Contents (28 May 2001)
UNESCO publishes new strategy paper on HIV/AIDS preventive education UNESCO's recently published strategy paper on HIV/AIDS preventive education outlines how the Organization intends to intensify its efforts in this field in the coming years. "Preventive education works. The low infection rates in most industrialized countries and in several developing countries are above all due to effective programmes in preventive education," according to the document. The strategy paper focuses on preventive education in the broadest sense, including advocacy at all levels, customizing the message, changing risk behaviour, caring for the infected and the affected, and coping with the institutional impact of the epidemic, as well as information-sharing and capacity-building to achieve these tasks. The 22-page document can be obtained from the UNESCO Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), E-mail: information@iiep.unesco.org. It will shortly be available online. EFA consultation of Ministers of Education and NGOs (8 September in Geneva) Ministers of Education attending the 46th session of the International Conference on Education (5-8 September in Geneva) will be invited to attend a consultation with non-governmental organizations on 8 September in the afternoon. The consultation will focus on how to improve the involvement of civil society in the EFA process at national and regional levels and will be chaired by the Director-General of UNESCO. Deliverables on education for all adopted at conference on the least developed countries (LDC III) Some 500 participants attended the UNESCO/UNICEF-organized roundtable on Education for All, which took place on 16 May as part of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, LCD III (Brussels, 14-20 May). The roundtable agreed on a series of deliverables (attached) presenting mechanisms and programmes to support the achievement of the Education for All goals. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura delivered the keynote address (attached) in which he called for accelerated mobilization of resources and political will for EFA in the least developed countries. "Certain countries are faced with particular dramatic situations, exacerbated by AIDS, internal conflicts and governance crisis. We therefore need to come up with new modalities and new approaches in education," Mr Matsuura said. 2001 annual meeting of the Collective Consultation of NGOs on Education for All The Collective Consultation of NGOs on Education for All (CCNGO/EFA) will hold its 2001 annual meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, 12-14 July. The meeting will discuss NGO perspectives on EFA and develop a framework for joint activities to be carried out in the context of the Dakar follow-up. This year, participants will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of civil society organizations in Asia and to further develop the network in the region. CCNGO/EFA is a thematic mechanism of the Education Sector for promoting professional dialogue and joint activities between NGOs and UNESCO to inform education policy and practice, and to reinforce partnerships for EFA. Its activities include the exchange of information and experiences in the field of education, action research and capacity building for local NGOs. Considering the changing landscape and roles of civil society in education as well as the commitments made in Dakar, CCNGO/EFA is undergoing a reform and intends to reinforce the participation of NGOs from all regions. The meeting in Bangkok will adopt the priorities and working procedures of a new and expanded CCNGO/EFA. NGOs interested in receiving an invitation should contact the technical secretariat by email: ccngo.efa@unesco.org UNESCO Institute for Education on the move for EFA The UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) in Hamburg has stepped up its education for all activities to respond to the challenges set in Dakar last year. The Institute is, inter alia, producing a set of recommendations relating to adult education, non-formal education and lifelong learning to be used in the preparation of national EFA plans of action. It has also initiated research on issues such as basic learning theories, intergenerational learning, and school-community interaction and sustainable and transferable learning abilities. The Institute is also involved in the evaluation and monitoring of adult basic education and is preparing a flagship programme on adult basic education to be jointly implemented with the World Bank and other development partners. A document outlining the main activities of UIE is attached to this Bulletin. Contact: Toshio Ohsako of UIE E-mail: t.ohsako@unesco.org Regional EFA action plan for Africa under preparation UNESCO Dakar organized a meeting of international partners working in Africa on 5 May in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to discuss a draft regional action plan on the Dakar follow-up process. Held in conjunction with the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the meeting gathered representatives of UNICEF, UNFPA, and the World Bank as well as other key partners in the region (the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the African Development Bank and the Netherlands co-operation agency) The following recommendations were made:
E-mail: a.parsuramen@unesco.org Subregional EFA Forum established in the South Caucasus The second meeting of the Network of the Pedagogical Universities of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) agreed to recommend the establishment of a subregional EFA Forum and to request the Ministry of Education of Georgia to co-ordinate this new Forum. The proposal will now be brought to the attention of the Ministers of Education of Armernia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to meet on 30 May in Baku, Azerbaijan. Tomaz Tatishvilli, Deputy Minister of Education of Georgia and EFA National Co-ordinator, was suggested as acting co-ordinator of the subregional Forum. He participated at the World Education Forum in Dakar last year as well as in the EFA Working Group held in November 2000 in Paris. The meeting was held on 16-18 May in Baku, Azerbaijan, and was attended by representatives of the Pedagogical Institutes and the Ministries of Education. Contact: Alexander Sannikov, Regional Education Adviser for Europe E-mail: a.sannikov@unesco.org Countries in action (Cambodia and India) Cambodia: Establishment of new National EFA Committee A National EFA Committee was set up in Cambodia in April 2001, comprising 141 members including concerned ministries, international organizations and NGOs. The Committee has already started to prepare the National Plan of Action expected to be completed by early 2002. Meanwhile the Donors' Education Sub-Working Group has been consolidated to ensure effective co-ordination among donors and the Cambodian Government. Established in early 2000, the Group is chaired by UNESCO. The National Education Strategic Plan covering the period 2001-2005 has been finalized, featuring an increase of the share of the education budget from 8 per cent in 2000 to 15.7 per cent in 2001. UNESCO and several other donors provided technical and financial assistance to this Plan, which is linked to the National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2001-2005) and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. India: National Action Plan in its final stages The national plan of action of India is expected to be ready by 30 June. UNESCO New Delhi has assisted in the organization of several regional meetings in India and in facilitating the consultation process with relevant institutions such as the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE), State Departments of Education, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and others. A draft of the plan was presented at the recent subregional meeting of South Asia in Kathmandu, Nepal (10-12 April). Hot off the press The report of the first meeting of the Working Group on Education for All held at UNESCO Headquarters, 22-24 November 2000, is now available in English and French. It can be obtained from Ulrika Peppler-Barry (u.peppler@unesco.org) and will shortly be available on the UNESCO EFA website. The first issue of a new UNESCO series on Education Policies and Strategies is now available. Entitled 'National Education Policies and Programmes and International Cooperation, What Role for UNESCO?', the document provides an overview of the evolution of upstream practices in national capacity-building and policy, as experienced by UNESCO. The 91-page document can be obtained from UNESCO. E-mail: s.fernandez-lauro@unesco.org Dakar on the agenda DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR EDUCATION - An Expert Meeting on Digital Libraries for Education will be held by the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) in Moscow, 7 - 9 June. Some twenty experts from China, Germany, Greece, India, United Kingdom, the United States as well as other countries in Africa, Asia and Europe are expected to attend the meeting. Contact: Sergei Christochevsky of IIET E-mail: christ@iite.ru HEATLH PROMOTION AND EDUATION - The XVII World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education will take place in Paris, 15-20 July. Co-sponsored by UNESCO, WHO, UNICEF and the European Commission, it will include a session on the FRESH initiative (Focusing Resources on Effective School Health) and parallel sessions on school health and EFA organized for Ministers of Health and of Education representing the nine high population countries. Contact: Anna Maria Hoffmann-Barthes of UNESCO Email: am.barthes@unesco.org CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN EDUCATION - The 2nd International Conference on Children’s Rights in Education will take place 18-22 August in Victoria, British Colombia , Canada, under the auspices of the Institute for Child Rights and Development (ICRD), Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria and Child Rights Education-International. The Conference will provide a structured exchange by international and national experts of information and perspectives on theory, research and practices relating education and children’s rights. Contact: Natasha Blanchet-Cohen E-mail: am.barthes@unesco.org or consult http://www.childrightseducation.org Contact: Anne Muller (a.muller@unesco.org) |
