http://www.ungei.org/ News from UNGEI en-us Copyright 2007-2010, UNGEI http://www.ungei.org/rss/ http://www.unicef.org/images/hp_ungei_banner_thn.gif http://www.ungei.org/ http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3125.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/usa_3124.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3123.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/egypt_3121.html 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, aged9 and 10, joined a school close to their home where WFP implements its school meals programme in cooperation with the government and civil society. http://www.ungei.org/news/ghana_3117.html "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. http://www.ungei.org/news/south_sudan_3116.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3112.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_3111.html The United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) today condemned the senseless attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other school girls in Pakistan. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3110.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3108.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/zambia_3106.html Camfed arethrilled 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 http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3105.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3104.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3101.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3097.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/zimbabwe_3095.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/indonesia_3094.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/ghana_3090.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/senegal_3086.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3084.html 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 http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3083.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3082.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/pakistan_3079.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3073.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/tanzania_3072.html 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.