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/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. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2918.html Leading donors at the first-ever Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Pledging Conference promised an initial US$1.5 billion over the next three years to put millions more children in school. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2915.html The Global Partnership for Education has helped more than 19 million children go to school for the first time. A campaign to renew support for these efforts will culminate in a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2913.html The impact of education on demography is widely known and acknowledged. Education for women and girls, in particular, translates into lifetime benefits including higher incomes and lower child and maternal mortality. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2912.html Access to education is one of the key priorities for the government of the world's newest nation, South Sudan. http://www.ungei.org/news/zimbabwe_2868.html After completing the fourth grade at the top of her class, 13-year-old Ellen Mbedzi was forced to drop out of Mafeha Primary School in Bulilima, a district in south-western Zimbabwe. Her unemployed father did not see the value of spending the family's limited resources on a girl. http://www.ungei.org/news/haiti_2867.html Lucien, 11, is the only child in his class not wearing a uniform. Sporting a t-shirt and jeans, he looks out of place amid throngs of children wearing neatly ironed, identical blue and white uniforms. http://www.ungei.org/news/zambia_2865.html Ensuring girls go to school and mobilizing their local communities to help keep them there are vital strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of 'education for all'. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2862.html Representatives from United Nations agencies, governments, the private sector and civil society recently gathered at the Women & Girls Education Summit in New York, to explore linkages between girls' education and economic development. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2859.html Today, on World Teachers' Day, we honour the millions of educators all over the world who devote their lives to teaching children, youth and adults. http://www.ungei.org/news/yemen_2857.html There is a spirit of harmony in one classroom packed with teenage students at the Al-Hussein Ben Ali School in Al-Mazahin; where the boys happily take their place on the floor, leaving the few available desks for the girls. http://www.ungei.org/news/2253_2855.html World Teachers' Day is a global observance to acknowledge all teachers for their contributions to society. The joint East Asia and Pacific and South Asia Regional United Nations Girls' Education Initiatives join the international community in celebrating the important role that teachers play in realizing this year's theme of 'Teachers for Gender Equality'. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2853.html UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) will host a High Level Policy Forum on "Gender equality in education: Looking beyond parity" on 3 and 4 October in Paris. http://www.ungei.org/news/index_2852.html Some 1.1 million children with disabilities in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States are hidden away at home or in institutions. http://www.ungei.org/news/247_2851.html The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) announces a call for the second round of research proposals from research institutions for its Strengthening Gender Research to Improve Girls' and Women's Education in Africa Initiative.