UNICEF presents key report on challenges and opportunities for education and peacebuilding
Education can play a crucial role in peacebuilding in all phases of conflict, a UNICEF-commissioned study has concluded, outlining how education can help prevent conflict and contribute to long-term peace. The report, entitled “The Role of Education in Peacebuilding,” was presented on 9 February, to United Nations experts, donors, human rights activists and aid workers.
Among the key findings were that the concept of peacebuilding remains underdeveloped and contested, even among UN agencies; security concerns dominate peacebuilding and marginalize the role of education; and weak, inequitable and segregated school systems are often drivers of conflict.
To read a story on the meeting and to access the UNICEF report and corresponding podcast, please click here!
New UNICEF resource on Transitional Learning Spaces
I would like to draw your attention to a new UNICEF resource on design and construction of Transitional Learning Spaces (TLS) after an emergency.
This compendium of resources – including designs, pictures, technical drawings, and cost-effective recommendations from different case studies collected from the field – strives to create a more effective way to respond and provide access to quality education for all children after an emergency situation.
Recommendations for each case study are based on the Child-Friendly School principles to deliver healthy, safer, inclusive and effective learning environments for children. Community participation, access to water and sanitation, local ownership and environmental issues are also identified as key components for a more sustainable result with a greater return to children and local communities.
To read the resources on TLS, please click here!
Education is key to peace and social development
Currently, more than 1.5 billion people live in fragile and conflict-affected states. Children living in armed conflict are subject to violence, deprived of basic needs and robbed of developmental opportunities, including a quality education. A recent report, The Role of Education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone, commissioned by UNICEF and written by Mario Novelli of the University of Sussex and Alan Smith of the University of Ulster, provides evidence that education can be a catalyst for peace and highlights the need for education sectors to integrate a peacebuilding perspective.
To discuss the findings of the report and the role of education in building sustainable peace, podcast moderator Kathryn Herzog spoke with Mr. Novelli, author of the report; Jim Rogan, UNICEF’s Chief of Peacebuilding and Recovery Section; and Louise Anten, Head of the Education and Research Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands.
To listen to the podcast, please click here!
The role of education in peacebuilding
In 2011, UNICEF commissioned research to investigate the role of education in peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. The resulting report, entitled “The Role of Education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone,” is part of a knowledge generation study within the Back on Track programme on Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition.
The study examines how integrated education interventions could have a stronger role in post-conflict peacebuilding within the United Nations system. It includes a programme literature and research review on the role of education in peacebuilding, as well as three country case studies on UNICEF’s education work in Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone.
To download the resources on education in peacebuilding, please click here!
An innovative program provides media training for youth in Haiti
With 43 per cent of its people under 18 years old, Haiti has one of the youngest populations in the world. Yet the country’s young people continue to suffer from a lack of opportunities and remain vulnerable in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. To highlight the challenges faced by youth, UNICEF and partners PANOS Caribbean and Fondation haitienne d’Aide aux Vulnérables are providing media training to vulnerable children. In these trainings, young people learn how to use radio and video equipment, write reports and take pictures to bring attention to the needs and challenges facing their peers.
UNICEF moderator Femi Oke discussed this innovative program with three of its organizers: Margarette Altidor, President of Fondation haitienne d’Aide aux Vulnérables; Jean-Jacques Simon, UNICEF Haiti Chief of Communication; and Jan Voordouw, Programme Coordinator of PANOS Caribbean.
To listen to the podcast, please click here!
Photo: © UNICEF/NYHQ2011-2121/Dormino Children participate in the creation of a one-minute video in Kenscoff, a community near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Youth participation: success for research and for our future
I would like to draw to your attention a new case study on youth participatory research supported by UNICEF’s Back on Track Programme in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) Region. This case study examines youth participatory designs in UNICEF’s education in emergencies and post-crisis transition programming and highlights best practices and recommendations for future scale up.
To read the full case study, please click here!
UNICEF plans to expand innovative pre-school programme
A quality education is the cornerstone of every child’s rights, yet across the developing world millions of children’s futures are stunted because they don’t have the opportunity to learn. UNICEF is addressing this deprivation with an innovative approach that aims to remove barriers to success in primary school by giving preschoolers the knowledge to successfully enter first grade. Called ‘Getting Ready for School: a Child-to-Child Approach’, the programme is a low-cost way to provide supplemental education to preschoolers, especially the most marginalized.
To watch a UNICEF video on successes and plans to expand the Child-to-Child programme, please click here!
2011 Moments of Inspiration: UNICEF education staff share their stories
We asked UNICEF education staff around the globe to tell us about their most inspiring moment they experienced in 2011. Something that they would not forget and reminded them why they chose this profession.
To read some of their personal stories and experiences, please click here!
In disaster-prone Bangladesh, a UNICEF-supported programme helps children stay in school
Low-lying Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by climate change, and the people who live in the Chars – small islands created by floods or erosion in the vast Ganges delta – are the most vulnerable of all.
The UNICEF-supported Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition programme, also known as Back on Track, is an innovative programme designed to rebuild education systems, often in countries working to make the transition from crisis to normal development. Back on Track also provides comprehensive instruction on disaster risk reduction, so students and teachers know how to stay safe during emergencies.
To watch a new UNICEF video on how the Back on Track programme has helped Bangladeshi children stay in school, please click here!
Innovative programme brings pre-school education to the most vulnerable
To watch a new UNICEF video on education in emergencies and post-crisis transition, entitled “Innovative programme brings pre-school education to the most vulnerable,” please click here!
This video is about an innovative new UNICEF-supported programme in Bangladesh, called ‘Getting Ready for School: a Child-to-Child Approach’, that aims to prepare children, both emotionally and academically, to go to primary school. This programme provides supplementary and cost-effective early learning to the most vulnerable and builds on the natural phenomenon of younger children learning from older children.
Early childhood programmes benefit children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The earliest years of a child’s life are pivotal, both for the child’s immediate well-being and for his or her future development. Effective investments in early childhood development (ECD) have the potential to reduce disparities exacerbated by poverty, poor nutrition and limited learning opportunities.
Through UNICEF’s Back on Track programme on education in emergencies and post-crisis transition, children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are benefiting from the establishment of ECD centres, where preschool-aged children have access to high-quality, developmentally appropriate services and psychosocial support.
To read the full case study, please click here!
UNICEF collects evidence to strengthen role of education in peacebuilding
Education can play a key part in the prevention and transformation of violent conflicts. In an effort to investigate what role UNICEF can play to realize this mission, a team of researchers presented their global findings at a brown-bag discussion on Friday, titled “Education and Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Contexts.” The research team set out to collect evidence on the role of education in peacebuilding, how education interventions could have a stronger role in the UN peacebuilding structure and more specifically, how UNICEF can contribute effectively to peacebuilding through education.
To read the full story, please click here!
Discussing the importance of achieving universal quality education for all children
In Copenhagen, Denmark, representatives from governments, United Nations agencies, the private sector and civil society are today gathering to take part in a conference in support of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). Since its creation in 2003, the GPE has helped 19 million children enrol in school. Seeking an education investment of US$2.5 billion over three years, the GPE is aiming to provide an additional 25 million children with the opportunity to attend school.
To listen to a UNICEF podcast on the GPE conference and goals, please click here!
UNICEF podcast: Summit participants join efforts to educate and empower girls
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.
As a follow up to the event, UNICEF podcast moderator Femi Oke spoke with Martha Adams, producer of ‘10×10’, a film encouraging investment in girls’ education; Patricia Velasquez, president of the Wayúu Tayá Foundation, which provides culturally sensitive assistance to indigenous Wayúu children; Lakshmi Puri, the Assistant Secretary-General for Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships at the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); and Ariana Tsapralis, an activist at Girl Up, a United Nations campaign that engages girls in girls’ and women’s empowerment.
To listen to the podcast, please click here!
International Day for Disaster Reduction 2011
Video: DRR and Education – In Georgia, a UNICEF-supported Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme was officially incorporated into the national curriculum last month, providing learning materials for school children, along with educational games and child-friendly posters.
NEW YORK, 12 October 2011 – This year, the International Day for Disaster Reduction will be commemorated on Thursday, 13 October focusing on children and young people as partners in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
It is estimated that as many as 175 million children a year will soon be affected by disasters. Building on the momentum of the Third Global Platform, UNICEF is working with Plan International, Save the Children, World Vision and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) to advocate for and mobilise support to the Children’s Charter for DRR. The Charter states, among others, that child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster; community infrastructure be safe, and relief and reconstruction help reduce future risk; and disaster risk reduction reach the most vulnerable.
UNICEF, Plan International, World Vision, Save the Children and The Institute of Development Studies (working together as ‘Children in a Changing Climate’), along with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, say it is essential to include the unique perspectives of children and young people in reducing disaster risk and adapting to climate change.
DRR and Education
There is increasing evidence that students at all ages and levels can actively study and participate in school safety measures. They can work with teachers and other adults in the community towards minimising risk before, during and after disaster events. Working in partnerships, UNICEF works to empower the most vulnerable by not only promoting safe schools but by teaching valuable life skills to children who in turn, are better able to help themselves, their families and communities.
For more information, please visit click here!
The Arab Spring and Girl’s Education
It is no secret that the history of revolutions and liberation movements in the Arab region has manifested double standards with regard to the situation of women.
Source: http://www.ungei.org/news/index_ediscuss.html
By Malak Zaalouk Professor of Practice, The American University of Cairo
Revolution and gender
It is no secret that the history of revolutions and liberation movements in the Arab region has manifested double standards with regard to the situation of women. While women were clearly in the forefront of national liberation movements in some of the most significant anti-colonial struggles, they were rapidly pushed back to their underprivileged ranks once the battle was won. Revolutionaries were always able to explain that gender issues only resulted in divisiveness and that the national cause had supremacy. Moreover gender issues were presented as a luxury and a cause largely imported from the west. Women had pulled out their veils to better lead demonstrations in the streets of major capitals in the Arab world. In mountainous and rural areas many women had carried arms, been part of liberation armies and often held leadership position. Once the struggles rescinded women were encouraged to re wear their veils as these now became significant symbols of national identities. We of course realize that they also reinforced a number of other identities in the configuration of renewed power relations between men and women.
The Arab Spring: Young women and social media
Again during the Arab Spring movements, we saw how young women were not only deeply involved but for example in the case of Egypt they actually ignited the whole youth coalition moving to Tahrir square on the 25 January and even in prior occasions had moved various labour movements in Mahalla as a prelude to the January revolution. Half way through that glorious magical moment where young boys and girls sat shoulder to shoulder chanting and demonstrating against the old regime, a renewed attitude of exclusion reigned where young women were again being intimidated and asked to withdraw from the public sphere and stay home. It is time we rethought our strategies for UNGEI advocacy and also it is important that we position UNGEI well within the demands made by the various spring Arab groups on rights, women’s empowerment, equity and social justice, democracy and the fight against poverty. Gender and poverty must be strongly linked. Evidence must be provided to show that UNGEI is indeed a very powerful method of promoting social justice and fighting poverty.
The new democracies and girls’ education
Many of the budding spring movements will move into more stabilized and institutionalized modalities in the years to come. Social networks promise to continue being a powerful vehicle for organization, networking, and freedom of expression, mobilization and action. This arena is one where UNGEI needs to be prominently featuring by both male and female youth. The time is now for ensuring that UNGEI features in many platforms of election as any other related issue to empowerment, poverty eradication, equity and democracy. The spring movements have demonstrated to the world that youth; both males and females, are striving to create new social contracts where empowerment is the foundation for civic engagement. Girls’ education is a critical cornerstone of not only women’s empowerment but community empowerment at large and hence must be an integral part of the new social order and set of priorities.
On World Teachers Day, three educators share their unique perspectives
As school enrolment continues to climb throughout most of the developing world, the roles teachers play in our lives have become even more crucial. Tasked with providing a quality education to our current generation of students, teachers also have a significant hand in shaping the future by instilling in children essential cultural and social values such as tolerance, gender equality and open dialogue. Despite the heavy responsibility placed on their shoulders, in many parts of world they are rewarded poorly and in some countries even subject to deadly attacks.
This Wednesday will mark the annual celebration of World Teachers’ Day, and to commemorate the event, UNICEF’s podcast moderator Femi Oke spoke with Jamila Marofi, a high school teacher from Afghanistan, Gorma Minnie, a school administrator from Liberia and Professor Fernando Reimers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in America.
To listen to the podcast, please click here
Equal education opportunities for children with disabilities
Over 1.5 million children in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) live with disabilities. Commonly locked up in segregated institutions or hidden away in their homes, children with disabilities are one of the most marginalized groups of our society. They are often denied their basic right to quality education and lack opportunities to interact with their peers and participate actively in the society.
To promote inclusive education for children with disabilities, 20 representatives from the CEE/CIS countries as well as relevant stakeholders are gathering in Moscow on 27-29 September for the first-ever regional conference of this dimension. In the lead up to the Moscow conference, UNICEF podcast moderator Femi Oke talked to Ms Elina Lehtomaki, Researcher at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and a pioneer in the field of inclusive education.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/equal-education-opportunities-for-children-with-disabilities/
Liberia rebuilds education system after years of civil war
A new UNICEF video discussed how education in Liberia creates the chance for the new generation of children to break away from the country’s violent past. Today, the government is working to rebuild the infrastructure that was completely destroyed – large parts of Liberia doesn’t have roads and millions are living without basic access to water, healthcare or electricity. But ask any Liberian what they need most and the answer is the same – education.
To watch the video, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/liberia-rebuilds-education-system-after-years-of-civil-war/
Effective policies give children in Angola a second chance to learn
Despite recent economic development, Angola remains a society deeply scarred by the still-recent civil war. The conflict caused massive internal displacement and refugee outflows, along with the collapse or destruction of key agricultural, health, education and transportation infrastructures, limiting the government’s ability to provide basic public services. This has resulted in a series of barriers to children enrolling and remaining in school.
Appropriate financing, national adoption of best practices and country-level monitoring and evaluation are the essential building blocks of a successful education in emergencies programme. The fourth goal of the Back on Track programme points to evidence-based policies, efficient operational strategies and fit-for-purpose financing instruments to uphold education work in emergencies and post-crisis transition contexts.
In Angola, Back on Track funds were used strategically to build or rebuild institutional capacity and systems and to address key populations of children whose education was interrupted during the protracted conflict. In this context, children of all ages have needed support through education. Below, we highlight interventions for children in the early childhood and adolescence age groups.
To read the full story, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/effective-policies-give-children-in-angola-a-second-chance-to-learn/
The on-going drought in the Horn of Africa threatens the new school year
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As the emergency escalates throughout the Horn of Africa, the numbers of those in crisis continue to grow. Currently, 12.4 million people in the region are in need of humanitarian assistance, and this ongoing crisis poses some crucial challenges to the education services. To discuss the beginning of the school year under these extreme circumstances and the importance of education in emergency situations, UNICEF’s new podcast moderator Femi Oke talked to Mr. Jumma Khan, Education Cluster Coordinator for Somalia and Mr. Garisa Omara, a Senior Assistant Director of Education in the Kenyan Ministry of Education.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/the-on-going-drought-in-the-horn-of-africa-threatens-the-new-school-year/
Children help younger friends and neighbours prepare for primary school in Ethiopia
The UNICEF-supported ‘Getting Ready for School: A Child to Child Approach’ programme in Ethiopia aims to prepare young children for their first year in primary school by building on the social dynamics that exist between older and younger children, as well as their natural tendency to play.
In Ethiopia, the programme has gained success since fifth and sixth grade students are teaching their younger cousins, friends and neighbours. Children in the ‘Child to Child’ programme learn basics such as how to hold a pencil and how to sit at a desk, all of which shows them what to expect when they go to school. As a consequence, dropout rates have fallen and disadvantaged children are given an opportunity to break the cycle of exclusion from education and reach their full potential.
To watch the video, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/children-help-younger-friends-and-neighbours-prepare-for-primary-school-in-ethiopia/
Education helps communities in the Philippines better predict, prevent, and prepare for disasters
With an average of 20 typhoons or tropical storms a year, the Philippines are among the world’s most disaster-prone countries. To better predict, prevent, or prepare for these natural hazards, disaster risk reduction was mainstreamed in education sector plans and budgets in order to institutionalize emergency preparedness and response in the education sector.
To read a new UNICEF story on the Philippines and increasing education-sector contribution to better prediction, prevention and preparedness for emergencies caused by natural disaster and conflict, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/education-helps-communities-in-the-philippines-better-predict-prevent-and-prepare-for-disasters/
Young people assess the needs of their peers – International Youth Day
This year, International Youth Day on 12 August marks the end of the International Year of Youth, a year dedicated to celebrating young people’s achievements as well as creating more opportunities for youth to engage fully in the development of their societies. To commemorate International Youth Day, podcast moderator Amy Costello discusses the importance of youth participation in research with Valon Kurhasani, Jafar Usmanovis and Mathew Emry.
The three guests worked together on a UNICEF survey – taking place in Kosovo, Tajikistan, Georgia and Chechnya – that aims to investigate youth perspectives on education quality. During the study, young people participated in every step of the process, from designing questioners to performing interviews and analyzing data.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/young-people-assess-the-needs-of-their-peers-international-youth-day/.
Community-based schools enhance education prospects for Afghan children, especially girls
Given the volatility of security in Afghanistan, the establishment of community-based schools provides flexibility as well as increased resilience and access to education in conflict-prone and hard-to-reach areas. To read a new UNICEF story on community-based schools in Afghanistan, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/community-based-schools-enhance-education-prospects-for-afghan-children-especially-girls/.
Liberian host communities support education for Ivorian refugee children
While Liberia is still recovering from a devastating civil war, hundreds of communities have opened their doors to more than 150,000 refugees from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire. In one border community, Zleh Town, Liberian students are sharing their playgrounds and classrooms with Ivorian refugees.
To watch the video, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/liberian-host-communities-support-education-for-ivorian-refugee-children/.
Unique programme improves the quality of education in Haiti after the quake
The first goal of the Education in Emergences and Post-Crisis Transition (EEPCT) programme, a partnership between UNICEF and the Government of the Netherlands, is to improve the quality of education response in emergencies and post-crisis transition countries and territories.
In Haiti, EEPCT funds have made a substantive impact on increasing the capacity of education delivery after the earthquake in January 2010. The programme is helping to rapidly restore quality education while ‘building back better’ for young Haitians – striving to get all children in school in a country where enrolment and attendance were poor even before disaster struck.
To read a new UNICF story, please visit: www.educationandtransition.org/resources/unique-programme-improves-the-quality-of-education-in-haiti-after-the-quake/
Education in Pakistan – One Year after the Monsoon Floods
At the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the monsoon floods in Pakistan, UNICEF podcast moderator Amy Costello talked to Ms. Nafisa Shah, the co-chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) in Pakistan and Chairperson of the National Commission for Human Development, and Ms.
Shahnaz Wazir Ali, co-chair of the Pakistan Education Task Force, a nationwide government initiative aiming to widen access to quality education in Pakistan. They discussed the current situation of education in Pakistan and the challenges of achieving quality education for all.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/education-in-pakistan-one-year-after-the-monsoon-floods/
2010 Consolidated Progress Report to the Government of the Netherlands and the European Commission
In 2007, UNICEF and the Government of the Netherlands embarked on a partnership to support countries facing emergencies and post-crisis transition situations as they seek to establish a viable path of sustainable progress towards quality basic education for all. The 2010 Consolidated Progress Report to the Government of the Netherlands and the European Commission focuses on results achieved from 27 participating countries in the fourth year of the programme.
To access the report, please click here.
Creating a safe environment for children in divided schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Many schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina still reflect the ethnic tensions that triggered protracted armed conflict in the region in the mid-1990s. They are divided into ‘two-schools under one roof’ and mono-ethnic schools, where children are segregated based on their ethnicity or nationality in mixed regions. In these schools, children attend separate classes and have no interaction with students outside their own group.
For 15 months beginning in September 2009, UNICEF supported the Genesis Project, which endeavored to create safe environments in 12 such ‘two-schools under one roof’ facilities. The project educated parents, schoolteachers and students about peaceful conflict resolution and communication skills.
To view the story and video, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/creating-a-safe-environment-for-children-in-divided-schools-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina/
As Southern Sudan looks to nationhood, education is pivotal
To discuss the challenges of providing quality education in Southern Sudan, UNICEF Radio podcast moderator Amy Costello recently spoke with Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Director in Southern Sudan, and Carol Francis-Rinehart, Executive Director and President of Project Educate Sudan, a grassroots organization that works with community leaders and village elders to provide education there.
To listen to the podcast, please visit UNICEF's Education and Transition website
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UNICEF video: Displaced by political conflict, Ivorian child refugees attend school at Liberia’s Bahn camp
Our most recent video on education in emergencies and post-crisis transition, entitled Displaced by political conflict, Ivorian child refugees attend school at Liberia’s Bahn camp, discusses the refugee situation in Liberia after violence erupted in Côte d’Ivoire more than six months ago.
Over 4,000 people continue to seek refuge in Bahn camp in eastern Liberia, one of the largest refugee camps for Ivorians in the country. The majority of refugees, however, are living with Liberian families in remote, inaccessible villages scattered along the border. For UNICEF, the need to have educational facilities for children in times of crisis is a priority.
Education a catalyst: a conversation with Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire
In 1976, Mairead Maguire was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her extraordinary actions to end violence in Northern Ireland, her native country. Since then, Ms. Maguire has dedicated her life to promoting peace, justice and equality around the world. She recently spoke with UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello about the situation of children in conflict zones and explained why education is a catalyst for peace and tolerance.
To listen to the podcast, please visit:
http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/education-a-catalyst-a-conversation-with-nobel-laureate-mairead-maguire/
Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/peo
Timor-Leste: Rebuilding the education system to reach the hardest-to-reach
In UNICEF's most recent video on education in emergencies and post-crisis transition, entitled "Timor-Leste: Rebuilding the education system to reach the hardest-to-reach," efforts to rebuild Timor-Leste's education system in the remote town of Laclubar provide an opportunity to reach more marginalized communities.
Safe schools and education can reduce the impact of disasters
Last week, the Children in a Changing Climate Coalition hosted an event on safe schools as part of the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. UNICEF Japan Ambassador Agnes Chan gave a keynote speech on the critical role of school safety and education in reducing the impact of disasters.
Before the event, Dr. Chan spoke with UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello about her latest visits to earthquake-devastated areas of Japan, where she met with children and teachers who survived.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/safe-schools-and-education-can-reduce-the-impact-of-disasters/
The role of education in empowering young people to shape their future
The 18 days of protests in Egypt at the beginning of the year led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year-old regime. Although thousands of people spent days and nights protesting at Tahrir Square in Cairo, the uprising became known as ‘The Youth Revolution’ because of the prominent role of young activists.
In the most recent addition to the 'Beyond School Books' podcast series, UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello discusses how education is empowering youth to participate in civil society with Asmaa Elbadawy, a young researcher for the Population Council’s office in Egypt; and Mohammed Naseehu Ali, a writer, musician and teacher from Ghana whose fiction and essays have been published in The New Yorker and the New York Times.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/the-role-of-education-in-empowering-young-people-to-shape-their-future/
Photo uploaded by user tvartan@unicef.org
UNICEF podcast: Ensuring human rights key to educating children in conflict zones
This year’s ‘Education for All’ Global Monitoring Report warns that armed conflict is robbing 28 million primary school aged children of their education. The comprehensive analysis – ‘The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education – finds that wars and violence are taking an unprecedented toll on children’s access to education.
In the most recent addition to the “Beyond School Books’ podcast series, UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello spoke with Mary Robinson about children and schools in conflict-affected countries, and the need to prosecute those who commit human rights violations against children. Ms. Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation--Climate Justice and former President of Ireland, delivered remarks at the launch of this year's report.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/ensuring-human-rights-key-to-educating-children-in-conflict-zones/
New report details armed conflicts’ toll on education and calls for a boost in international aid
The newly released 2011 Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) details how the humanitarian community is failing to provide critical educational needs to 28 million children around the world. This year’s report sets out a comprehensive agenda for change, including tougher action against human rights violations, an overhaul of global aid priorities, strengthened rights for displaced people and more attention to the ways education failures can increase the risk of conflict.
To access the full report and also to read an article on UNICEF’s role in strengthening access to and quality of education, please visit http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/new-report-details-armed-conflicts%e2%80%99-toll-on-education-and-calls-for-a-boost-in-international-aid/.
UNICEF podcast: Philanthropic community to promote education for all
On 28 February 2011, the United Nations Economic and Social Council convened a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York entitled “Partnering with the philanthropic community to promote education for all.” Participants hope to accelerate progress in achieving education for all children around the world by engaging supporters from the private sector and philanthropic world to help fund and promote global education initiatives.
UNICEF Radio moderator Amy Costello spoke with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who moderated the closing session of the event, on the role of philanthropy in achieving education for all and about the transformative effects that technology is having in classrooms across the globe.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/podcasts/philanthropic-community-to-promote-education-for-all/
Photo Credit: © The Earth Institute, Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute
New UNICEF podcast: Young people as agents of change
Today, UNICEF launched its flagship publication The State of the World’s Children Report. This year’s report, entitled Adolescence – An Age of Opportunity, focuses on the 1.2 billion young people around the world from ages 10 to 19.
In the most recent addition to the ‘Beyond School Books’ podcast series, UNICEF Radio podcast moderator Amy Costello talked with two adolescents who have contributed essays to The State of the World’s Children 2011 Report on how education can empower young people to realize their full potential and contribute to shaping the future of their nations.
To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/young-people-as-agents-of-change/