UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Vision

“A world where all girls and boys are empowered through quality education to realize their full potential and contribute to transforming societies where gender equality becomes a reality.”

Adopted at the 13 June 2008 meeting of the UNGEI Global Advisory Committee in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Mission Statement

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) was launched in 2000 by the UN Secretary-General to assist national governments as they fulfil their responsibilities towards education and gender equality for all children, girls and boys alike.

• UNGEI works to improve the quality and availability of girls’ education in support of the gender-related Education for All goals, the second Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to achieve universal primary education, and MDG 3 to promote gender equality and empower women.
• UNGEI is committed to accelerating action on girls’ education and revitalizing the broad social mobilization and high-level political action needed to ensure that every girl, as well as every boy, receives a quality education.
• UNGEI relies on a broad alliance of committed partners who are mobilized to provide direct support to countries and facilitate an enabling educational environment where girls and boys can flourish and unleash their untapped potential.
• UNGEI partners mobilize resources for targeted project interventions, country programmes and large-scale systematic interventions designed to affect the education system as a whole.
• UNGEI promotes strategies that put the needs of the most disadvantaged, including girls and women, first in education policies, plans and budgets.
• The UNGEI partnership works to remove barriers to learning, such as school fees and other education costs, and to support the continuation of education in emergency situations such as areas affected by armed conflict, natural disasters or external shocks, as well as in post-crisis and fragility contexts.
• UNGEI advocates a cross-sectoral, holistic approach, with balanced investment in education across the life cycle, addressing early childhood education and development for children of poor families, and literacy and empowerment of women and young people.
• UNGEI streamlines its efforts by strategic use of existing mechanisms such as poverty reduction strategies, sector-wide approaches, UN Development Assistance Frameworks and the Fast Track Initiative.

Adopted by the UNGEI Global Advisory Committee on 31 July 2008.