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_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. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_3071.html In an effort to support and strengthen the adolescent girls of India, Delhi Daredevils along with Virender Sehwag today announced their partnership with UNICEF. http://www.ungei.org/news/usa_3068.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3065.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3064.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3063.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/south_sudan_3058.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/usa_3057.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_3056.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/south_sudan_3052.html Education is a key priority for the government of the world's newest nation, South Sudan. http://www.ungei.org/news/rwanda_3051.html On the outskirts of Rwanda's capital, a UNICEF-supported child-friendly school is helping to transform the way girls access education. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2984.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2941.html http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2939.html 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. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2932.html The United Nations General Assembly on Monday voted to designate 11 October as the 'International Day of the Girl Child' following a two-year campaign spearheaded by Plan International with the support of the Canadian government and supported by a coalition of partners. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2931.html Google announced its support of a groundbreaking initiative to empower girls and young women in Tanzania by merging education and technological innovation. http://www.ungei.org/news/kenya_2922.html Braving the scorching sun and feet-baking sandy soil, with a torn schoolbag hanging precariously on her back, Halima, a 16-year-old Somali girl, walks to school in the camp where her family has sought refuge. http://www.ungei.org/news/southafrica_2921.html An innovative public-private partnership, seeking to reverse the growing skills shortage in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in South Africa, is encouraging girls to pursue careers in these fields by giving them first-hand, real-world experience. http://www.ungei.org/news/kenya_2920.html Lowa Lokopu, lost her husband four years ago after he fell ill. Forced to take up the responsibility of running a family alone, she struggles to provide for her five children. http://www.ungei.org/news/afghanistan_2919.html In a neat, well designed classroom in the Panjshir Valley, 30 girls listen intently as their female teacher instructs them in grammar and writing. Although common today, this was largely unheard of only a decade ago.