Thursday, October 25, 2007

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.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Reflections on the Future Role of UNESCO: Some Key Issues, Trends and Challenges

This document was prepared by the Director-General for the global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO. It takes into account observations made during an international consultative process and reflects UNESCO’s latest proposals on the United Nations reform. The key discussion, contained for some reason in an Appendix, begins with a summary of the key international trends which will affect the future of UNESCO and the United Nations system in general.

It confirms the need for continued attention to:

  • reduction of global poverty
  • promotion of peace and dialog among nations
  • Promoting cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and multilingualism
  • Injecting ethical principles into globalization
  • Harnessing science for sustainable development and peace
  • Contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases
  • Promoting gender equality
  • Building knowledge societies
Recongnizing that the United Nations reform will have major implications for UNESCO, the report calls for continued efforts of UNESCO reengineer its processes and structure in order to improve efficiency and to concentrate its resource in those areas in which it has comparative advantage within in the UN system,

The report states that UNESCO has several clear advantages on which it can build its future strategic location and interventions:
  • its role as undisputed global specialized agency for education, natural sciences, human sciences, culture and communication, providing an indispensable link between normativeand technical/operational functions;
  • its designation and recognition as lead agency for complex, multi-stakeholder and longterm tasks (e.g. related to EFA through its Global Action Plan and the World Water Assessment Programme, the various decades for which UNESCO has been designated by the United Nations General Assembly as lead agency, and the promotion of freedom of expression and media and information development);
  • its ability to develop evidence-based policies drawing on the statistical and analytical work of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and several flagship publications, such as the EFA Global Monitoring Report or the World Water Report;
  • its role as leader, manager and guardian of global lists of sites, inscribed upon request of Member States, such as for World Heritage, Biosphere Reserves or Intangible Cultural Heritage.
As UNESCO becomes more involved in capacity development, it will have to explore new modalities of cooperation and knowledge sharing. It will have to broaden its partnerships, extending beyond the traditional partners of government agencies and working more with civil society.

The discussion concludes:
The question may not be so much “what future for UNESCO”, but “what UNESCO for the future”. Faced with a complex, rapidly changing world, and a fiercely competitive environment, UNESCO needs to develop its responsiveness, flexibility and adaptability, advocacy, ability to build multi-stakeholders coalitions, and ability to mobilize and implement resources – at the global, regional and country levels.

Monday, October 22, 2007

e-Journal of the General Conference

UNESCO publishes an electronic journal of the General Conference. It provides you with an updated summary of the work of the General Conference on a daily basis. It goes online early every morning during the Session.

Each issue provides information on the day’s meetings, brief summaries of the debates of the previous day, the provisional agenda for the following day’s meetings, the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the day, and announcements of official visits and other key official events.

EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007

Every year, the EFA Global Monitoring Report assesses where the world stands on its commitment to provide a basic education to all children, youth and adults by 2015.

EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007 features early childhood care and education


Find out...

Why is early childhood care and education so important to achieving EFA?

Why do disadvantaged children benefit the most?

Who are the 77 million out-of-school children?

How much is needed to meet the 2015 target date?

The Global Education Digest 2007

The Global Education Digest 2007 presents the latest education statistics from primary to tertiary levels in more than 200 countries. This edition focuses on the financing of education and provides a series of indicators to compare spending patterns across countries and levels of education.

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa spend only 2.4% of the world’s public education resources. Yet about 15% of the school-age population lives in these countries, according to the Digest. In contrast, the United States, which is home to just 4% of the world’s children and young people, spends 28% of the global education budget. This is mainly due to the large numbers of university students and the relatively high costs associated with this level of education.

East Asia and the Pacific has the second-highest share of global public spending on education at 18% (after the North American and Western European region). Yet governments in the region are investing considerably less than their share of global income (28% of GDP) and the school-age population (29%).

The opposite scenario is found in South and West Asia, where 7% of the world’s public education resources are spent on 28% of children and young people. A more balanced situation emerges in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region which accounts for 8% to 9% of global education spending, the school-age population and global wealth.

Secretary Spellings's Remarks at the UNESCO General Conference Plenary Debate

Secretary Spellings laughs with students at
T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia.
October 10, 2007
Secretary Spelling said at the Roundtable:
The United States strongly supports UNESCO's goal of ensuring every child has access to a quality education by 2015. We have also made a similar commitment in our own country: to provide every child with grade-level or better skills in reading and math by 2014.

These goals are historic and revolutionary. To achieve them, we must confront long-held assumptions about the ability of underprivileged children to perform as well as their peers. We must challenge longstanding habits in our education systems—including the ways in which we allocate resources like time, funding, and personnel. And we must hold ourselves accountable for supporting programs that have been proven to produce results.

UNESCO Courier: Special Edition for the 2007 General Conference

Six hundred and thirty-one million dollars – this is the minimum amount UNESCO needs to operate for the next two years. The budget will be set at the 34th session of UNESCO’s General Conference, which brings together - in Paris, from 16 October to 3 November - the representatives of the Organization’s 193 Member States who will also determine the 2008-2009 programme. A preview of the Organization’s future priorities is presented in this issue of the UNESCO Courier.

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