negotiations with active multi-stakeholder engagement platforms and UN-led events alongside the four sessions of the Preparatory Committee.

UNESCO is actively engaged in preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), as part of its broader efforts to position its mandate areas—education, culture, sciences, and communication—not just as sectors to support, but as areas for fundamental investments in sustainable development, in line with the Organization's Resource Mobilization Strategy for 2024-25. 

Through engaging in FfD4, UNESCO seeks to strengthen its role in international financing, reinforce political support, and promote cross-sector collaboration across governments and stakeholders. The Organization works closely with Member States, financial institutions, and other partners to catalyze innovative financing solutions beyond traditional grant-making—such as debt swaps for education. To this end, UNESCO provides technical expertise to the UN Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development and has issued policy briefs on financing gaps and opportunities. At the Sevilla conference, UNESCO will co-host and contribute to several side events and roundtables in line with these priorities. Event details will be confirmed closer to the date.

Strategic partnerships help ensure UNESCO’s financing advocacy is sustained, and aligned with broader efforts to reshape the global financing architecture.

UNESCO submitted policy briefs on financing for development in response to the call for inputs issued by the co-facilitators in July 2024, to inform the elements paper that laid the groundwork for the subsequent preparation of the zero draft of the outcome document. These have been integrated in , including:

The Organization is planning a series of side events, as well as participation in other events. Keep an eye on this page for details.

Key UNESCO resources related to financing for development