NEWS AND EVENTS
Join the post-2015 Global Consultation on Education
As the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, there are increasing debates on what a post-2015 agenda and framework should look like. The Global Consultation on Education aims to bring together youth, civil society, NGOs, academia, Governments and private sector to contribute their experiences and ideas on how to achieve better, wider and more equitable access to quality learning for all around the globe.
Gender and Education experts meet in New York to reflect on the EFA Global Monitoring Report
A recent report reveals the urgent need to invest in skills for the 116 million young women aged 15 to 24 who fail to complete primary school and lack skills for work.
Podcast: 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report calls for investment in developing young people's skills
One in five young people aged 15 to 24 in 123 low- and middle-income countries has been left out of primary education and lacks skills for work. Of these people, the majority are young women.
School Meals In Egypt: Big Dreams In Small Villages
While most of their elder sisters got married between the ages of 16 and 18, Aya and Amani say they do not want to get married early and want to pursue their education and become doctors. The two girls, aged 9 and 10, joined a school close to their home where WFP implements its school meals programme in cooperation with the government and civil society.
What does education mean to girls in Ghana?
"Out of seven children, I am the only one who went to school. I look and think differently from my siblings. I am able to make informed decisions and can never be cheated by any one. I am loved, respected and treated like a heroine in my family and my community.
South Sudan: WFP Girls’ Ration Increases School Attendance in Eastern Equatoria
School officials in South Sudan say a monthly take-home food ration from the World Food Programme (WFP) has helped to reduce the number of female students dropping out of school.
We can end child marriage! On Day of the Girl, let’s talk how
Did you know that 11 October 2012 marks the first ever International Day of the Girl Child? It’s a global celebration of adolescent girls and overdue recognition that if we unlock their potential, we can build a healthier, more just and prosperous world.
Podcast: Celebrating International Day of the Girl Child
Today, 11 October, marks the first ever International Day of the Girl Child, a day set by the United Nations to highlight the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights. This year’s theme is “Ending Child Marriage”, chosen because child marriage denies a girl of her childhood, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities, increases her risk of violence and abuse, and jeopardizes her health.
UNGEI strongly condems shooting of 14-year-old girl in Pakistan
The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) today condemned the senseless attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other school girls in Pakistan.
UNESCO launches new Teacher Strategy for 2012-2015
UNESCO is launching its teacher strategy for 2012-2015 to introduce its priorities, action lines and role in relation to teachers. The strategy aims to provide a framework for the whole range of activities that UNESCO will develop from 2012 to 2015.
Camfed graduate to serve as advisor on global education policy
Camfed are thrilled to announce that 24-year-old Abigail Kaindu, a former Camfed bursary student, has been appointed to a top-level panel that will directly advise the UN Secretary General on global education policy
20 years on – FAWE returns to its birthplace to chart its new course for the future
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, FAWE has brought together a core group of its key partners to the place where it was founded in September 1992 to chart a new course for the organisation.
Didier Drogba partners with FAWE to mark 20 years of working for equal education for African children
Côte d’Ivoire football star Didier Drogba has partnered with FAWE to mark the organisation’s 20th anniversary advocating for equal education for African girls and boys.
HALF THE SKY
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the FHI 360-managed Communication for Change (C-Change) project has supported the development of 18 short educational and advocacy videos aimed at increasing global awareness and bringing about social change for critical health and gender equality and empowerment topics.
Nora Fyles becomes new Head of UNGEI Secretariat
Nora Fyles has assumed the role of Head of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) Secretariat. She is the third Head of UNGEI since it was launched in 2000 by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
New UNGEI Evaluation Report Highlights Achievements and Challenges
The important findings and recommendations of the global, regional, and country-level evaluation of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), conducted in 2011, have been recently published in a new report, the Formative Evaluation of The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative. The findings will be critical in charting the course of UNGEI in the future.
UK invests £12 million in girls’ education in Zimbabwe via Camfed
Zimbabwe’s Education Minister formally launched a £12 million investment in girls’ education on Wednesday that will enable 24,000 girls from the poorest rural families to enrol in and complete secondary school.
Development of the young helps development of a nation
Around 20 children aged 4 to 5 are singing enthusiastically in front a colorful house. Their joy is reflected in their parents’ faces. Here, at the Mekar Melati early childhood development center in Sukabumi, the children are very fortunate because they receive services that help their cognitive development.
Monitoring goes mobile: how Camfed is revolutionising data collection in rural Africa
Camfed tracks every dollar and pound it spends on girls’ education in Africa to make sure the girls and young women it supports are getting the full benefit of money from donors. It’s essential work, but it’s also time-consuming: since 1993 Camfed has supported more than 60,000 girls and young women through school and provided training to thousands more across five countries in Africa.
The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative Global Advisory Committee sets path to 2015 and beyond
The Global Advisory Committee (GAC) of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) today concluded a five-day meeting in Kampala. The meeting focused on a strategic review of the partnership in the lead-up to the Millennium Development Goals target date and following the recent formative evaluation of the partnership
100 literacy classes for girls and women open in Senegal
A team from UNESCO Dakar and the Senegalese Ministry of Education travelled some 4000 kilometers during the last week of April 2012 to launch the classes.
Podcast: Global Action Week promotes early childhood education
Every year, more than 200 million children under age 5 are not able to reach their full potential in cognitive development potential due to poverty, gender discrimination, conflict, malnutrition, inadequate care and lack of educational opportunities.
Youth advocates help enrol of out-of-school children in Pakistan
Walking through the narrow streets of Ahmedabad, an urban slum on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, 22-year-old Syed Mohsin Raza saw a barefoot school-aged girl playing outside her house.
Linking girls’ education with healthier, safer transitions to adulthood
Governments, civil society and the private sector recognise that education can be a transformative force for individuals as well as societies. Decades of research support the associations between women’s educational attainment and improved maternal health, child nutrition, economic growth and gender equality.
Empowering adolescent girls in Ethiopia and Tanzania
Adolescent girls in the northern Tanzania districts of Shinyanga Rural, Kahama and Micheweni are confronted with poverty, early marriage and pregnancy and an overall low prioritization of education in their communities.
Delhi Daredevils partners with UNICEF in its initiative to empower adolescent girls in India
In an effort to support and strengthen the adolescent girls of India, Delhi Daredevils along with Virender Sehwag today announced their partnership with UNICEF.
New York Launch of World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education
The first World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education, a comprehensive overview of the progress, as well as remaining gaps in gender equality at all educational levels, was launched today in New York on 27 March 27.
UN Girls’ Education Initiative reaffirms the need for education to be central to improving the lives of women and girls
This year, International Women's Day focuses on the theme: "Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures”. With one in five girls in developing countries who enroll in primary school failing to finish, it is clear that without progress in education, too many girls will be denied the chance to realize their potential.
Launch of World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education
To mark International Women’s Day, UNESCO and the UIS have jointly released the World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education, which includes over 120 maps, charts and tables featuring a wide range of sex-disaggregated indicators.
Podcast: What does it take to educate a girl?
Significant progress has been made towards providing education for all, yet according to UNESCO an estimated 67 million children still remain out of school – and over half of them are girls.
UNGEI to host event on the empowerment of rural girls
The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) will host a panel discussion entitled “Empowering Rural Girls: From Invisibility to Agency” in partnership with UN Women, UNICEF, and Plan International as a side event of the 56th Commission on the Status of Women.
UNICEF and partners promote girls' education in Darfur, Suda
No one quite knows how Qud al Haboob elementary school got its name. From its location, on the dusty outskirts of Darfur’s largest town, Nyala, one may surmise it refers to the blinding haboob dust-storms that sweep periodically across much of Sudan.
E-Discussion Forum - Gender equality in education: Looking beyond parity - 26 March to 6 April 2012
Globally, 39 million girls are currently not enrolled in either primary or secondary education, while two–thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate adults are women. Only about one third of countries have achieved gender parity at secondary level. The evidence shows that something needs to change.
Prioritizing education and promoting gender equality in South Sudan
Education is a key priority for the government of the world’s newest nation, South Sudan.
A brighter future for Rwanda’s girls
On the outskirts of Rwanda’s capital, a UNICEF-supported child-friendly school is helping to transform the way girls access education.
Earning 20/20 for education – FAWE to mark 20th anniversary with major advocacy campaign
In 2012, FAWE will celebrate 20 years of enhancing girls’ and women’s education in Africa.To mark the occasion, FAWE will organise with a major advocacy campaign across sub-Saharan Africa that seeks to reinvigorate action on quality education for all Africans – both female and male.
2011- The year in education for UNESCO
The year 2011 saw UNESCO launch many important education initiatives. It included a symbolic return by the international community to Jomtien, Thailand, to give a new impetus to the EFA movement which first began there 20 years ago.
