UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

REGIONAL UNGEI ACTIVITIES FOR 2010

In 2010, the Regional UNGEI activities will consist of three focus areas, which are:

1.  Gender in education advocacy: Enhancing and strengthening regional advocacy strategies; 
2.  Knowledge generation: undertaking innovative research on issues of gender in education; and 
3.  Knowledge management: strengthening the EAP UNGEI communication functions to better serve in sharing resources and information and in facilitating communication between and amongst national, regional and global networks and partners.
   

UNGEI is actively engaged with regional EFA network and strives to advocate for gender in education in national, regional and global fora. We strive to become a network of networks of regional and national partners, thus we look forward to strengthening methods of knowledge dissemination of resource materials, broad advocacy and outreach via the regional UNGEI mailing list and e-Newsletter, and the UNESCO EFA e-Newsletter. We hope that these communication platforms can act as a venue for meaningful exchanges of ideas, best practices and resources; and build linkages between individuals and organizations working in gender and education, to promote, sharing and learning from research and practical experiences, and to encourage opportunities for cooperation.

More recently, we published the “Making Education Work: The Gender Dimension of the School to Work Transition” in 2009. This report aims to examine existing disparities in the East Asia and Pacific region, looking particularly at the situation of males and females at different levels of education and in the labour market.
Previously, the regional UNGEI partners held a Regional UNGEI Gender in Education Roundtable in July 2007 in Bangkok. A panel of experts debated pressing gender issues at this event, which was attended by representatives from government, humanitarian and social fields and girls’ education activists. The report, “Towards Equal Opportunities for All: Empowering girls through partnerships in education” was launched at the event. Jointly published by the regional and country UNGEI partners, the document examines seven case studies: programmes from Cambodia, China, Indonesia and the Philippines addressing the educational needs of girls, particularly those who are marginalized for economic, social or other reasons.

Other key regional activities include producing advocacy and policy briefs on gender issues in education, by UNESCO and the regional UNGEI group, providing input to the Asia and Pacific Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment, particularly in ensuring that gender concerns are mainstreamed and training education reporters and journalists from the Mekong Region.