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Contents
(2 April 2001)
---> John Daniel takes up
new post as UNESCO's Assistant Director-General
for Education
---> Message from UNESCO
to participants of the Global Action Week
on EFA
---> Global initiative
on education on the move
---> UNESCO embarks on
major mapping exercise on EFA
---> International Conference
on Education (Geneva, 5-8 September 2001)
---> Joint initiative to
implement effective school health programmes
in Africa
---> Experts exchange views
on HIV/AIDS in West Africa
---> Newsflash on the nine
high population countries (E9)
---> Countries in action
(Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone)
---> Dakar on the agenda
Attachments to this issue:
---> Message
from UNESCO to participants of the Global
Action Week on EFA
---> Newsflash
on the nine high-population countries (E9)
==============================================================================================
John
Daniel takes up new post as UNESCO's Assistant
Director-General for Education
John
Daniel today starts in his new job as chief
for UNESCO's Education Sector. As Assistant
Director-General for Education, he will continue
the reform process of the Sector and will
reinforce UNESCO's co-ordinating role in orchestrating
the follow-up to the World Education Forum
(Dakar, April 2000).
Mr
Daniel, a pioneer as well as a leading personality
in open learning and distance education, was
the Vice-Chancellor of the United Kingdom
Open University since 1990. Under his stewardship
the Open University almost doubled in size
and is now the United Kingdom’s largest educational
and training organization with over 250,000
students throughout the world. He also served
as President of the United States Open University
since its establishment in 1998 and holds
some fifteen Honorary Doctorate Degrees from
universities in ten countries. In 1994 he
was knighted by H. M. Queen Elizabeth II for
services to higher education.
Message
from UNESCO to participants of the Global
Action Week on EFA
UNESCO has sent a message of support to participants
of the second Global Action Week on Promoting
Education for All which starts today. In the
message UNESCO welcomes the focus of the Week,
which targets EFA efforts at the country level:
"This is especially appropriate since those
of you who work at the national level witness
each day the consequences of poverty and exclusion
from education".
"UNESCO will do everything in its power to
convince governments of the absolute need
to involve civil society in the formulation
of their national plans," UNESCO says, adding
that "the synergy between local and global
efforts will needs to be strengthened in order
to move effectively towards EFA".
Please
find the message attached to this Bulletin
Board.
The Global Action Week, 2-8 April, is initiated
by the Global Campaign for Education, a coalition
of non-governmental organizations active in
education. Demonstrations, symposiums, petitions
and press conferences are just some of the
many activities to take place around the world.
For more information: http://www.campaignforeducation.org
Global initiative on Education for All
on the move
Following its recent consultations with multilateral
and bilateral agencies and with the NGO community
(28 February - 2 March), UNESCO continues
to share the common views developed on the
contents and procedures for the global initiative
aimed at designing strategies and mobilizing
resources in support of national Education
for All efforts, as stated in article 11 of
the Dakar Framework for Action.
The
global initiative received comments from the
academic community, first at a meeting of
financial experts organized by the UNESCO
Institute for Statistics on 12 March and then
at a joint UNESCO/UNICEF/World Bank panel
at the international conference of the Comparative
and International Education Society (CIES)
held in Washington D.C. 14-17 March. The initiative
will also be discussed at the South Asia Ministerial
meeting on EFA (Kathmandu, Nepal, 10-12 April)
and at a meeting on Nordic countries and the
Dakar follow-up process (Elsinore, Denmark,
3-5 May). It will also be referred to in the
up-coming Steering Committee meeting of the
Association for the Development of Education
in Africa (ADEA) in Antananarivo, Madagascar,
3-5 May.
Based on these and other consultations, UNESCO's
discussion paper "Development Partner Cooperation
in Support of Education for All: Rationale
and Strategies", will be revised.
The
revised document is expected to become an
important instrument to express consolidated
views and procedures concerning support to
national EFA efforts to be used at high-level
policy meetings, such as the forthcoming G8
meeting in Genoa, Italy, in July, and in cross-ministerial
meetings internationally, regionally and nationally.
The document could also be helpful as a measure
against which national development policies
and practices concerning Education for All
can be assessed.
Contact:
Lene Buchert, UNESCO (l.buchert@unesco.org)
UNESCO embarks on major mapping exercise
on EFA
UNESCO
has launched a major mapping exercise to take
stock of the state of the preparation of national
EFA Plans of Action and to appraise countries’
needs for support in this context. Last week,
a preliminary version of a seven-page questionnaire
was sent to UNESCO principal regional offices.
It will be tested in a few sample countries
in each region and a final version will be
available by the end of April.
The
questionnaire was drawn up by the Division
for Education Policies and Strategies of UNESCO's
Education Sector, in collaboration with the
Dakar Follow-up Unit and UNESCO's Institute
for Statistics.
The
finalized questionnaire will be made available
in a forthcoming issue of the Bulletin Board.
Contact:
Mohammed Radi (m.radi@unesco.org)
or Maité Deniau (m.deniau@unesco.org)
of UNESCO's Division of Education Policies
and Strategies.
International Conference on Education (Geneva,
5-8 September 2001)
The
International Conference on Education (ICE)
will hold its forty-sixth session in Geneva
from 5-8 September 2001 on the theme "Education
for all for learning to live together: contents
and learning strategies - problems and solutions".
The main objectives of the conference will
be to examine and discuss aspects connected
with the quality of education for all and
to launch a new phase of international dialogue
on the contents, methods and structures of
teaching.
UNESCO
Member States have been asked to prepare national
reports on the development of their entire
education system which will be distributed
to all delegations attending the Conference.
The national reports represent an extremely
valuable source of information for UNESCO
and IBE in particular on education systems
and are a complement to the EFA 2000 Assessment
undertaken prior to the World Education Forum
last year. Finally, the reports will be exploited
during the preparation of the ICE in order
to identify ‘good practices’.
For
more information visit the new ICE website
on http://www.ibe.unesco.org
where background documents of the Conference,
the programme, and the working methods, as
well as information on parallel events and
practical issues are available. A Netforum
has been opened for your comments and suggestions.
Contact:
The ICE Secretariat (conference@ibe.unesco.org).
For
more information on the national reports contact
Massimo Amadio (m.amadio@ibe.unesco.org)
Joint initiative to implement effective
school health programmes in Africa
Within
the inter-agency initiative FRESH (Focusing
Resources for Effective School Health), a
new initiative has been launched in Africa
to foster collaboration and concerted action
between teachers' unions and relevant ministries
on the prevention of HIV and HIV-related discrimination,
and the improvement of school health programmes.
The World Health Organization (WHO), Education
International (EI) and the Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) have decided
to spearhead the initiative to enhance and
extend school health and HIV/AIDS prevention
efforts in collaboration with ministries of
education and health and other relevant agencies,
notably in countries in southern Africa. Within
this initiative, WHO and EI, in collaboration
with UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank, recently
convened an inter-country workshop for teachers'
union leaders and representatives from ministries
of education and health ( Botswana, February
2001). EI, WHO and FNV (Dutch Trade Union
Centre) are now providing financial and technical
support for a period of at least two years
to teacher's unions in Botswana, Lesotho,
Malawi, Namibia, Senegal, Swaziland and Zambia
to implement the projects developed at the
workshop.
The
objectives of the projects are to enable teachers:
1) to help adults to avoid HIV infection,
2) to advocate for the implementation of effective
HIV prevention programmes in unions, schools
and communities, 3) to implement interactive
learning experiences to help young people
acquire the skills needed to avoid HIV infection,
and 4) to focus resources on implementing
the four components of an effective school
health programme (school health policies,
skills-based health education, safe water
and sanitation and school health services).
Contact:
Jack Jones, WHO (jonesj@who.ch)
and Monique Fouilhoux, Education International
(monique.fouilhoux@ei-ie.org)
Senior
experts exchange views on HIV/AIDS in West
Africa
A
Senior Experts Conference on HIV/AIDS and
Education in West Africa, organized from 18-23
March in Elmina, Ghana, was the first high-level
regional meeting devoted to education and
HIV/AIDS in this region. Thanks to important
contributions made by key experts coming from
East and South Africa, the some 130 participants
left the conference with a vision of the scale
of the threat they face, of the true impacts
of HIV/AIDS, as well as of the complexity
and dimension of the response needed to counter-attack
the epidemic.
The conference adopted a draft document, entitled
"Recommendations of the Elmina Conference
on HIV/AIDS and Education: A Call for Action".
While recognizing that the ultimate responsibility
for HIV/AIDS prevention and education is national,
the document suggests, inter alia, the creation
of regional frameworks for co-operation, in
order to share data, best practices, etc.
It also proposes the expansion of an expert
network, a regional forum for advocacy and
a lobby for regional and national needs and
concerns. The recommendations are currently
being finalized and will be made available
in a forthcoming issue of the Bulletin Board.
Contact: Marie Paule Roudil, UNESCO (mp.roudil
@unesco.org) or Anna-Maria Barthes-Hoffman
(am.barthes@unesco.org)
Newsflash on the nine high population countries
(E9)
Please
find attached to this Bulletin Board a newsflash
on recent EFA activities in the nine high-population
countries (E9).
Contact:
Wolfgang Vollmann, E9 co-ordinator, UNESCO
(w.vollmann@unesco.org)
Countries in action (Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire
and Sierra Leone)
Senegal:
National EFA plan of action in its final phase
Senegal, the host country of the World Education
Forum last year, plans to have its national
EFA plan of action ready for the first anniversary
of the Forum. The Planning and Reform of Education
Directorate of the Ministry of Education is
in the process of preparing the national EFA
plan guided in part by five thematic studies
compiled by national experts.
Civil
society groups, non-governmental organizations
and teachers' unions are expected to discussed
the draft plan at a meeting in mid-April at
UNESCO Dakar. A national validation workshop
is tentatively set for 20-21 April and will
involve relevant stakeholder groups as well
as bilateral and multilateral agencies.
Côte d'Ivoire: Major national sensitization
campaign on EFA to take place in May
Côte
d'Ivoire is the process of signing a Memorandum
of Understanding that brings together the
EFA partners, namely UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF,
UNFPA and the World Bank in support of the
preparation of a national EFA plan of action.
During
the first week of May, several days will be
dedicated to EFA promotion and awareness-raising.
The Ministry of Education together with other
relevant ministries, non-governmental organizations,
representatives of civil society, etc. will
be brought together to deliberate on specific
themes and issues relevant to the EFA objectives.
Following this sensitization, technical workshops
and working groups will be convened for the
preparation of the actual plan of action.
Sierra Leone: Forging ahead despite ravages
of conflict
It is under challenging circumstances that
Sierra Leone is making efforts to prepare
a national EFA plan of action. Many parts
of the countryside are still inaccessible
and a large proportion of the population is
internally or externally displaced. In safe
areas, school populations and class sizes
are increasing at an alarming rate and educational
institutions in these zones are overcrowded.
Sadly, resources to education continue to
be limited.
To
cope with this situation, a feasibility study
is being planned with UNESCO Dakar to outline
key areas that need to be addressed as part
of the reconstruction and development process.
These will deal with issues of access, equity,
quality, relevance and cost, and will focus
on key areas in basic education, such as early
childhood care and education, basic education,
skills development, accelerated/rapid education
for over-age children, provision for amputees
and highly traumatized children, etc.
Dakar on the agenda
G8 Education Ministers - The Education Ministers
of some of the world's richest countries (G8)
are currently meeting in Tokyo and Okinawa
(1-3 April). At the last G8 Summit (July 2000),
a final communiqué reaffirmed the commitment
of these countries to vigorously follow up
the conclusions of the World Education Forum
by ensuring that additional resources are
made available for basic education.
For more information: http://www.monbu.go.jp/g8/eng/e_index.htm
Open
learning and distance education --- The Twentieth
ICDE World Conference on Open Learning and
Distance Education: The Future of Learning-
Learning for the Future - Shaping the Transition
is taking place in Dusseldorf, Germany, 1-5
April. For more information: http://www.icde.org
or perona@icde.no
Education
for All in South Asia - The South Asia Ministerial
meeting on EFA will take place in Kathmandu,
Nepal, 10-12 April 2001 to review action taken
since Dakar, including the preparation of
national action plans, data collection, etc.
Attending will be participants at ministerial
level, as well as from non-governmental organizations
from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Nordic countries and Dakar follow-up --
Nordic UNESCO education committees, foreign
ministries, aid organizations, education ministries
and UNICEF will meet in Elsinore, Denmark
(3-5 May) to discuss the Dakar Framework for
Action in a Nordic context, including status
and plans for interventions at the political,
organizational and professional levels.
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