III. CONCLUSION

81. The EFA goals are ambitious and need urgent implementation. The global initiative is a multifaceted effort supportive of country level actions in their various settings towards the goals and targets. The initiative rests on six identified elements which must be mutually supportive when applied in various ways in specific country contexts. The design and application of the initiative in response to country circumstances is highly complex because of the urgency and scope of the needs, the variation in country circumstances, the multiplicity of EFA partners and the importance of understanding the fulfilment of EFA goals in a wider context of poverty reduction, sustainable development and the creation of enabling environments.

82. According to the Dakar Framework for Action, the international community has been called upon to launch the global initiative. According to some major partners, this has been interpreted to mean the need for global action aimed, in particular, at raising the estimated, additional financial assistance in order to support the formulation, implementation and monitoring of national EFA action plans. The need for a global fund, a global compact or a global financing mechanism has been central to their thinking.

83. In contrast, emphasis has in this paper been put on interpreting all six elements as part of a broader, but consolidated approach to support EFA efforts at the country level. Financial aspects related to increased and predictable external financing and the use of debt relief for EFA must, according to this understanding, be blended with consolidated coordination, strengthened sector-wide approaches and satisfactory mechanisms for the monitoring of progress at national, regional and global levels. The initiative, therefore, rests on partnership between all international and national partners coordinated in specific settings by national governments. Global coordination is necessary to facilitate national coordination and the achievement of national goals. The initiative must be implemented in accordance with generally acknowledged principles for international development cooperation based on national ownership, transparency and accountability as expressed, for example, in the EU-developed code of conduct. External financial resource mobilization must be understood in the context of domestic utilization and management of the resources. Domestic efficiency improvements are as essential as increased external financing and its use as a catalyst for domestic resource mobilization. Resources can be financial, human, material and non-material in nature. Knowledge, and human and institutional capacity-building are as essential components of the global initiative as financing per se.

84. In order to serve as a supportive mechanism to national governments, the EFA movement must make immediate decisions concerning the way forward for the initiative. While some specific, limited actions have been proposed in this paper related to all six elements, the EFA movement must now decide not only how to implement these and possible other individual steps, but through what forum. In consideration of the emphasis in Dakar to not establish new coordination mechanisms, the global initiative could be put into practice through delegation of specific responsibilities to existing forums or to ad hoc established task forces, encompassing representatives of all interested parties of the EFA movement. The necessary level of coordination and facilitation of the global initiative could also form part of UNESCO's mandate to coordinate the EFA movement.

85. This is the best and the worst of times for the achievement of Education for All. It is the best of times because governments, acknowledging the vital link between basic education and wider development, peace, tolerance and international understanding, are firm in their political commitment. The world now has the knowledge both to act and to understand the consequences of inaction. It is the worst of times because of the perturbation of the world economy and government anxieties which have resulted from global terrorism. The recent events make it more imperative than ever that undeniable progress both towards Education for All and the reduction of global poverty by 2015 enrich the lives of those millions most in need, the children, the poor, women and the excluded.