In pledging their support for civil society involvement in educational policy-making, participants at the World Education Forum gave international recognition to the role civil society plays in education.

Who makes up civil society?

The definition of civil society is the subject of much debate. In the context of EFA, civil society can be understood as all non-governmental and non-profit groups and associations involved in the education for all drive. It embraces NGOs and campaign networks, teacher unions and religious organizations, community associations and research networks, parents 'associations and professional bodies, student groups, social movements and others.

Civil society 's role in education

Though the state has the ultimate responsibility for and authority over education, civil society organizations play a major role. Three distinct roles can be identified:

- service providers where state provision is absent or insufficient. Civil society organizations are more flexible than the state and closer to the grassroots and local cultures. In many developing countries they take on responsibility for non-formal education programmes and are particularly successful in reaching the marginalized and excluded through approaches attuned to the needs and life conditions of the poor. They are particularly effective in areas such as community participation, empowerment, literacy, commmunity schools, reproductive health and early childhood education.

- innovators and sources of 'new 'thinking and practices -important if the EFA concept is to evolve and respond to change. In other words, they help fill the 'ideas gap '.

- informed critics and advocates on a whole range of development issues. Collective NGO campaigns in recent years have lobbied in favour of free and compulsory quality education for children and for education programmes for out-of-school young people and adults.

What 's new?

Civil society organizations are increasingly organizing themselves to present a coherent voice and build systematic relationships with governments and international agencies. This is evident at national, local, regional and international levels.

Communities are becoming more involved in educational issues, and national networks and campaigns, notably in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, are gaining more prominence.

Regional networks are emerging or growing. The African Network Campaign on EFA (ANCEFA),the Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE)and the Arab Resource Collective for Early Childhood Education are some examples.

The Global Campaign for Education has continued to lobby for greater resources for education for all.

A major step forward was made at the annual meeting of the NGO Collective Consultation on Education for All, in Bangkok, in July 2001,where around 100 NGOs agreed to set up a new partnership mechanism for EFA. Its aim: to improve dialogue with UNESCO and other actors and to carry out joint activities in research, capacity building, policy formulation, and monitoring and evaluation.

At a special session on the Involvement of Civil Society in Education for All, convened by UNESCO 's Director-General during the 46th session of the International Conference on Education (Geneva,5-6 September 2001),education ministers from Ghana, Mozambique, Nepal and Yemen, joined by a civil society organization from three of these countries, presented experiences of State/NGO partnership for EFA. Participants underlined the importance of government leadership in co-ordinating civil society efforts and of establishing mechanisms for systematic dialogue at national and local levels.

From service providers to partners

Now that civil society 's participation in policy-making is written into the Dakar Framework for Action, it remains to ensure that it becomes reality at country level. This will entail broadening policy dialogue and developing more inclusive approaches to EFA policy formulation.

In some countries, scope for civil society organizations to engage fully in EFA may be very limited, and authorities need encouragement to develop more democratic and open political processes.

It is increasingly clear that EFA will only be achieved if it is rooted in a broad-based societal movement and nourished by effective government/civil society partnerships.

For further information, contact:
The Dakar Follow-up Unit, Education Sector,
UNESCO
7,Place de Fontenoy,75352 Paris 07 SP, France
Fax:33 (0)1 45 68 56 26/27
E-mail:efa@unesco.org
Visit the Education for All website on
www.unesco.org/education/efa