Please visit the conference
section on UNESCO's EFA website
International Task
Force on EFA takes off
The international Task Force on EFA has been established
and will start working in January 2002. Chaired by John
Daniel, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education,
the Task Force is expected to develop a comprehensive
strategy to operationalize the Dakar Framework for Action
by March 2002.
It is composed of fourteen
members representing Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Jordan, Senegal,
Pakistan; Action Aid Alliance, Arab Resource Collective,
Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, African
Network Campaign for EFA, European Commission, UNICEF,
World Bank and UNESCO.
As recommended at the first
meeting of the High-Level Group last October, the comprehensive
strategy is expected to identify ‘major actions to
be taken within specified time-lines; general roles and
responsibilities of partners; linkages among activities,
including a clear description of how flagships are integrated
into country-level activities; and a consensus on the
global initiative’.
The Task Force will receive
input from nine sub-groups, each co-ordinated by an international
agency. The sub-groups are:
1. Planning of strategy (UNESCO)
2. National EFA Action Plans (UNICEF)
3. Policy dialogue (European Commission)
4. Advocacy and communication (UNICEF)
5. Mobilization of resources (World Bank)
6. Monitoring and analysis of EFA progress (UNESCO, in
particular the UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
7. Coordination and networking (UNESCO)
8. Generation and exchange/sharing of knowledge (World
Bank)
9. Flagship Programmes (UNICEF).
All groups will work virtually
but, if necessary, UNESCO will convene a meeting of the
Task Force in early March to review proposals received
from the sub-groups.
Editorial board to guide
yearly Monitoring Report on EFA
The preparations for next
year's Monitoring Report on EFA are already underway.
As recommended at the first meeting of the High-Level
Group, an editorial board has been set up to consider
how best this report can be produced, managed and resourced.
The editorial board is
chaired by Anil Bordia, an eminent educationist from India
and is composed of representatives of the Association
for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the
Department for International Development in the United
Kingdom (DFID), the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency. UNDP, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics,
UNICEF, World Bank, the consejo de Educación de
Adultos de América Latina (CEAAL), Education International
and Oxfam.
The first meeting of the
editorial board is scheduled to take place 29-30 January
2002 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The meeting is expected
to:
a) lay out a time-table and the broad themes for the Monitoring
Report in 2002, and beyond
b) agree on some basic principles regarding the usage
of data provided by countries
c) propose a division of labour between the various partners
involved in the production of this report.
The
2001 Monitoring Report on EFA is available
Update on the second meeting
of the G-8 Task Force on Education
The second meeting of the
G-8 Task Force on Education took place in Rome on 30 November.
Senior officials of the eight countries continued the
consultation process that had started with UNESCO at the
first meeting in October.
The Task Force met with
the World Bank, represented by Ms Kagia; the International
Labour Organization (ILO), represented by Mr Myrstad;
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), represented by Ms Gasperini and UNICEF, represented
by Mr Robefroid.
The next G-8 Task Force
consultation will take place in Costa Rica in January
2002 and will include regional development banks. The
following one will take place in Cairo and will invite
some 12 to 15 developing countries.
The Task Force was set
up at the G-8 Summit in Genoa last July to consider how
these countries can accelerate their support to the EFA
process. It will report back to the next G-8 Summit in
Kananaskis, Canada, from 26-28 June 2002.
UIS Governing Board puts
Education for All on the agenda
The Governing Board of
the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has unanimously
agreed that the EFA Observatory, the monitoring body on
Education for All, will be a priority for the Institute's
activities in 2002. The final resolution of the Board
recommended that UIS should 'play a prominent part in
compiling the EFA Monitoring Report 2002 in order that
there should be an independent and robust analysis of
countries' progress towards the Dakar goals'.
The UIS Governing Board,
comprised of 12 international statistical experts, met
on 28 and 29 November to discuss the UIS work programme
for the next year and also approve its Medium-Term Strategy
for 2002-2007. They examined past progress and set the
agenda in the areas of statistical development education,
culture, communication and science and technology.
Following this strong expression
of support from the UIS Board, the EFA Observatory will
issue further guidelines on EFA indicators in January
2002.
Read the latest update
on UIS activities in the December issue of the UIS
Electronic Newsletter
New series of regional
reports on EFA
A new series of regional
reports presents the latest global education statistics
with a regional focus. Published by the UNESCO Institute
for Statistics (UIS), the reports include key data and
indicators for primary, secondary and tertiary education,
addressing such issues as access to education, participation,
teachers and education finance. The Latin America and
Caribbean publications are currently available, sub-Saharan
Africa and the Arab States will follow shortly.
The regional report on
Latin America are available on the
UIS website ( in English and Spanish) and the regional
report on the Caribbean in English only.
The UIS
website will soon make available a new data consultation
technology featuring the latest statistics in education.
High-level meeting on
the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI)
Heads of bilateral development
agencies from fifteen countries are invited to attend
a consultation meeting on the UN Girls’ Education
Initiative (UNGEI) in Paris, 21-23 January 2002. Hosted
by UNESCO, the consultation will focus on how to improve
partnerships to reach the international goals related
to gender equality in education. The meeting is organized
by the UNGEI Task Force led by UNICEF.
Contact: Mary Joy Pigozzi, Senior Education Adviser, UNICEF
/ E-mail: mjpigozzi@unicef.org
Launch of Central Asian
EFA Forum (17 January)
UNICEF and UNESCO are launching
the Central Asian EFA Forum on 17 January 2002 in Almaty,
Kazakhstan
The meeting will provide
an opportunity to evaluate the current education reform
processes in the five Republics, to develop partnerships
with international agencies and NGOs, and to foster inter-country
collaboration and exchanges for a successful completion
of the EFA thrust by the year 2015.
Contact: Jorge Sequira,
Director of UNESCO Almaty / E-mail:
j.sequira@unesco.org
Subregional meeting on
EFA in the Baltic States (24-27 January)
The subregional meeting
"Education for All in the Countries of the Baltic
Sea Region" will take place in Riga, Latvia, 24-27
January 2002. The meeting will discuss ongoing EFA activities
in the region and possible joint projects.
Contact: A. Sannikov, Regional
Adviser for Europe / E-mail:
a.sannikov@unesco.org or Dace Neiburga, Secretary-General
of the Latvia National Commission to UNESCO / E-mail:
dace@unesco.lv
Third ARABEFA meeting
(21 January 2002)
The third regional consultative
Arab meeting (ARABEFA) will take place on 21 January at
UNESCO Beirut. Representatives of UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP,
UNFPA, ESCWA (the Economic and Social Commission for Western
Asia, the World Bank, Arab non-governmental organizations,
and two education specialists will discuss, inter alia,
the status of national EFA teams in the region, the ARABEFA
workplan and financial needs for 2002 and a media strategy.
Contact: Victor Billeh,
Director, UNESCO Beirut / E-mail: v.billeh@unesco.org
Regional networks of civil
society organizations on the move for EFA
The Collective Consultation
of NGOs on EFA (CCNGO/EFA) continues to strengthen its
regional networks. The transitory co-ordination committee
of the CCNGO/EFA has met twice this autumn (in September
and again in October) and discussions have primarily focused
on the regionalization of the network.
In Latin America, the Consejo
de Educación de Adultos de America Latine (CEAAL)
is now co-ordinating civil society participation in the
EFA follow-up in the region with UNESCO Santiago. A regional
meeting of civil society organizations is being planned
for April 2002 with support from UNESCO and UNICEF. This
meeting is expected to mobilize not only NGOs but also
other civil society groups representing the media, universities,
churches, teachers unions and the private sector. Subregional
meetings are also being planned in Brazil, El Salvador
and Mexico.
In the Arab region, the
organization of civil society organizations is weaker
and information on EFA has been scant. The Arab Reource
Collective is expressing the need for a regional mechanism
for civil society participation in the EFA follow-up processes.
A regional meeting of NGOs should be organized to facilitate
this.
In Asia, EFA has been the
main pillar of the policy and advocacy work of the Asian
South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education (ASPBAE). During
the year, ASPBAE gave priority to mobilizing civil society
participation in developing national action plans in South
Asia and the South Pacific. ASPBAE members in Bangladesh,
India, Nepal, Pakistan and Vanuatu have organized NGO
consultations in this regard. ASPBAE is also sending out
an electronic bulletin to NGOs in the region to provide
updates on initiatives of the CCNGO/EFA.
In Africa, the African
Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA) has requested
the CCNGO/EFA to focus on capacity-building for national
EFA coalitions. The network is also interested in participating
in developing case studies on civil society participation
in EFA in African countries. Some preliminary work has
started in West Africa with the support of Oxfam.
General
Report of the 2001 Annual Meeting of the CCNGO/EFA
Synthesis
Report: Special Session on the Involvement of Civil Society
in Education for All, Geneva, 8 September 2001
Contact: UNESCO CCNGO/EFA contact team /e-mail: ccngo.efa@unesco.org
EFA at the World Social
Forum (1-5 February 2002)
UNESCO is joining hands
with the Consejo de Educación de Adultos de America
Latine (CEAAL) and the Collective Consultation of NGOs
for the second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, 1-5
February. In the context of EFA, they are jointly organizing
a seminar that will focus on how civil society participation
in EFA has changed since the 2000 World Education Forum
by looking at such issues as citizenship, participation
and governance.
Contact: Karine Brun, Education
Sector, UNESCO /e-mail:
k.brun@unesco.org
Countries in action
India: Education is
now a fundamental right
Education is now a fundamental
right for all Indian children in the age group of 6-14
years. This is the result of the 93rd Constitutional Amendment
Bill recently passed in Lok Sabha, India's House of the
People. The Bill has been pending since 1997.
Civil society organizations
hail the decision: "This is certainly a victory for
children as well as for hundreds of social organisations,
mass movement organisations, teachers' unions, conscientious
citizens, and active men and women of letters" remarked
Kailash Satyarthi, chairperson of South Asian Coalition
on Child Servitude (SACCS).
Source: Electronic
newsletter of the Global Campaign for Education (December
2001)
United States: Agreement
reached on major education reform
The House-Senate conference
committee of the United States agreed on 13 December on
a final version of President George Bush's education reform
bill, the "No Child Left Behind Act." The agreements
reached will result in fundamental reforms in classrooms
throughout the United States. This is the most sweeping
reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
since it was enacted in 1965.
Source: United
States Department of Education
Republic of Moldova:
Launch of national EFA Forum (please note a few words
have been deleted)
A National Conference on
Education for All was held in Kishinev, Republic of Moldova,
4-5 December 2001. Bringing together about 200 participants,
the Conference decided to establish an EFA National Forum
by including the representatives of civil society, private
sector and other major EFA partners. The Conference also
launched the preparation of the EFA National Plan of Action,
which is to be ready be the middle of 2002.
