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Issue 44 25 September to 29 September 2017 Message of the Director Dear Colleagues and Partners, Last week we celebrated International Day for Universal Access to Information, on 28 September, highlighting the importance of access to information to build more inclusive, sustainable knowledge societies. Access to information is a fundamental right that allows women and men to understand and participate in creating and sharing the knowledge they need to contribute fully to society. It is a condition of informed citizenship, helping to hold governments accountable. As per the words of UNESCO Director- General, Irina Bokova, "it is a driver of innovation and creativity, widening opportunities for all, especially for girls and women". UNESCO celebrated the event in Balaclava, Mauritius on 28 September 2017 through a high-level series of workshops and round tables addressing themes ranging from Cyberlaws to Information Ethics to Open Educational Resources and Digital Inclusion, YouthMobile App development, software preservation and the role of space technology and S.M.A.R.T strategies to support African countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO also co-sponsored E- 2
Learning Africa and participated at the ministerial round tables which encouraged African Governments to invest more in keeping pace with the rest of the world in the digital revolution. The outcome document calls upon UNESCO to continue to support relevant initiatives and play its advocacy role promoting access to information and knowledge, freedom of expression, privacy and ethical norms and behavior online, as keystones to the development of inclusive knowledge societies. It also calls on Member States to adopt policy, standards and legislation to enable access to information held by public bodies as necessary mechanism for public engagement across the sustainable development goals. Member States are also encouraged to develop suitable targets and indicators for the measurement of the impact of access to information and data. Governments and relevant educational stakeholders have an important role to play to implement the Ljubljana Open Educational resources (OER) Action Plan 2017 to mainstream OER in support of achieving the Education 2030 Agenda to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. All stakeholders should work towards ensuring that young and new generations will be enabled to comprehend information in the digital age in and out of school, as one of the fundamental means to the realization of their aspirations. Finally it is important for the industry, the non-governmental organization and the civil society to join forces to develop joint initiatives to ensure Universal Access to information and knowledge. Gender mainstreaming is also high on the agenda of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa as the office participated in the 4th UNESCO-Africa Engineering Week, in Kigali, Rwanda from 25 to 29 September 2017. The Africa Engineering week is an important platform to promote STEM 3
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to students all over Africa, and to close the gap between girls and boys' enrollment in the field. The office is also fully engaged with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2018-2022) Strategic Prioritization Workshop in Kenya, from 27 to 29 September and from 2 to 6 October 2017. The participation of several programme specialists in prioritizing interventions will be critical to position UNESCO s intervention in working together in Kenya. The UNESCO Office for Eastern Africa also hosted and discussed the Better Education for Africa's Rise (BEAR II) project in Nairobi, on 26 to 27 September. BEAR II validation workshops are taking place in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Rwanda, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. The BEAR II project, created by UNESCO, with the support of the Republic of Korea, aims at helping countries to reshape their Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems, to make them more relevant to the needs of the labour market, as well as facilitating young people to find jobs, thus making them active members of the society they live in. Education, Employment and Access to universal information respond all to our engagement in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Have a fruitful week ahead, Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta 4
Announcements Call for nominations- King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education UNESCO is currently accepting applications for the 2017 edition of the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education. The theme for the 2017 Edition of the Prize is the use of ICTs to increase access to quality education. The deadline for nomination is 20 October 2017. The online submission form should be submitted, in English or French, via the following link, here (new users can register to the platform via www.unesco.org/ict-ed-prize/register. You will find more details on the submission of online application in the enclosed letters, which include the guidelines in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. For additional information, contact Ms. Chrystelle de Coligny or Ms. Lucie Shen (ictprize@unesco.org; +33 (0)1 45 68 09 06). 5
Web News of the Week UNESCO conducts pre-validation meeting on the Rwandan Teacher Development and Management Framework 6
High level events in Mauritius celebrate International Day for Universal Access to Information, addresses Overcoming Divides in Africa to achieve the SDGs 7
Regional Study reveals urgent need for cultural indicators in Eastern Africa Region 8
UNESCO begins project to help safeguard the collections of the Rova de Manjakamiadana Palace Museum in Madagascar 9
Africa Engineering Week celebrated in Kigali Events of the week UNDAF 2018-2022 Strategic Prioritization Workshop 27 to 29 September & 2 to 6 October 2017 Naivasha, Kenya 10
Missions Jaco Du Toit Karalyn Monteil Abdul Rahman Lamin Mika Odido Virginia Mumo Ntheketha UNDAF 2018-2022 Strategic Prioritization Workshop 27 to 29 September & 2 to 6 October 2017 Naivasha, Kenya 11
What the Press says about us Enseignement et formation techniques et professionnels (EFTP) validation du projet BEAR II (in French), Source: Newsmada.com Baringo to host a Geopark, says UNESCO, Source: The Star Second Geopark in Africa planned in Northern Tanzania, Source: Eturbo News Meetings Better Education for Africa's Rise (BEAR II) Project validation workshop 26 to 27 September 2017, Nairobi- Kenya On 26 and 27 September 12
2017, UNESCO, with the support of the Republic of Korea, organized the Better Education for Africa's Rise (BEAR II) validation workshop to conclude the planning phase of the project at country level. It was an opportunity to further discuss the proposed interventions for Technical and Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) systems in prioritized sectors among the relevant ministries, and to build synergies between stakeholders to assure the ownership and an inclusive consultation process. The three main areas of interventions were discussed in working groups, concerning relevance, quality and attractiveness of TVET. The working groups' discussions revolved around the activities planned under each result area, modalities of implementation and the role that each stakeholder can play in the process of implementation. Team Building meeting for the management team of the Ministry of Employment, Technical Education and Professional Training in Madagascar A team building meeting for the management team of the Malagasy Ministry of Employment, Technical Education and Professional Training took place in Ampefy (Madagascar) from 7 to 9 September 2017. This workshop was financially and technically supported by UNESCO, in view of strengthening skills of the staff and based on the guidelines of the National Policy of Employment and Professional Training. This policy aims to create employment opportunities and develop competencies of the population, for a better employability. The workshop allowed to strengthen the staff team spirit, as well as the team 13
and work culture, tackling themes such as leadership, technical and strategic performance, management of change, collaboration for results, organization of the work load and communication skills. Both the Minister and the Secretary General applauded the initiative and found it really empowering. Regional Workshop on Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Eastern and Southern Africa UNESCO organized, from 12 to 15 September 2017, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, a comprehensive sexuality education workshop aimed at supporting countries to monitor and evaluate responses of the education system on HIV, sexually-transmitted infections, early and unwanted pregnancies and violence against women. Sixty participants, including the Malagasy Minister of the National Education, presented two training workshops on data collection, and on analysis, interpretation, and use of data. The results of the sessions on analysis and interpretation of data will also be a valuable contribution to the Regional Report on the state of implementation of comprehensive sexuality education in Eastern and Southern Africa that UNESCO will publish in 2018. Each Country has defined its roadmap/operational plan to integrate pertinent indicators in the Information System for the management of education, as well as its plan of action for the analysis and interpretation of the data. Workshop on statistics and information of education management systems in Madagascar A workshop aimed at improving the statistics and information of education management systems took place, from 4 to 8 September 2017, in 14
Antananarivo, Madagascar. The workshop, in the framework of the pilot program of capacity building of education (Capacity Development for Education Program- CapED) is to produce a national strategy for the development of statistics in education, to better align with the SDG4- Education 2030 agenda. The workshop hosted thirty-five staff from the Malagasy Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Employment, Technical Education and Vocational Training. Next workshop will focus on 'Data Quality Assessment Framework', from 2 to 8 October 2017. The National Strategy for the development of statistics will have an impact on the quality of statistics systems in the ministries. Training on inclusive Education in the accredited School Leadership and Management Diploma in Kigali, Rwanda UNESCO in collaboration with VVOB, a non-profit organization, conducted a pilot training in Kigali, Rwanda, from 25 to 27 September 2017, with head teachers on the Rwandan revised accredited post-graduate Diploma programme on School Leadership and Management. Working with VVOB, UNESCO developed case studies on inclusive education for integration into the course curricula. This is in line with the Ministry of Education's priority on Inclusive Education to ensure educational leaders are trained to ensure no one is left behind. 15
Training and consultation on the new model of Inclusive education and the practical toolkit for primary and secondary education with District Directors of Education UNESCO gathered 30 District Directors of Education and District Education Officers, from 28 to 29 September 2017, in Kigali, Rwanda, to train them on Inclusive Education, review the new REB/UNESCO toolkit on Practical activities for teachers on inclusive education, and discuss a rollout plan and how to monitor and evaluate the cascade trainings in their respective Districts. Inclusive Education is a priority for the Rwandan Ministry of Education. The toolkit is based on practical activities for teachers to introduce in the primary and secondary education system to ensure all children have the opportunity to participate fully in education. Open Day for Malagasy Library and National Archives On the occasion of the International Day for Universal Access to Information, the Directorate of National Archives and the National Library opened their doors to the public all day. Moreover, a photo exhibition of the Archives was showcased all week from 25 September 2017, at the Directorate of Archives in Tsaralalana. Here some photos of the students visiting the documentation centers in Madagascar. 16
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Publications Rethinking Education - Towards a global common good? This book is intended as a call for dialogue. Is is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development, based on respect for life and human dignity, equal rights, social justice, cultural diversity, international solidarity and shared responsibility and a sustainable future. It proposes that we consider education and knowledge as global common goods, in order to reconcile the purpose and organization of education as a collective societal endeavor in a complex world. Link in English, and in French. 18
Guide to Communicating as One Standard Operating Procedures for countries adopting the "Delivering as One" Approach. The United Nations Development Group produced this guide to facilitate the Communicating as One approach, including coherent messaging and advocacy on normative and operational matters, using a consistent and teamed-up strategic dialogue with host countries. This guidance note addresses three priority areas, including the two core elements of Communicating as One: a coherent image of the United Nations, the UNCG and United Nations joint communications strategies. Read the guide here. 19
UN Days and Public Holidays World Habitat Day 2 October International Day of Non-Violence (A/RES/61/271) 2 October World Teachers Day (27 C/INF.7) 5 October Birthdays Andrew M'mbaiza Kegode 6 October Hamidou Dodo Boukary 17 October 20
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