UNESCO reaffirmes UNESCO’s commitment to education in Africa

© UNESCO/Lissac, P.
Chemistry class in Kenya

At a recent meeting of African Ministers of Education, UNESCO’s Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to education in Africa.

Ministers of Education from African Member States as well as the African Union Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, Professor Nagia Essayad, participated in discussions.

The meeting was held within the context of the 34th session of the General Conference and offered the opportunity to discuss UNESCO’s initiatives and activities in Africa in an informal way.

Related links

• Education for All
• Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE)
• Teacher Training Initiative for sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA)
• The Global Initiative on Education and HIV/AIDS (EDUCAIDS)

The Global University Network for Innovation

The Global University Network for Innovation - GUNI is composed of UNESCO Chairs in Higher Education, research centers, universities, networks and other institutions highly committed to innovation in higher education. More than 100 institutions from around the world are GUNI members.

GUNI was set up by UNESCO, the United Nations University (UNU) and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in 1999 with the aim of following up the decisions taken at the World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE) held in Paris in 1998.

The goal of GUNI is to contribute to the reinforcement of higher education by the application of the decisions of the World Conference on Higher Education.

Member States reach consensus after Ministerial Round Table

Following debates at the Ministerial Round Table on Education and Economic Development on 19-20 October, a communiqué has been issued based on recommendations by 96 Member States.

Related links

• Communiqué
• Ministerial Round Table
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Literacy
• Education for All (EFA)

Co-Sponsors of a Resolution to Support Literacy Conferences

Following the White House Conference on Literacy held in conjunction with the last United Nations Summit, UNESCO is embarking on a series of conferences in support of global literacy including in Qatar, China, Mali, India, Costa Rica
and Azerbaijan.

A resolution was introduced asking member states to support this series. It was jointly sponsored by:

* CUBA,
* MEXICO,
* SOUTH AFRICA,
* SPAIN and
* THE UNITED STATES

“International Forum of Civil Society – UNESCO’s Partners”

An International Forum of Civil Society was held by UNESCO on 25 October, during the 34th session of UNESCO’s General Conference (16 October to 3 November).

Since its inception, UNESCO has recognized that non-governmental organizations and foundations play an important role in international cooperation in the service of peoples.

For more than a half-century, UNESCO has enjoyed cooperative relations with a number of such organizations in its fields of competence, thereby enabling it to work with civil society in achieving its objectives and to disseminate through them its democratic and ethical ideals.

Currently, UNESCO is enjoying official relations with 305 international NGOs and 27 foundations and similar institutions which are working in the fields of competence of the Organization. In addition to this formal framework, the Organization has been carrying out a range of activities hand in hand with NGOs, not only at international and regional levels, but also at national level.

Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations on 10 December 1948. UNESCO contributed to its elaboration and adoption, in particular by presenting a report which confirmed that the human rights standards included in the draft of the Declaration had their foundation in all cultures and all civilizations.

The adoption of the Declaration is commemorated on 10 December every year, proclaimed by the United Nations as Human Rights Day. Important events and celebrations are organized worldwide on and around this Day. The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration will be an opportunity for a major mobilization, especially taking into account the commitments of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the 2005 World Summit, at which all Member States acknowledged the importance of human rights.

The 60th anniversary is an opportunity to assess the situation with regard to the rights within UNESCO’s competence (namely

• the right to education,
  
• the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information,
• the right to take part in cultural life and
  
• the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications).
  

To highlight the advancements and analyse the shortcomings with a view to determining the action required in order to promote their implementation, two international conferences are to be organized respectively around the themes:

• The rights within UNESCO’s competence: achievements, obstacles, perspectives for the future;
• Human rights education: current situation and perspectives for the future.

The UNESCO Literacy Portal

In today’s world, one in five adults is still not literate (two-thirds of them women) while 72 million children are out-of-school

Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keep literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 774 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.

UNESCO’s literacy programs aim to create a literate world and promote literacy for all.

Read about UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) 2006-2015.

United Nations Literacy Decade (2003 - 2012)