Dakar Follow-up Bulletin No 27
Contents (24 July 2001)

G8 leaders reaffirm their commitment to education

Leaders of eight major industrialized countries and the Representatives of the European Union reaffirmed Sunday their commitment to help countries meet the Dakar Framework for Action goal of universal primary education by 2015. In the communiqué of the G8 summit that ended 22 July in Genoa, Italy, education was described as "a central building block for growth and employment".

The leaders agreed on the need to improve the effectiveness of development assistance in support of locally owned strategies. "Education - in particular, universal primary education and equal access to education at all levels for girls - must be given high priority both in national poverty reduction strategies and in our development programmes. Resources made available through the HIPC Initiative can contribute to these objectives," according to paragraph 18 of the communiqué. It also stresses the importance of teacher training noting that "Building on the work of the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force (dot.force), we will work to expand the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to train teachers in best practices and strengthen education strategies."

The eight leaders expressed their support to UNESCO in its key role for universal education and decided to establish a task force of senior G8 officials to advise on how best to pursue the Dakar goals in co-operation with developing countries, relevant international organizations and other stakeholders. The task force will provide its recommendations in time for the next G8 meeting, in Canada 26-28 June 2002.

The final communiqué is available on http://www.g7.utoronto.ca/g7/summit/2001genoa/finalcommunique.html

Agenda for the second meeting of the Working Group on EFA now available

The agenda of the second meeting of the Working Group on Education for All (10-12 September, UNESCO Paris) is now ready and attached to this Bulletin. The some forty participants will deliberate on three issues of particular concern:

(1) the formulation, assessment and funding of national EFA plans,

(2) a comprehensive strategy for EFA (for which a draft outline will be available) and

(3) the monitoring report for the first meeting of the high-level group (convened by UNESCO's Director-General, 29-30 October 2001).

The main objective of the meeting is to reach consensus on these three issues and to formulate specific recommendations to the high-level group.

The Working Group comprises individuals representing countries, regional organizations, and national and international non-governmental organizations, as well as bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Commission and the G8. Observers will be admitted to the meeting.

The first meeting of the Working Group took place in November 2000. For more information: http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/global_co/working_group/index.shtml

Expert Group Meeting agrees on new strategies to improve education indicators

A recent Expert Group Meeting on Education Indicators agreed on new strategies to cope with the major deficiencies in data availability and data quality concerning education. Organized by the EFA Observatory, based in the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 25-26 June, the meeting addressed how to best meet the objectives of the EFA Observatory and reviewed the existing eighteen indicators developed for the EFA 2000 Assessment.

The fifteen participating experts from international agencies, NGOs and Ministries of Education identified short -and long-term strategies including: creating and reinforcing support networks; strengthening statistical capacity-building; and carrying out advocacy for the importance of statistics. It became clear within the Expert Group that it is imperative and urgent to define a core set of indicators and the relevant data and to communicate them to countries as soon as possible.

One of the main recommendations made by the Expert Group was that the EFA Observatory should use the eighteen original indicators as a starting point to be modified appropriately as a function of feedback from the UIS regional workshops, the Expert Group and so on. At the same time, it should work on developing and piloting new indicators on specific topics such as learning outcomes, private sector contributions, out-of-school youth, HIV/AIDS and drop-outs, in collaboration with other international agencies so as to avoid unnecessary duplication. All indicators should be disaggregated by sex as well as by state/provinces whenever possible, especially for nine high-population countries (E-9).

The Expert Group Background Paper and Final Report will be available shortly on the UIS website on http://unescostat.unesco.org

UNESCO and NGOs agree on a mechanism for improved EFA collaboration

UNESCO and some 100 NGOs from around the world recently agreed on a new partnership mechanism for education for all to facilitate and accelerate dialogue, joint reflection, research, and capacity-building as well as monitoring and evaluation. It also aims at creating a dynamic regionalized network of NGOs active in education.

The new mechanism was discussed during the annual meeting of the Collective Consultation of NGOs on EFA (CCNGO/EFA), 12-14 July, Bangkok, Thailand and is the result of a year-long reform process of the Collective Consultation following the commitments made at the World Education Forum (Dakar, 2000).

The proposed working procedures will guide the work for a transitory period of one year during which the consultation process will be further extended to include NGOs particularly active in EFA.

"This is the starting point for an open and revitalized network of NGOs," said Fulgence Kone of the Organisation Internationale de L'enseignement Catholique (OIEC), who addressed the meeting on behalf of the transitory co-ordination group.

Abhimanyu Singh, the new lead manager of the Dakar follow-up unit in UNESCO Paris, commented that the space for civil society participation needs to be broadened. "UNESCO is increasingly engaged in persuading Member States to give NGOs their due in the EFA process," he told participants.

Sheldon Shaeffer, the newly appointed Director of UNESCO Bangkok, stressed in his inaugural speech the need to reflect on how to non-formalize formal education. "There is a need for more meaningful learning opportunities, for more democratization of education and for the reinforcement of human and financial capacities," he said.

Participants decided on a list of some thirty activities to be carried out jointly with UNESCO and other EFA partners, ranging from case studies to assessment exercises on achievements since the Dakar Forum, the creation of databases on competencies of NGOs and civil society groups, capacity-building seminars, research and communication activities. CCNGO/EFA members now have a month to consult with their networks in order to commit themselves to specific activities.

The transitory co-ordination group includes focal points from each region:

Africa: Gorgui Sow, African Network Campaign on Education for All

Arab States: Samir Jarrar, Arab Resource Collective

Asia and the Pacific: Asian South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education (ASPBAE)

Latin America: Carlos Zarco Mera, Asociación Brasileria de ONGs (ABONG)

In addition to Mr Kone, two international NGOs were designated: Ulf Frederiksson of Education International and a representative of the UNESCO/NGO Liaison Committee.

The meeting was preceded by a regional seminar on capacity-building in EFA for NGOs in Asia (9-11 July), organized by UNESCO Bangkok in collaboration with the CCNGO/EFA. The seminar provided an opportunity to share effective and innovative experiences and lessons learnt by NGOs in implementing EFA activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

For more information contact E-mail: ccngo.efa@unesco.org

First Collective Consultation of NGOs in Latin America (23-24 August)

The first Collective Consultation of Non-Governmental Organizations on Education for All in Latin America will be held in Santiago de Chile, 23-24 August.

Jointly organized by UNESCO Santiago and UNICEF, the consultation will bring together representatives of leading international, regional and national NGOs active in the field of education and EFA in Latin America.

The meeting has five objectives:

1. To map NGOs' fields of competency and activities related to EFA.

2. To identify steps toward co-operation at national, sub-regional and regional levels.

3. To exchange work and co-operation experiences with national governments.

4. To define concrete strategies and actions for the preparation of national plans of action, with full participation of civil society.

5. To identify the requirements for strengthening the discussion and exchange mechanisms on EFA at national and regional levels.

Contact: Mami Umayahara, UNESCO Chile
E-mail: mami_umayahara@hotmail.com

UNESCO brings together African EFA national co-ordinators in Paris

UNESCO Dakar will convene, in collaboration with education development partners, a meeting for African EFA National Co-ordinators. The meeting will take place 17-19 September at UNESCO Paris. Forty-six sub-Saharan countries are expected to attend.

The main objectives of the meeting are

(a) to assess progress towards implementing the recommendations of the World Education Forum and

(b) to determine how best we can strengthen our support to the countries' efforts.

The working documents of the meeting will be forwarded to participants shortly.

Asia and Pacific nations in push for non-formal education

The Tokyo Statement on Non-Formal Education, recently adopted by representatives of education ministries from nineteen countries in Asia and the Pacific, reaffirms the commitment to non-formal education in the region. "It is imperative that we view non-formal education (NFE) as an equal partner of formal education," according to the Statement, adding that "we envision non-formal and formal education as mutually reinforcing each other in establishing a knowledge-based society."

The Statement was adopted at the 2001 ACCU-APPEAL Joint Planning Meeting on Regional NFE Programmes in Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo, 26-30 June). The meeting was jointly organized by UNESCO Bangkok and the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU).

The Tokyo Statement was fully endorsed at the seminar on capacity building for Asian NGOs (Bangkok, 9-11 July) attended by forty NGO representatives from seventeen countries in the region.

The Tokyo Statement is attached to this Bulletin.

Countries in action for EFA (Haiti and Lithuania)

Haiti: Consultations to build partnerships in EFA

Haiti's Minister of Education, Georges Merisier -- in collaboration with UNESCO -- has initiated a number of consultations on the development of a national EFA plan. On 13 July he met with representatives of bilateral and multilateral agencies (the European Union, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Japan, UNICEF and UNFPA. They all confirmed their commitment to the process and the European Union, Japan, UNICEF and UNESCO agreed to provide the estimated US$120,000 required for the elaboration of the plan.

On 20 July, the Minister organized a meeting with NGOs, foundations and unions to ensure a broad partnership in the EFA process. The official launch of the National EFA Forum will take place at the beginning of September 2001.

Lithuania: The first national EFA forum in Europe a reality

The first national EFA forum in Europe was established in Lithuania during a Constituent Assembly in Vilnius, 26-27 June. The Assembly gathered an impressive cross-section of representatives from Lithuania's educational institutions, the corporate sector, and the media as well as multilateral agencies. The participation of neighbouring countries in the Baltic States and of Nordic countries provided the possibility for discussing subregional and regional co-operation. "Our recent experience attests that education is an essential precondition for overall welfare," according to the welcome message from Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus. He received the twenty-five member National Lithuanian Education Forum on 28 June to wish the members success in this important endeavour.

The next Forum meeting will take place in September when members are expected to agree on the framework for the National Action Plan and make personal commitments. Several members already made commitments. The Director of National Radio and Television has promised to arrange round tables on the preparation of a national EFA communication plan and the Director of General Education Department in the Ministry of Education has expressed his commitment to provide discussion facilities on the Internet for Forum members as of September.

For more information please visit the website of the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science: http://www.smm.lt//smm_english/index.htm

New publications and websites

Joint OECD/UNESCO Report points to critical gaps in teacher supply

Governments around the world face a dual challenge in educational policy, of meeting rising demands for education while at the same time ensuring that different types of learning respond to economic and social needs in a cost-effective manner. A joint OCED/UNESCO report, "Teachers for Tomorrow's Schools", describes how the next few decades will provide many developing countries with a unique opportunity to improve the quality of their education systems. How they respond could make a significant difference to their performance in other areas of social and economic activity.

The report is the second volume in a series of publications that seek to analyse the education indicators developed through the OECD/UNESCO World Education Indicators (WEI) programme.

The Executive Summary of the Report in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian can be downloaded free of charge from http://unescostat.unesco.org/en/pub/pub_p/wei2001.htm

New website on EFA in the nine high-population countries (E-9)

The new E-9 website (http://www.unesco.org/education/e9/index.shtml) provides up-to-date information on trends and data in nine giant countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan. Background information on the initiative and E-9 publications are also available online.

Contact: Anne Muller (a.muller@unesco.org)