EDUCATION EQUALS EMPOWERMENT: SUPPORTING REFUGEE WEEK 2003

21 October 2003

During Refugee Week (20-26 October 2003), Adult Learning Australia calls upon the Australian public and policy makers to consider the vital contribution of adult education in building a world where every citizen has access to the basic human rights of freedom, justice and peace. This contribution was underlined at a recent UNESCO conference in Bangkok to review the 1997 Hamburg Declaration on adult education. 

Unfortunately, the review concluded there had been a disturbing backward movement in recognising the role adult learning plays in eliminating poverty, achieving gender justice, providing education for all and fostering sustainable development. 

The conference made particular reference to the plight of refugees, noting also the cost-effective benefits adult learning programs can deliver to displaced people, providing them with the skills to earn a living and, in turn, to help educate their children (see CONFINTEA V).

Australia has accepted more than half a million refugees since the end of World War II, however AustCare estimates there are approximately 40 million displaced persons worldwide.

Executive Director of Adult Learning Australia, Francesca Beddie, said today "The need to support and educate displaced persons, both in their country of origin and countries of asylum, is integral to the success of refugee assistance programs." 

"It is crucial that the importance of adult education in empowering refugees and developing communities is recognised, and that the Australian government acts in a humane and just way to provide adequate educational resources to all recent arrivals, as well as in its international humanitarian programs." 

Ms Beddie said the need to encourage understanding and appreciation of the world and its many different cultures was equally important to increasing tolerance.

"Thousands of staff and volunteers in Adult and Community Education (or ACE) programs around Australia are dedicated to this task; however, they often struggle through lack of recognition, support, and inadequate resources."

Jane Speechley
Communications Manager
Adult Learning Australia
j.speechley@ala.asn.au

Check also:

International Adult Learners Week: Australia
Australian ALW homepage: http://www.adultlearnersweek.org/
Adult Learning Australia: http://www.ala.asn.au/
AustCare - Australians Caring for Refugees: http://www.austcare.org.au/