While we wish we could attend all the events happening this week in NYC, it’s just not possible. So here’s a great post from our colleague Nora Coghlan on the MDGs and education.
Earlier this morning, I listened to a powerful panel of speakers –- including former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, UK Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, Queen Rania of Jordan and World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala –- rally around a single issue: education for all by 2015.
Under the banner of 1 Goal, a global campaign for universal education that recruited 18 million supporters during this summer’s World Cup, the panelists kicked off a week of MDG-related discussions by underscoring the fact that with its links to democracy, family health and economic growth, education is central to meeting all the MDGs and achieving long-term development beyond 2015.
More than one of the panelists cited this new Lancet study, which credits women’s education for half of the reduction in child mortality over the past few decades, as the latest in a growing mountain of evidence that says education leads to progress on multiple fronts.
The greatest football tournament in the world gets underway tomorrow. I can’t wait. I only wish my team (England) was on slightly better form, but I’m still hopeful! There is also something positive we can do to create a lasting legacy that could see millions more kids receive an education…
South African President Jacob Zuma has just announced that he will hold a global leadership summit during the World Cup. The aim? Push leaders to give the 72 million children still out of school an education by 2015. Something that’s not hard to support. So ONE is teaming up with 1GOAL, bringing together footballers and fans, to give world leaders the extra kick needed to make it happen.
Make sure to write your own personal message with the petition as 1GOAL will be delivering these ‘yellow cards’ to world leaders on 7 July.
Since 2000, 42 million more children are in school thanks to effective aid and other policies. As the world turns its attention to Africa for the first football World Cup held on the continent, let’s enjoy the game and help give every child a basic education.
Here’s a partner post from our friends at the Global Campaign for Education.
What an amazing week. From London to Paris, from Johannesburg to Washington, D.C., education advocates around the world mobilized during Global Action Week in support of Education for All.
Sponsored by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), Global Action Week brings together teachers, students, elected officials, civil society, NGOs and celebrity spokespeople to work together and help secure basic education for all children in developing nations.
In the US, we did ourselves proud. The US Chapter of GCE co-hosted a standing-room-only Capitol Hill event on Wednesday with Congresswoman Nita Lowey and speakers from the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Congresswoman Lowey unveiled the Education for All Act of 2010, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Congressman Dave Reichert. For the first time, we now have legislation that provides a roadmap to a Global Fund for Education.
At the event, we were also joined by actress Jessica Alba, who launched the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign. 1GOAL is a massive public awareness campaign that seeks to make Education for All the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In front of a packed crowd, and surrounded by more than 30 children from the Rock Creek Valley Elementary School (all in 1GOAL shirts) and D.C. United’s Bryan Namoff, Ms. Alba energized the crowd by sharing stories of her recent trip to Africa and rallied the room in support of 1GOAL.
We know the facts. Today, more than 72 million children currently lack access to primary school around the world. More than half of those children are girls. US leadership is essential if we are to achieve universal quality basic education.
As guests were leaving the Wednesday event, I gave a shout out to the students with Jessica Alba (who had spent the prior day learning about Education for All). “Rock Creek Valley Elementary School rocks,” I said.
“No,” responded one young student. “Education for All rocks.”
Right you are my friend, right you are.
-Joanna Kuebler, US Director of the Global Campaign for Education
PS– Here’s video from an interview on MSNBC with Jessica Alba and Rep. Nita Lowey:
Queen Rania Al Abdullah has a column in today’s The Globe and Mail expressing the need to pursue “Education for All” goals and the role Canada can play as host of the G8 and G20 can play in pushing the issue.
She writes:
In June, Canada is set to play host to the G8 and the G20, the political equivalent of the Winter Olympics. It’s where Canada can fight for education with the tenacity of its victorious hockey team.
Because, like that hockey team, Canada’s education system is a national treasure and one of the best in the world. The Canadian International Development Agency is a power player, lifting the lives of Haitians, Iraqis, Afghans and many others.
Why is Education for All Canada’s calling? Because, if nothing else, education is a fundamental Canadian value . I mean, quality education for every child? That’s what I call Canadian, eh?
ONE just returned from a listening and learning trip to Senegal, Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya with members of our board and other supporters. Below, US Co-Chair of 1GOAL Jessica Alba talks about 1GOAL and the campaign to provide education to all children:
I had an incredible week, joining the ONE team on the road in Senegal and Ghana as part of the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign to make the lasting legacy of the upcoming World Cup education for every child.
I’ve wanted to travel to Africa my whole life and when offered the opportunity to listen and learn alongside ONE, it was a once in a lifetime chance that I couldn’t pass up. I’ve always admired the work ONE has done and being able to see the programs you’ve contributed to firsthand was inspiring.
We met African entrepreneurs and academics, spoke with civil society and private sector leaders. We sat with street vendors at a microfinance project, heard from women now able to save their and their children’s lives through ARV HIV/AIDS treatment. We met some amazing people, a new generation of leaders for not only the continent, but for the world.
My goal in going on this trip was to listen closely and learn more about the fight against global poverty. And what I heard repeatedly was that as I’ve always believed, education has the power to lift individuals, communities and entire nations out of poverty. From a promising business idea to a woman pushing cultural boundaries to stand up and speak out, education has been the key.
Today, 72 million kids are out of school around the world, the majority of them girls. Without an education, they are almost certain to be trapped in a life of poverty and robbed of the knowledge of their basic human rights. Every year a child is out of school is a year they lose in literacy, in health, in opportunity.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Since 2000, because people like you and governments took action, 48 million more children are in school. And if we come together around this World Cup, we can do even more to put education front and center. Together with FIFA, leading players and fans around the world, we can use the power of this truly global game to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We have a plan, we know how to beat this—all we need now is the will to make it happen.
Increased global education funding fights global poverty at the root, empowers girls and women, and promotes economic growth in poor countries around the world. And it’s a very smart investment: experts tell us that a girl will earn an additional 10% in income for every year of schooling she receives and be 50% less likely to become infected with HIV/AIDS. In Africa, children of mothers who receive five years of primary education are 40% more likely to live beyond the age of 5. It’s a proactive measure to avert many of the problems that plague developing countries.
We spent a day at Osu School in Accra, Ghana, where initiatives to provide free school uniforms and free lunch to students have dramatically increased enrollment. And they have one other policy with great results—requiring perfect attendance to play on the school’s soccer or “football” team! As a result of these programs, 71% of Ghanaian girls and 73% of Ghanaian boys go to school. Ghana’s President John Atta Mills has even signed up to 1GOAL, promising to provide free textbooks to every student.
At Osu, we met Stephen, an 18-year-old student with enormous talent. The Ghanaian Premiere League has already had their eye on this young goalkeeper for the past three years. The school’s headmaster has been keeping tabs on Stephen, constantly reminding him that you can’t be a good player without a good education. He stresses to Stephen that the only way he will know how to sustain the wealth and opportunities he will gain as a “footballer” (soccer player) is by having an education.
Stephen is an inspiring young man. He is the eldest of seven children and his family’s sole provider. He wakes early, goes to school, practices with his coaches in the afternoon and then goes to work at night as a busboy to support the family. On average he goes non-stop for 18 hours.
He told us that he now understands he cannot be a footballer or achieve his dreams without an education. Top teams are looking to recruit him. He dreams of playing for his national team, the Ghana Black Stars, and someday becoming a catcher for Chelsea.
You can’t go anywhere in Africa without seeing kids playing the sport. The excitement for the first-ever World Cup in Africa this summer is everywhere. The world’s eyes will be on the continent and it’s a moment for Africa to shine.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
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As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
