Education and Fragility
The current issue of Journal of Education for International Development (JEID) is devoted to education in fragile contexts. Articles are grouped on three themes: potential frameworks for working in these difficult environments, examination of trends, and concrete lessons learned from three unique case studies.
Girl Power: Educating Girls in the 21st Century
Girls’ Education in the 21st Century: Gender Equality, Empowerment, and Economic Growth was recently published by the World Bank. According to the report, girls have crowded into school in record numbers over recent decades and shrunk the gender gap with boys, and won significant economic, social, and development gains for themselves and their communities.
UNICEF: The State of the World's Children 2009 Report
UNICEF has published their flagship publication, The State of the World's children 2009. This report talks about the critical issues like maternal mortality and maternal and newborn health with a key focus on Africa and Asia.
UNESCO: Global Education Digest 2008
UNESCO recently published the Global Education Digest 2008 , the world's most comprehensive education data collection. You can find the answers to such questions as: How many children are out of school? What proportion of children complete primary school? Who pays for education?
The report is complemented by an interactive database containing additional indicators, updated regularly.
Human Rights Day: 10 December
Human Rights Day celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 2008. Read about news, events and projects in Know Your Rights 2008 site and more information about human rights from the UN Office of Commissioner for Human Rights.
UNICEF has asked directors around the world since 1998 to make a 30-second animated films illustrating one of the rights spelled out in the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Over 70 studios in 32 countries have created cartoons for this project.
Take the quiz or the children's version to test your knowledge of human rights.
World AIDS Day "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise":
1st December
World AIDS Day 2008 is coordinated around the theme of Leadership and the slogan "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." This highlights the discrepancy between the commitments that have been made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through.
World AIDS Day info: For youth materials, World's AIDS Day resources, events calender and more, visit World Aids Campaign .
Practical Resources: Read Overviews of Practical Resources published by EDUCAIDS that provides technical staff, programme implementers, ministries and civil society organizations with an analysis of useful published resources on essential components of a comprehensive education sector response to HIV and AIDS.
Youth and HIV and AIDS: The Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDs has global network of 4,000 young leaders and adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 150 countries world-wide.
Test your knowledge: Take the AVERT AIDS Challenge Game to test your knowledge of HIV and AIDS.
Virtual Library: the UNESCO HIV and AIDS Education Clearinghouse which provides access of over 4,000 documents on the development of effective HIV and AIDS policies, programmes and advocacy, particularly within the education sector.
What would you do?: Play What would do?" a game about the loves and relationships of four teenagers. You make the decision that determines what happens about them.
International Conference on Education and EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The 48th session of the International Conference on Education is taking place from 25-28 November 2008 in Geneva. The theme of the 48th session of the ICE is “Inclusive Education: the Way of the Future.” At the conference countries present a National Report on the Development of Education. Read the National Reports of over 100 countries.
The 2009 Education For All Global Monitoring Report,“Overcoming inequality: why governance matters” is being launched during the conference. The 2009 Report focuses on governance, management and financing of education.
Universal Children's Day: November 20
Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954, Universal Children’s Day is to be observed as a day of understanding and promoting the health, welfare, and well-being of all children across the globe. On this day, November 20th, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989).
What is the welfare of children in Africa today? The African Child Policy Forum launched on 20 November 2008 The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2008: How child-friendly are African governments?. A ranking of African governments’ child-friendliness has been compiled to encourage African governments to be more accountable to their future citizens.
The 11th Annual United Nations Student Conference on Human Rights (UNSCHR) will take place on 3-5 December 2008 in Mexico City, Mexico and New York, USA. Participants will explore the issue of “Climate Change and Human Rights.”
International Education Week: November 17-21
The UK and US are promoting International Education Week from 17-21 November 2008. IEW celebrates international education and global exchange so that students understand their world and their role as a global citizen.
Learn about events,ideas for getting involved and activities for US International Education Week and UK International Education Week.
Oxfam Education offers a range of resources and support for developing the global dimension in the classroom.
Teach Global courses and resources for the UK are used by teachers wanting to extend their teaching of the global dimension through all aspects of school life.
Scholastic's One World has resources for "Connecting communities, Cultures and Classrooms."
Empowering and Educating Adolescent Girls
The size and competitiveness of tomorrow’s labor force will depend on the skills and education girls achieve today and whether they will be able to employ these skills productively.
In October 2008, the World Bank launched the Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI): An Alliance for Economic Empowerment. AGI, a collaboration between the World Bank, several governments, and the private sector, promotes the economic empowerment of adolescent girls in poor and post-conflict countries with interventions such as technical and vocational training targeting skills in high demand, combined with job placement assistance; access to micro finance; mentoring and apprenticeship programs.
Girls Count: A Global Investment & Action Agenda, published by the Center for Global Development, explains about why and how to put girls at the center of development.
10 ACTIONS: How Girls Today Can End Poverty Tomorrow is led by the Coalition for Adolescent Girls, a public-private partnership of more than 30 international organizations that bring diverse resources and solutions to challenges facing adolescent girls in developing countries.
What is "The Reality of Adolescent Girls' Lives"? Read the factsheet by the International Women's Health Coalition.
United Nations Day: October 24
October 24th is United Nations Day, the birthday of the United Nations. Learn new facts about the UN in UN in Brief. Create a Model UN at your school. Play "Flag Tag" to identify the flags of the countries that are members of the UN.
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: October 17
The theme for this year's observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is "Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty". The day is organised by the Social Perspective on Development Branch in UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs who oversees activities relating to social development.
On the Oct17 site find an event, join others in striving together to end poverty and understand the meaning and history of October 17th.
Tapori, a worldwide network of children, has a Curriculum Guide for children's participation in the eradication of poverty, hosts a discussion forum, explains what oct 17 is about, and has an activity for kids to learn about the eradication of poverty.
The theme for Blog Action Day, which occurs on October 15, is Poverty. Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day in order to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.
Read the report of the UN Secretary-General on the Observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012): Mid-Decade Review
The report of the implementation of the International Plan of Action for the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) was presented to the United Nations General Assembly on October 6, at a halfway point in the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012) for which UNESCO is the lead agency.
At its halfway point, UNLD gives reason for cautious optimism regarding progress in youth and adult literacy rates, and has begun to put literacy higher on the international agenda. In places, national policies have led to more dynamic structures and increased funding for literacy. The global adult literacy rate up from 76 per cent to 83.6 per cent from 1985 to 2006. However, three quarters of the 127 countries for which projections were calculated will miss the goal of halving adult illiteracy rates by 2015 and the literacy gender gap remains virtually unchanged.
Teachers matter! World Teachers’ Day 2008
World Teachers’ Day, held annually on 5 October since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It is an occasion to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels.
Education International is the largest federation of teachers’ unions and celebrates World Teachers' Day. Send one of their e-cards to a teacher to express your appreciation.
Learn about Teachers' Day celebrations around the world and find teacher days and other dates related to education and children on the Teacher Appreciation Calendar.
An internet discussion forum is taking place from 8 September to 3 October 2008 based on the "Global perspectives on teacher learning: improving policy and practice" publication by J. Schwille and M. Dembélé that looks at all forms of teacher learning, formal and informal, from teachers' own early schooling, through their pre-service preparation and induction, and on to the end of their teaching career. If wish to join the forum, sending your name, title, organization and country to virtual.institute@iiep.unesco.org.
Toolkits for Educators
ESCUP Activity Menu Toolkit: For Education Practioners
The EQUIP1 Educational Support to Children in Underserved Populations (ESCUP) project in Cambodia created this tool for development practitioners in their efforts to prioritize the problems they encounter and to choose the appropriate interventions to solve those problems.
Toolkit for Mainstreaming HIV and AIDS in the Educaion Sector
This toolkit published by UNAIDS IATT on Education aims to help education staff from development cooperation agencies to support the process of mainstreaming HIV and AIDS into education sector planning and implementation.
A Toolkit for Mainstreaming Gender in Higher Education in Africa
The Association of African Universities (AAU) published this toolkit to provide practical guide on how to initiate a gender-mainstreaming program and establish helpful processes. Beginning July 2008, the Working Group on Higher Education, will partner with the UNESCO Bamako Cluster Office to deliver an online training course, for academics and teachers, using the Toolkit.
Open Education Resources (OER) Handbook for Educators
This handbook is designed to help educators find, use, develop and share OER to enhance their effectiveness online and in the classroom.
ICT-in-Education Toolkit
This toolkit provides education policy makers, planners and practitioners with a systematic process to formulate, plan and evaluate education development programs enhanced by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
International Literacy Day: 8th September
International Literacy Day highlights the importance of literacy and reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally.
For more information on literacy, visit these resources:
• The United Nations Literacy Decade (2003 - 2012) recognises that the promotion of literacy is in the interest of all and aims to increase literacy levels and to empower all people everywhere. UNESCO leads the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) and launched the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) in 2005 as a framework for achieving the Decade’s goals.
• International Reading Association, an organization for those involved in teaching reading to learners of all ages, and ReadWriteThink for activities and lesson plans on literacy.
• The Literacy Project, a resource for teachers, literacy organizations and anyone interested in reading and education, created in collaboration with LitCam, UNESCO's Institute for Lifelong Learning and Google.
International Youth Day: 12 August
The theme for International Youth Day 2008 (IYD) is "Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action." IYD, organized by the UN Programme on Youth, showcases the difference young people make in the lives of their communities and to highlight issues of concern to them. This year’s theme reflects the fact that the challenges faced by young people are complicated by the impacts of climate change and will aim to engage youth in areas of preparedness, risk reduction, adaptation and mitigation.
• With Unicef's Voices of Youth, youth can learn about rights-related issues, voice their opinions and learn skills to start projects.
• TakingITGlobal.org is an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities.
• Unesco: Acting with and for Youth helps to empower young people, reaches out to them, responds to their expectations and ideas, fosters useful and long-lasting skills.
• The 4th World Youth Congress (WYC) is being held 10-21 August 2008 in Quebec City, Canada. The 4th WYC Congress will be celebrating youth and the role they play in achieving the MDGs.
World eBook Fair July 4 - August 4
"Own Your Own Library" is the theme of the 2008 World eBook Fair. The fair is created by contributions from 100+ eLibraries from around the world. The largest collections in the fair are:
World Population Day: 11 July 
World Population Day brings awareness to population issues in the world. The
United Nations Population Fund, (UNFPA), has
resources and activities to promote World Population Day.
Click here to find the population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants.
The World Bank's Development Education Program for students and teachers to explore social, economic, and environmental issues has a learning module on
Population Growth Rate.
World Refugee Day: 20 June
This year, events around the world on World Refugee Day will focus on the fundamental need for protection. For some, this means economic security; for others, protection is freedom from violence and persecution. The UN Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the lead UN agency that co-ordinates international action to protect refugee and safeguard their rights.
UNHCR's Teaching about Refugees has lesson modules, educational resources and games.
The UN CyberSchoolBus has a briefing paper for students to learn more about refugees.
Day of the African Child: 16 June
Right to Participation: Let Children be Seen and Heard
Learn about the the rights of the African child:
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child is administered by African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
World Environment Day: 5 June
World Environment Day organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) stimulates global awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy" is the 2008 theme. New Zealand, one of the first countries to pledge a carbon-neutral future, will be the main host of World Environment Day 2008.
Read about moving towards a low carbon economy in the May 2008 edition of Our Planet, the magazine of the UNEP.
Climate Neutral Network is a platform to facilitate information exchange and networking on achieving a transition to a low carbon society.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day: 17 May
The theme for this year's World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is "Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All.” Learn about the work, strategies and stories that ITU is doing in Accessibility.
UNESCO works with its partners to promote the use of ICT for access to information and knowledge for People with Disabilities.
The main objective of the seminar, "Sharing experience on best practices and services for people with disabilities," held in September 2007 by the ITU was to create a global awareness on the importance of accessibility by all to Information and Communications Technologies.
Global Action Week
The Global Campaign for Education organized Global Action Week 2008 from April 21-27, 2008 which calls for an end to all forms of exclusion from quality education. Read about where 7.5 million children, adults, teachers and politicians in over 100 countries took part in the WORLD’S BIGGEST EVER LESSON to learn about the importance of everyone having the chance for a quality education.
UNESCO presents a selection of stories, case studies and reports of projects promoting quality inclusive education.
Send My Friend to School, the UK coalition of the Global Campaign for Education, has teaching resources and lesson plans exploring why school is so important, why some children are missing out and how to act to make a difference.
Read Your Right to Education: A handbook for refugees and displaced communities created by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children to raise awareness of everyone's right to education.
World Malaria Day
World Malaria Day organized by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, which coordinates the global approach to fighting malaria, commemorates the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world.
Test your knowledge of malaria by taking this short interactive quiz produced by the World Bank: "What do you know about malaria in Africa?"
UNESCO's FRESH: Focusing Resources on Effective School Health, has produced a set malaria school health policy tools for schools to be able to teach effectively about malaria.
A report by UNICEF and Roll Back Malaria Partnership, "Malaria & Children: Progress in intervention coverage," assesses progress in malaria control and analyses how well countries are making available interventions that reduce the malaria burden.
Earth Day
Held annually, Earth Day promotes awareness of the Earth's environment and helps us unite to protect our planet through continued environmental action. Earth Day is recognized by the United Nations on the March equinox, while a global observance originated as an environmental teach-in, also called Earth Day, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22.
• The Earthday Network's "Earth Day in a Box" explains how to organize events, get involved, and help protect the environment.
• Calculate your impact on climate change using the Nature Conservancy's "online carbon footprint calculator".
• Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future is a multimedia teacher education programme published by UNESCO.
• The Wilderness Society has developed curriculum and activities for teachers and students in which to engage for Earth Day.
• The World Wildlife Fund's "Time for Change" has ideas, tools and connect for change to make every day Earth Day.
World Health Day: April 7
World Health Day marks the founding of the World Health Organization and is an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year. In 2008, World Health Day focuses on the need to protect human health from the adverse effects of climate change. Click here to learn more about how climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health.
WHO's Regional Office for South-East Asia has produced a World Health Day Kit including manuals for teachers and students on how climate change is affecting health.
Read about the Pan American Health Organization's (PAHO) work for World Health Day to protect health from climate change.
International Day for Mine Awareness: April 4
The Portfolio of Mine Action Projects is available on the UN's Electronic Mine Information Network (E-MINE). E-MINE has information on 14 UN organizations, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, commercial demining companies and others involved in mine action.
The International Campaign to Ban Mines, a network of 1400 NGOs in 90 countries working for a Global Ban on Landmines, has tools, resources and news on landmines.
World Tuberculosis Day: March 24
• World TB Day raises awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and the efforts of countries and global organizations to eliminate this disease. This year's slogan is "I am stopping TB." Find out what you can do through the 2008-2009 Stop TB campaign toolkit.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) published its annual Global TB Control Report 2008 which describes the current scale and direction of TB worldwide and reveals new trends on the TB/HIV co-epidemic.
• The Canadian Lung Association has teaching and learning activities for students to learn about TB.
World Water Day: March 22
The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Water Day.
•UN-Water is the official United Nations mechanism for water-related issues, supporting Member States in their efforts to achieve water and sanitation goals and targets. UN Water's work encompasses all aspects of freshwater, including surface and groundwater resources and the interface between fresh and sea water. Click here to visit the UN Water's World Water Day '08 site.
• The years 2005 to 2015 were proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life.' The primary goal of the 'Water for Life' Decade is to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015.
• Visit the World Water Day site managed by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre to find information, events and resources on water.
International Women's Day: March 8
Celebrated on 8 March, International Women's Day (IWD) is the global day about raising awareness all over the world about the legitimate rights of women and girls. The theme for 2008 is: “Investing in Women and Girls”.
•Features on the International Women's Day's site include a brief history of the holiday, a calendar of IWD events throughout the world, news, and links to related sites.
•Oxfam has produced a guide with ideas for campaigning against poverty on International Women's Day. Read about the courageous and creative women that they are working with around the world who are making a difference.
•UN Cyberschool Bus has a program of information and fun for the classroom to celebrate International Women's Day with a focus on women, peace and politics.
• Read about women who live, travel and work and build bonds between countries in "Women Between Two Shores", a Dossier produced by UNESCO Courier on the occasion International Women’s Day, in collaboration with the Division for Gender Equality of the Bureau of Strategic Planning, UNESCO.
• The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has a series on women whose work through USAID-supported projects that are making a difference in the lives of other women, families, and communities in global health.
Resources and Organisations working on Women's Issues
•UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
•WomenWatch: Information and Resources on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women
•UN Development Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
•World Health Organization
For a list of International Women's Web Sites, click here.
International Year of Planet Earth
The International Year of Planet Earth aims to ensure greater and more effective use by society of the knowledge accumulated by the world’s 400,000 Earth scientists. A joint initiative of UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Science (IUGS), the International Year of Planet Earth, runs from January 2007 to December 2009, the central year of the triennium, 2008, having been proclaimed the United Nations (UN) year by the UN General Assembly.
On 12 and 13 February 2008, the International Year of Planet Earth will be officially launched at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris. The UN sees the Year as a contribution to their sustainable development targets as it promotes wise (sustainable) use of Earth materials and encourages better planning and management to reduce risks for the world’s inhabitants. The Year’s ultimate goal of helping to build safer, healthier and wealthier societies around the globe is expressed in the Year’s subtitle ‘Earth Science for Society’.
To celebrate the International Year of Planet Earth, Nature, a weekly scientific journal,published a special supplement Year of planet Earth which explores recent developments and future directions in the Earth sciences. With climate change to the fore, Earth scientists have much to offer society, and these articles explore both our understanding of the planet and how this knowledge can be used to benefit the people who live on it.
To raise awareness among youth of the state of the planet, UNESCO’s Earth Sciences Programme is running a photo contest on the theme of The Changing Face of the Earth. Click here for details. Entries close on 30 June 2008.
State of Youth in the World
• The World Bank's World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation concludes that developing countries which invest in better education, healthcare, and job training for their record numbers of young people could produce surging economic growth and sharply reduced poverty.
• The UNICEF's State of the World’s Children Report 2008 assesses the state of child survival and primary health care for mothers, newborns and children today. While recent data show a fall in the rate of under-five mortality, the report goes beyond the numbers to suggest actions and initiatives that should lead to further progress.
• The United Nations - World Youth Annual Report 2007 examines the challenges and opportunities existing for the roughly 1.2 billion young people in the world.