Education for All > Background Documents > Mid-Decade Meeting 1996 > Press Release Mid-Decade Meeting on EFA calls for an acceleration of efforts Amman, 19 June 1996 - The international community today agreed upon "the necessity and possibility of achieving education for all" and re-dedicated themselves to "this essential task". Key decision-makers, including Ministers of Education, multilateral and bilateral donors and NGOs from around 75 countries concluded a four-day mid-decade review of what has been achieved since the 1990 World Conference on Education for All (EFA), held in Jomtien, Thailand, where countries pledged to provide primary education to all children and to reduce illiteracy before the year 2000. Some 250 participants in the Mid-decade Meeting of the International Consultative Forum on Education for All issued the "Amman Affirmation" which stressed that "education is empowerment", and the key to reinforcing democracy, sustainable and humane development and to peace founded upon mutual respect and social justice. Hosted by the Government of Jordan, the international meeting, convened by UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme, the UN Children's Fund and the World Bank, examined the results of a 1995 world-wide mid-decade review of progress towards EFA. The review included reports by countries on their experiences in basic education since 1990, national case studies, a survey of major donor organizations supporting educational programmes and a series of seven regional seminars that ended in February 1996. Countries must "assume the responsibility for accelerating progress towards EFA, setting firm targets and timetables for achievement", the statement said. "International agencies and donors must also play their full role as partners in the EFA movement, matching national efforts with significantly increased international support, better coordination and greater responsiveness to country priorities." The Amman statement called upon all partners to both mobilize new resources and learn how to use existing resources more effectively. "In the quest for EFA, enhanced political will, greater financial and material resources and improved management are all essential." The statement also stressed that the developments over the past six years have made it "essential to re-examine the goals and add new areas of action" to those contained in the 1990 Jomtien Declaration on EFA. Emphasis should now be placed on "new forms of learning and critical thinking that enable individuals to understand a changing environment, create new knowledge and shape their own destinies." Given the growing recognition of the value of multi-cultural and diverse societies, "we must respond by including local content, as well as cross-cultural learning in basic education, acknowledging the essential role of the mother tongue in initial instruction." To respond to the escalating violence due to growing ethnic tensions and other sources of conflict, the international community was urged to ensure that "education reinforces mutual respect, social cohesion and democratic governance." Education must be used "to prevent conflict...thereby contributing to hope, stability and healing the wounds of conflict." To alleviate the plight of the "rapidly growing numbers of youth at risk, alienated and facing rising levels of unemployment," the statement said, "we must seek ways to make education more responsive both to the immediate realities of young learners and to the changing realities of a world in which basic learning skills are ever more important." "The priority of priorities must continue to be the education of women and girls," the statement said. "There can be no enduring success in basic education in countries where gender continues to be an obstacle to EFA." Regarding the role of teachers, the statement said "the training, status and motivation of teachers continues to be at the very core of our educational concerns." New technologies and media "complement but never replace the essential role of the teacher as instructor, guide and example to the young." It is essential to create, sustain and broaden a "spirit of partnership" among all elements of society...and a "far-sighted belief that in a shrinking world, we are destined to share fully in both the successes and setbacks of other peoples and countries," according to the statement. The Affirmation stressed that progress cannot be achieved without "the efficient and effective resources." The world is called upon to seek "more efficient management of education systems, making more effective use of partnerships, drawing upon experimentation and research, and developing reliable assessment and information systems." Despite near-universal ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the child's right to education, over 100 million children continue to be "without access to education," the statement said. "We must respond with new strategies and approaches to bring education within the reach of all, including the poor, the remote and those with special needs," the statement concluded.