April 25th, 2008 at 4:28 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
It’s Global Education week - and ONE is partnering with the Global Campaign for Education to push for action on the Education for All Act - legislation that would extend access to education to the 72 million children with no access to even basic education around the world.
Right now, the legislation has 66 co-sponsors in the House, but we need many more if we want to ensure that it’ll pass when it comes up for a vote later this year.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:17 pm | posted by ONE.Partners
So afters weeks of anticipation the Global Campaign for Education Action Week is drawing to a close. I want to salute the thousands of educators and students who have already participated in the World’s Biggest Lesson in 48 of the 50 states.
During my time in the US for GCE Action Week I also had the privilege to meet and spend time with some of the smartest and dedicated young people in the United States. More than 50 high school and college students came from around the country to learn about why education saves lives and about the Education For All Act of 2007. I was so impressed by watching these articulate youngsters come together for this cause and asking the “older people” some really smart questions about the sort of arguments they hear about why the US should not give financing for education overseas.
The big Congress day arrived and the buzz was infectious. The youngsters took the bull by the horns and met with 75 representatives and senators in a frenzy of 100 meetings running between the Senate and the House and back again. In the middle of it all, they participated in a press conference with the impressive Honorary Chairperson for GCE Action Week Shakira and Congresswoman Nita Lowey. However, it was the youngsters coming from 12 different organizations including a large delegation from the ONE Campaign who really made me proud. They were sharp and passionate. I felt for the first time in a few years the US might just take the leadership on Education for All in the coming years with activists such as these.
-Anne-Marie Mujica, GCE international secretariat
[Top Photo: Western Kentucky University and Campbellsville Students Join Shakira and Congressional Leaders in Washington, DC on April 22 for Global Campaign for Education Action Week. Pictured from L to R: Jamie Lokey, Matt Vaughan and Charlie Harris. Photo Credit: Paul Morigi]
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
As part of Global Education Week, I wanted to highlight that Columbian pop star Shakira spoke to NPR yesterday after testifying on the Hill for the Education for All Act.
Shakira explains that in order to enroll boys and girls in schools, we need to do at least four things: Hire qualified teachers, provide uniforms and text books, abolish school fees and provide school meals.
She says: “I grew up in a country where unfortunately education is sometimes seen as a luxury, as a privilege, and not as a human right. This always bothered me. So this is personal to me. In the developing world, people who are born poor will die poor, and that is because of the lack of opportunities, opportunities that come from education. Education can actually save lives.”
If the Education For All Act passes, it would increase U.S. funding from $465 million to $3 billion by 2012 and help 77 million children around the world have access to education.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:43 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
During the Global Campaign for Education’s Action Week, New York teacher Emily Bishop will be taking part in “the World’s Biggest Lesson” by teaching her students about the barriers that young people face all over the world in accessing a quality education.The Global Campaign for Education hopes to set a Guinness Book of World Record for the most people teaching the same lesson simultaneously. Below, her post and a video about the action.
I’m very lucky to teach in an after-school program, Wild Blue, where kids are taking advantage of learning opportunities beyond their everyday classroom lessons. I am challenged and inspired by my young charges, who want to know about everything from Shakespeare to cryptozoology (the study of mythological animals). As I prepare to teach “the World’s Biggest Lesson,” about the global commitment to achieve Education for All by 2015, and the gaping inequalities that still remain, I am also struck by how lucky the children I teach really are (however much they might complain about their math homework). As we get settled into our weekly sessions I hear stories of field trips to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, of classroom parties held for the publication of student-edited picture books, of basketball tournaments and class pets. Two of the girls from my “Myths and Legends from Around the World” class traveled together to the Arctic last spring, on a Wild Blue expedition, and spent time in an Inuit school. I think it would be tremendous if more kids had opportunities for life-changing experiences like that – but really, what could possibly be more life-changing (and world-changing!) than quality education for the 72 million children still missing out on school? I’m so excited to share that idea with the kids I work with, give them the chance to help break a world record, and help them add their voices to the Global Campaign for Education’s call for quality education for all.
You can help break the world record by registering your participation in the World’s Biggest Lesson now - www.campaignforeducationusa.org.
-Emily Bishop, Teacher and Activities Coordinator, Wild Blue, New York
April 10th, 2008 at 6:49 pm | posted by Gene.Sperling
I am pleased to announce that this year Grammy award-winning artist Shakira will be the Honorary Chairperson of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) “Action Week” from April 21-27, 2008. Shakira will appear in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 22, with members of Congress as well as students who are coming from across the United States to raise awareness for the bipartisan Education for All Act of 2007 (EFA). You can help raise awareness by telling your senators or representatives to support the EFA Act by going here.
We are thrilled that Shakira, who has a long background of supporting education for poor children, has agreed to be Honorary Chairperson of Education Action Week. Her participation is invaluable for raising awareness of the importance of ensuring every child around the world gets a quality education.
In addition to the activities in DC, the GCE is organizing a global event to set a new world record for World’s Biggest Lesson. The lesson focuses on the importance of receiving a quality education and we anticipate that over 5 million children and young people worldwide will participate in the record-breaking attempt. By taking part in this activity, you will be joining millions of your peers around the globe who will be learning – at the exact same time – about the barriers that young people face all over the world in accessing a quality education.
Add your voice to this record-breaking attempt! Register your participation in the World’s Biggest Lesson now - www.campaignforeducationusa.org. You can also join our Facebook and MySpace groups to keep up to date on all Action Week activities.
Together we can make a difference. Thank you for all that you do!
-Gene Sperling, US Chair, Global Campaign for Education
April 9th, 2008 at 4:44 pm | posted by Gene.Sperling
Perhaps the reason that quality education for tens of millions of poor children in the developing world remains a silent crisis is that there is never that specific moment when a CNN camera captures a child dying from lack of education. Yet make no mistake about it, children die every day from a lack of education. We know that in Africa even 5 years of education for a future mother increases the chance of her children reaching the age of five by 50 percent. We know that a 16-year old girl who goes to school has a three to six times less chance of contracting HIV/AIDS than a girl who has never gone to school.
And yet, what inspires us is not that education is life-saving, but that it is life-enhancing. A quality basic education is the foundation for all of the development issues that we care about. It is the foundation for healthier families, higher wages, and better democracy. It is essential for helping the most vulnerable children – including those with disabilities, living in refugee camps, orphans, child laborers, and children affected by HIV/AIDS – along a path to a brighter future. Education is a human right, and all children, no matter where they are born, deserve a chance to receive a quality education. Currently over 72 million children and 226 million young people globally will be denied an education. This year we invite you to join millions of young people worldwide who will be participating in a truly global effort to raise awareness of the importance of a free quality education for all. The ONE Campaign is joining forces with the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) to help shed light on this important issue and your participation can have a dramatic impact. More than 120 national GCE chapters around the world will organize events to raise awareness about this issue, encourage young people to get involved, and coordinate powerful actions and requests of world leaders.
Go to www.campaignforeducationusa.org to find out how you can get involved. You can also join our Facebook and MySpace groups to keep up to date on all Education Action Week activities.
Together we can make a difference. Thank you for all that you do!
Sincerely,
-Gene Sperling, US Chair, Global Campaign for Education & Director, Center for Universal Education, Council on Foreign Relations
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