UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Singapore, 6-7 January 2009 - The global financial crisis is amplifying the effects of the food and fuel price crises, seriously challenging the abilities of families to cope and of children to thrive. At this moment when women and children are most vulnerable, governments are faced with decreasing fiscal capacity. For children, the costs of inaction or inappropriate action can be high, and include permanently stunted physical and intellectual growth due to adversely affected nutrition, health, and schooling.

At this conference, UNICEF convened the best minds in the region from academia and public service to examine cutting-edge research and best policy practices regarding the impact of the crises on child health and nutrition, education, labor, and social protection.

The knowledge created and shared in this conference is intended to assist governments to identify and implement policies that effectively protect children and women from the effects of these crises. The Objectives
The objectives of the conference were to:

Bring together participants comprised of senior government policy makers and academics in the region

Provide a forum for the exchange of views and debate

Achieve a consensus on examples of good practice

Forge policy implementation alliances between governments, academia, and UNICEF

The Venue
The conference was held at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) School of Public Policy in Singapore on 6-7 January, 2009.

Partners
National governments of the East Asia-Pacific region
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Singapore
UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific