Basic education and gender equality
Newsline
Leaders pledge that ‘Education for All’ will not suffer during economic crisis
OSLO, Norway, 22 December 2008 – Heads of State, Ministers, leading officials from international organizations and agencies, and representatives from civil society and the private sector gathered together at the Education for All (EFA) High-Level Group meeting in Oslo, Norway last week. Their common goal: to accelerate progress towards achieving quality education for all girls and boys by 2015.
UNICEF brings schools to Thai hill tribe children
BAN MAE SURIN NOI, Thailand, 17 December 2008 – In the highlands of Thailand's Mae Hong Son province there is a newly constructed three-room structure. It is a simple building, made of rough plank floors, partial bamboo walls and a tin roof, but it offers the children in the area something they did not have before: a formal primary education.
‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies
NEW YORK, USA, 11 December 2008 – Ishamel Beah, Grace Akallo and Kon Kelei know the consequences of war. All three have lived through and participated in conflict in their native countries of Sierra Leone, Uganda and Sudan. They share not only common experiences as former child soldiers, but also agree that it was education that enabled them to become the writers and advocates they are today.
Mira Nair film highlights plight of Ugandan children
GENEVA, Switzerland, 4 December 2008–The voices of Uganda’s most vulnerable children are being heard, thanks to a documentary film produced by the critically acclaimed director Mira Nair, in association with UNICEF.
Aichatou’s story: New skills protect a former street vendor from exploitation in Niger
MARADI, Niger, 17 November 2008 – A respected tailor within her community, Aichatou has a life today that is a far cry from the one she was living just over two years ago. Back then, she worked as a street vendor in the busy town of Maradi, eastern Niger, on the border with Nigeria.
UNICEF condemns attacks on schools in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, 14 November 2008 – UNICEF has condemned the increasing number of attacks on schools and students in Afghanistan. A recent acid attack on 15 female students walking to school in the southern city of Kandahar blinded two of the girls and injured two others.
Mothers join the campaign to scale up girls’ education in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 4 November 2008 – Aminata Mansaray, 16, was born in Mankneh, a small community in the Bombali district of northern Sierra Leone. She is the third of five children – three boys and two girls – and for much of her young life she was not enrolled in school.
‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies
NEW YORK, USA, 28 October 2008 – High-level talks about progress towards the Millennium Development Goals took place last month during the United Nations General Assembly. Special attention was paid to commitments and progress in some of the poorest African nations, particularly in the area of education.
Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan visits a UNICEF-supported school project in Brazil
SÃO PAULO, Brazil, 27 October 2008 – As part of an official state visit to Brazil, UNICEF's Eminent Advocate for Children, Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, visited the UNICEF-supported Aprendiz City-School, a non-governmental organization located in the Vila Madalena district of São Paulo last week.
On visit to Argentina, Queen Rania of Jordan promotes quality education
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, 23 October 2008 - Children at a UNICEF-supported school in Argentina received a royal visitor this week, when Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan dropped by.
Primary education is now free for all children in Togo
AKODESSEWA, Togo, 13 October 2008 – At the Akodessewa school, roughly 15 km outside the capital city of Lomé, this year’s preparations for school enrolment have been marked by a major change: School fees have been abolished, and all primary schooling in Togo is now free.
'All Girls to School': Niger launches communications campaign on girls' education
NIAMEY, Niger, 9 October 2008 - Ahead of the new school year that started this week in Niger, the Nigerien Government, with UNICEF's support, launched a communications campaign called 'All Girls to School for a Brighter Future'.
Schools for Africa Initiative backs new school block to change lives of pupils in Malawi
LILONGWE, Malawi, 6 October 2008 – From a distance, Miteme Junior Primary School looks like a marketplace with vendors in school uniform. On close inspection, one realizes this is a school without a single classroom. Classes one to five are all held under trees; only class five has desks.
Haiti’s flood-damaged schools struggle to reopen
GONAIVES, Haiti, 3 October 2008 – Venette and her sister arrived at their school around mid-morning. They were handed a shovel. Then they joined a crew of mud-splattered men and waded into what used to be their cafeteria.
New programme in Mauritania increases school enrolment, especially for girls
NEW YORK, USA, 1 October 2008 – Mariem Saidou Sall, 11, is in sixth grade at the Sarandougou School in the remote and poor Brakna Region of Mauritania. Like most of her friends and neighbours in the village, she rides the bus to school every morning.
UN event features $4.5 billion pledge to support ‘Education for All’
NEW YORK, USA, 26 September 2008 – Devli Kumari, now 11, came a long way from a stone quarry in India, where she grew up as a child labourer, to United Nations headquarters in New York, where she spoke at the launch of an ‘Education for All’ campaign during the General Assembly session this week.
Classrooms in Syria crowded with Iraqi children whose families have fled conflict
DAMASCUS, Syria, 25 September 2008 – It is the beginning of the new school year in Syria, but a majority of the students are not Syrian. They are Iraqis whose families have fled conflict. When the lives of children like these are turned upside down, going to school can provide the stability they need.
UN schools in Syria serve thousands of Palestinian refugees
DAMASCUS, Syria, 2008 – Palestinian children residing in Husseiniyeh camp here are suffering from overcrowded classrooms and double-shift schools. Faced with staggering challenges outside the classroom, children are now in danger of losing their right to a quality education.
‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies
NEW YORK, USA, 15 September 2008 – The ongoing conflict in Iraq continues to have a devastating impact on children and schools there. Insecurity and violence have forced teachers to flee, kept students at home and, in some cases, closed schools completely.
At UNICEF seminar, students from region seek changes in secondary education
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, 15 September 2008 – Students at the Institute Filii Dei in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires recently welcomed a delegation of their peers participating in an international seminar on secondary education organized by UNICEF.
Sara Communication Initiative helps a young widow return to school in Eritrea
HASHISHAY, Eritrea, 2 September 2008 – Amid the dry heat and the scorching sun of Hashishay village in the north-west of Eritrea, there lies an oasis of huts made of mud-brick walls and grass-and-bamboo roofs. Meriem Abubeker, a 22-year-old widow, lives in Hashishay with her four-year-old son.
UNICEF Executive Director’s Togo visit focuses on education
LOME, Togo, 2 September 2008 – Ann M. Veneman, on the first-ever visit by a UNICEF Executive Director to Togo, promoted the importance of education to advance development.
‘Dubai Cares’ and UNICEF aim to improve classroom conditions in Djibouti
DJIBOUTI, Djibouti, 31 July 2008 – Hadj Dideh Primary School is one of the many schools in Djibouti that are in urgent need of repair. It will also be one the first schools in the country to be rehabilitated with support from a partnership between UNICEF and Dubai Cares – a Gulf based initiative that has raised $1 billion to help educate 1 million children in poor countries.
Women parliamentarians lead major changes in African politics
NEW YORK, USA, 22 July 2008 – Several African countries are at the forefront of a growing trend to substantially increase female representation in parliaments around the world.
UNICEF’s child-friendly spaces use movement and dance to help children heal
NEW YORK, USA, 21 July 2008 – The tragedies of war and natural disasters leave children struggling to cope with deep psychological wounds. One of the ways that UNICEF and other organizations have helped to alleviate children’s emotional scars is through dance and movement.
Aid for cyclone-affected schools, still struggling in remote areas of Myanmar
NEW YORK, USA, 17 July 2008 – In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, up to 1 million people were displaced from their homes and villages in Myanmar. Over the past two months, a massive effort has sought to repair the damage caused by the storm – especially in the Irrawaddy Delta, where it hit hardest.
Child-friendly schools help young Rwandans rediscover childhood
NEW YORK, USA, 8 July 2008 – In Rwanda, which is still recovering from its 1994 genocide and now faces the spread of HIV, UNICEF and its partners have established child-friendly schools to help young students rediscover what childhood is all about.
Mia Farrow sees children returning to schools in northern Central African Republic
KAGA BANDORO-KABO, Central African Republic, 27 June 2008 – On a recent visit to the northern regions of CAR, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador witnessed first-hand how schools have begun to reopen, improving the lives of children affected by conflict here.
‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies
NEW YORK, USA, 25 June 2008 – With an estimated 10,000 child fatalities from school collapses in the Sichuan earthquake in China, safe school construction has become a central issue for parents, governments and the international development community.
Adolescent-friendly learning centres support young Palestinian refugees in Syria
HUSEINEYEH CAMP, Syria, 24 June 2008 – If Aziza Melkash were not in this yellow-curtained room among 31 other teenagers intently discussing research findings, she would be holed up at home with little to do and nowhere to go.
Using folklore to promote and enrich education for Malaysia’s indigenous children
TASIK CINI, Malaysia, 17 June 2008 – Assembled around a village elder, members of the younger generation listen to tales of their ancestors. Clad in a traditional headpiece made of dried leaves, Awang Bin Alok, 67, shares his stories with young students sitting on the porch of a wooden house.
A month after deadly cyclone, classes resume in Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar, 3 June 2008 – A new school year has begun as children head back to classes, just one month after Cyclone Nargis damaged or destroyed more than 4,000 schools in Myanmar.
Special podcast: Women and girls tell their stories through film and radio documentaries
NEW YORK, USA, 3 June 2008 – UNICEF Radio podcast discussion on documentaries about women and girls in southern Africa featuring: Ann Cotton, Executive Director of the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed, a non-governmental organization fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS in rural Africa); David Eberts, director of the film ‘Where the Water Meets the Sky’; and Joe Richman, award-winning independent producer, and executive producer of the radio production ‘Thembi’s AIDS Diary.’
Rural preschools create a supportive environment for children in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 27 May 2008 – The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNICEF held a signing ceremony today in honour of their new partnership, which aims to create at least 100 rural integrated community preschools in Niger over the next two years.
‘Gender and Equity’ campaign shows success, as more parents are putting girls through school
ATENTOU, Togo, 20 May 2008 – According to her school principal in Atentou, 12-year-old Céline is a model student. Four years ago, along with some 60,000 Togolese children, Céline went back to school as part of the UNICEF programme ‘Gender and Equity’. She is still in school today.
UNICEF, Mandela Foundation and Hamburg Society consolidate ‘Schools for Africa’
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 16 May 2008 – UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Hamburg Society today signed a memorandum of understanding at the foundation’s headquarters in Johannesburg to consolidate their partnership promoting the six-nation ‘Schools for Africa’ campaign.
First Lady of Rwanda awards young women for their scholastic achievements
MUHANGA, Rwanda, 12 May 2008 – Earlier this month, 58 young women had their moment in the spotlight as Rwanda’s First Lady awarded them with prizes to celebrate their outstanding academic achievements.
Somalia takes part in ‘World’s Biggest Lesson’ for equality in education
NAIROBI, Kenya, 8 May 2008 – More than 7.5 million people from over 100 countries joined together to simultaneously express their feelings about the importance of education last month, as part of a unique event called the ‘World’s Biggest Lesson.’
‘Beyond School Books’– a podcast series on education in emergencies: Segment #7
NEW YORK, USA, 8 May 2008 – Exactly one month ago, Rwanda commemorated the 14th anniversary of its genocide. By this time in 1994, some half a million Rwandans had already been killed in an ethnic-cleansing campaign.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visits school in Burkina Faso
OUGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, 7 May 2008 – “When I was a child I studied in more difficult conditions than those I can see today. In my country, schools were seriously damaged as a result of the war. Therefore I schooled under the trees trying to be sheltered from the rain. The UN and UNICEF in particular greatly supported my country at that time.”
Community radio encourages girls’ education in Mozambique
MAGANJA DA COSTA DISTRICT, Mozambique, 2 May 2008 – For almost a year, many families in Mozambique have been awakened at daybreak by the pleasant voice of the young announcers at Erive Community Radio, the Maganja da Costa District’s new UNICEF-supported radio station.
Football star and UNICEF Ambassador Ole Gunnar Solskjær visits schools in Angola
LUANDA, Angola, 29 April 2008 – Superstar footballer and UNICEF Norway Goodwill Ambassador Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently visited Angola to witness the educational reconstruction still required in a country devastated by a civil war that ended nearly six years ago.
‘Beyond School Books’– a podcast series on education in emergencies: Segment #6
NEW YORK, USA, 29 April 2008 – At the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women last month, global leaders met to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing women and girls today. The theme this year was financing for gender equality and empowerment of women.
‘Young Champions’ support girls’ education in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, 28 April 2008 – Faiz Mohammad Fayyaz, now in his early twenties, lost his father when he was seven years old. His mother cannot read and write, because her father did not allow her to go to school, and married her off at the age of 14. Despite all this, Faiz’s mother made sure that he and his three sisters got an education.
Violence in Iraq disrupts lives and education
AMMAN, Jordan, 21 April 2008 – Over the last two weeks, families in Basra and Baghdad’s Sadr City have been plunged into one of the most violent episodes in Iraq’s recent history. As Iraq’s security forces mobilized against militia groups, widespread clashes and curfews kept families trapped indoors and led to shortages of water, food and medical supplies.
Reforming Armenia’s education system to benefit all children
YEREVAN, Armenia, 17 April 2008 - School number 27 is unremarkable from the outside. It is large, brown and grey, typical of Soviet-era public buildings.
UNICEF and British Telecom launch ‘edu-communication’ project in São Paulo
SÃO PAULO Brazil, 11 April 2008 – The excitement was palpable at the recent launch of the new UNICEF and British Telecom youth participation programme focusing on education and communication in low-income communities in Brazil.
UNICEF and partners lay new foundations for education with child-friendly schools in Lao PDR
BAN DONGE, Lao PDR, 8 April 2008 – The residents of Ban Donge in Xieng Khuang Province are accustomed to the foreign tourists who drop by to have a look around their village. However, the most recent group of visiting foreigners was welcomed with a grand spectacle that included local students performing Lao and Japanese dances, a gymnastics demonstration and even a recital by a famous Japanese violinist.
Fatuma’s Digital Diary: Girls’ education in Kenya’s largest slum
KIBERA, Kenya, 4 April 2008 – Kibera is Kenya's largest slum, right in the heart of the capital city, Nairobi. The slum's million-plus inhabitants struggle with extraordinary poverty and high crime rates. As is true throughout Kenya, the vast majority of Kibera's residents are under the age of 30, and less than half of the district's youths ever begin secondary school.
UNICEF-supported programmes bring improved learning facilities to Malawi
BLANTYRE, Malawi, 3 April 2008 – Blessings Molles, a 12-year-old student at the Thembe School, tells a story that is all too familiar in Malawi. When he was eight, his father died, leaving his mother to care for her six children.
Yemen makes progress in girls’ education with UNICEF-supported literacy programmes
SANA’A, Yemen, 31 March 2008 – Umm Nooruddin, mother of three, is among the first generation of women in her village to get a second chance at learning to read. She is one of 35 young women in Sanhan District, on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, who are taking part in a UNICEF-supported literacy class.
Communities 'stand up to violence' as the new school year begins
KABUL, Afghanistan, 24 March 2008 – Afganistan continues to progress in the field of education, as more than 6 million children attended the first day of school this week – including approximately 800,000 children who are now enrolled for the first time in their lives.
Denise’s story: Small grant brings wealth of knowledge to Mozambican youth
NEW YORK, USA, 17 March 2008 – The 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which concluded recently in New York, could have been just another annual gathering at the United Nations where ambitious commitments are made but soon forgotten – until the next meeting, when they are made yet again.
Schools for Africa: Portrait of a role model for girls and women in Malawi
LILONGWE, Malawi, 11 March 2008 – Zile Shumba is the Executive Director of CKK Building and Civil Contractors, a company hired by UNICEF Malawi to build new classrooms as part of the Schools for Africa initiative.
Rehabilitation and training programmes give girls a better education in Guinea-Bissau
CASSACA, Guinea-Bissau, 3 March 2008 – Like many girls in Guinea-Bissau, Mariama Sambu, 10, has a busy life. She rises at six each morning to help with household chores, which is no easy task when you share your small home with 18 other people.
Mobilizing resources for girls' education during the Commission on the Status of Women
NEW YORK, USA, 26 February 2008 – The 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women is under way at the United Nations. Focusing on the priorities of financing gender equality and empowering women, the annual forum commenced yesterday with a panel of experts hosted by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), UNICEF and the Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee on UNICEF.
Promoting a passion for reading on remote Malaysian islands
TIMANG ISLAND, Malaysia, 20 February 2008 – As bursts of pink and orange peek through the cloudy morning sky, two young boys hop into a long wooden motorboat with their mothers. They are heading for Timbang Island, a half-hour journey away, where the two mothers work as teachers and the boys attend classes.
UNICEF and Dubai Cares support quality education to break the cycle of poverty
NEW YORK, USA, 19 February 2008 – “If we want to champion prosperity and progress, we cannot ignore poverty,” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, has said. “We should therefore emphasize the role of education as the most powerful weapon in breaking the vicious circle of poverty.”
Innovative methods bring quality schooling to poor children in Indonesia
SOLO, Indonesia, 15 February 2008 – Ifah, 12, wakes up every day before dawn to get ready for school, reading over her lessons as she packs her bag. For this sixth-grader, learning is fun. “I love school, especially English,” she says.
UNICEF Representative leads 1,000-km horseback trek for Uruguay’s children
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, 10 December 2007 – The town square of Bella Unión in the northernmost tip of Uruguay was buzzing with excitement one day last month. The population of the border town had gathered to cheer the ‘UNICEF Cabalgata’ team, which was leaving for a four-week, 1,000-km cross-country trek on horseback that concluded here in the capital yesterday.
‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies: Segment #3
NEW YORK, USA, 16 November 2007 – Providing education to children in regions and societies affected by conflict – or emerging from it – is a major challenge.
'Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies: Segment #2
NEW YORK, USA, 29 October 2007 – In countries emerging from conflict, getting children into school is the first and most critical challenge for international development agencies, governments and communities.
'Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies: Segment #1
NEW YORK, USA, 22 October 2007 – In countries caught in a cycle of ongoing conflict, as well as those emerging from war, the rights of children and the right to education are most at risk.
Norway affirms support for children with $100 million toward UNICEF programmes
NEW YORK, USA, 26 October 2007 – UNICEF and the Government of Norway recently signed a new programme cooperation agreement providing for a contribution of 535 million kroner (approximately $100 million) toward UNICEF’s work in a wide range of areas, with a major focus on basic education and gender equality.
Former child soldiers trade guns for textbooks in rural Southern Sudan
RUMBEK, Southern Sudan, 15 October 2007 – At 15, he was a soldier. At 18, he traded his gun for a textbook and went back to school. Today, at 24, Mayom Mabuong is a community leader and a teacher at Deng Nhial School, one of the only institutions in Southern Sudan created specifically to address the needs of former child soldiers.
New permanent schools in post-tsunami Banda Aceh set new standards
ACEH AND NIAS, Indonesia, 11 October 2007 – UNICEF has built more than 50 schools since opening its first permanent education facility in tsunami-stricken Banda Aceh a year ago.
Iraqi children celebrate their return to school
AMMAN, Jordan, 9 October 2007— The first day back at school for students at Baghdad’s Al-Amal Primary School is a reason to celebrate. Children squeal with excitement as they see old friends. The playground, so bare and empty over the summer holidays, has filled with colour and sound.
Palestinian children face the challenges of getting an education during conflict
HEBRON, Occupied Palestinian Territory, 5 October 2007 – Ongoing conflict poses threats to the education of Palestinian children. Not only is their safe access to school often jeopardized, but it is hard for them to thrive once they get into the classroom.
Early education makes learning fun for indigenous children in Guatemala
QUICHE, Guatemala, 1 October 2007 – The classroom in the nursery school at Salquil Grande, one of 20 such schools located in the Ixil indigenous area of Quiché, is warmly decorated with bright colours, plenty of toys, drawings and bilingual posters in both the Ixil and Spanish languages. More important, it is filled with smiling children.
Footballer Marcel Desailly teaches girls in Ghana about success on and off the field
TAMALE CITY, Ghana, 26 September 2007 – Accomplished football player and Goodwill Ambassador Marcel Desailly recently visited the Northern Region of Ghana with UNICEF to encourage children, especially young girls, to play football and go to school.
Travelling schools bring education to migrant 'herder children'
ZAVKHAN, Mongolia, 22 September 2007 – A father reins his camel to a halt and coaxes the animal to bend its legs until its belly rests on the dry earth. His son slides off and with a quick wave goodbye turns and runs to a white felt tent known as a 'ger' – the traditional home in this region.
Angélique Kidjo raises awareness on child rights in her native Benin
SÔ-AVA, Benin, 13 September 2007 – World renowned singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo is in her home country of Benin this week to raise awareness about child rights. As part of her tour, she will visit communities across the nation, talking to leaders and parents about the benefits of education for all – especially girls.
FIFA-UNICEF campaign under way to break down gender barriers in schools
SHANGHAI, China, 13 September, 2007 – Eriko Arakawa, 27, fell in love with football at a very early age. “When I was five years old, I used to hear the sound of my older brother playing with his football – throwing it and dribbling it. I really liked that sound and I knew I wanted to play, too,” she recalls.
Mongolia faces challenges keeping ‘herder children’ in school
NARANBULAG, Mongolia, 11 September 2007 – On a windy, treeless plain in Mongolia, 10-year-old Bayarkhuu and his classmate Tsengel are herding goats in search of better grazing grounds. The goats may travel hundreds of kilometres in the summer months, but today the animals have been kept close to town, allowing Bayarkhuu to attend school in the morning and work in the afternoon.
Guinea-Bissau school rehab programme: A better chance for girls and boys alike
CANCHUNGO, Guinea-Bissau, September 2007 – Isabel introduces herself very shyly: “My name is Isabel Luís Gomes. I am 15 years old and I always studied in the Cunha Gomes School. I am a sixth grade student. I should be almost finishing school, but unfortunately I was enrolled late.”
Goodwill Ambassador Marcel Desailly encourages children in Ghana to go to school
SAVELUGU/NANTON DISTRICT, Ghana, 5 September 2007 – UNICEF Ghana recently designated their very first Goodwill Ambassador: accomplished football player Marcel Desailly.
Football helps girls in Brazil put exploitation behind them
OLINDA, Brazil, 31 August 2007 – For 15 years, UNICEF Brazil has supported the Environment and Citizenship Project here in the city of Olinda. Developed by the municipal government, the project offers sport- and music-related activities to girls and boys who have been involved in child labour or are in danger of being exploited.
‘Mirame’ book launch shines a light on challenges facing indigenous girls in Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala 22 August 2007 – Dora Alonzo, 15, was wearing a beautiful, hand-woven dress in yellow, pink and blue. “We’re girls – we like to play, we like to laugh, we like to sing, we like to enjoy life,” she said last week before a gathering of people, many of them young girls like her, at the Children’s Museum in Guatemala City.
Zimbabwean grandmothers help build a school for their community’s children
NYAMKUWARA, Zimbabwe, 15 August 2007 – Standing in a ditch, her feet and knees hidden in soiled water, her face splattered with dried mud and her body tiring from the labour, 60-year-old Agnes Mutima looks like a worker in a diamond mine.
UNICEF Niger works with chiefs to promote child survival and girls’ education
MARADI, Niger, 10 August 2007 – In southern Niger’s Tibiri region, a chief is being coronated. Presiding over the solemn ceremony is Grand Chief Abdou Bala Marafa, one of the country’s most influential traditional leaders.
School campaign supports girls’ education and achievement in Rwanda
KIGALI, Rwanda, 8 August 2007 – Nathalie Kaligirwa, 17, received the First Lady’s Award for Achievement during a ceremony launching the Rwandan Government’s new five-year campaign to promote gender parity, retention and achievement of girls in school.
Nelson Mandela Institute seeks new solutions to education and development challenges
EAST LONDON, South Africa, 6 August 2007 – Like this country itself, the launch of the Nelson Mandela Institute for Education and Rural Development on 3 August was full of contrasts and surprises.
Child-friendly schools give hope to a young girl in El Alto, Bolivia
EL ALTO, Bolivia, 6 August 2007 – Mariela Mamani lives in Villa Tunari, one of the most populous areas in El Alto, Bolivia. In the vast neighborhoods that seem pressed into the soil of the high plain, it is easy to get lost.
18,000 villages across Gujarat celebrate a massive school enrolment drive
GUJARAT, India, 25 July 2007 - Drums were beating, village women donned their finest saris and the streets were decorated with flowers. It was a big day in the life of Kirti Utana - the five-year old daughter of illiterate parents in the tribal village of Siddumbar was going to school.
With help from the Government of Japan, Southern Sudan rebuilds its schools
NEW YORK, USA, 17 July 2007 – Japan has contributed $8.6 million to Southern Sudan, aiding the region’s school-rebuilding efforts following two decades of civil war that devastated the education system there.
Clubs help girls stay in school and succeed in Burkina Faso
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, 13 July 2007 – Alice is in a good mood because she has received a high grade in French class. “It is very important to learn in order to understand what surrounds us,” she tells her friends during a break between classes.
UNICEF and local partners promote child-friendly schools in Rwanda
KIGALI, Rwanda, 3 July 2007 – Rubingo Primary School in Gasabo District, approximately 20 km from Kigali City, has all the hallmarks of a child-friendly school.
In Cameroon, changing attitudes and safe water mean more girls in school
MBANG, MBOUM, Cameroon, 13 June 2007 – In the village of Mbang-Mboum, traditional attitudes toward girls have long kept them out of school. Domestic chores fall to girls and women, and essential tasks like carrying water for the household take precedence over education.
Improved, child-friendly schools offer girls a better future in Sierra Leone
KABUICHA, Sierra Leone, 11 June 2007 – Tapping the numbers on the blackboard with a bamboo cane, four-year-old Aster Kamara confidently counts from 1 to 15. It is an impressive performance and she is deservedly applauded by her classmates as she returns to her seat.
Female teachers help to rebuild Afghanistan’s education system
KABUL, Afghanistan, 8 June 2007 – During the Taliban era in Afghanistan, many female teachers were barred from working and many girls were not allowed to go to school. But that has all changed dramatically.
Chinyanta’s Digital Diary: A Zambian teen fights for child rights and gender equality
NEW YORK, USA, 6 June 2007 – Chinyanta Chimba has a lot of energy. At her school in Lusaka, Zambia, she’s active in the Student Alliance for Female Education, which advocates for the rights of girls. She also travels around the world, speaking about children’s rights.
Life-skills training turns Turkmen students into pioneers of AIDS awareness
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, 30 May 2007 – Knowledge about the risk of HIV and how to prevent AIDS is very low in Turkmenistan. Less than one in eight women is able to identify the four ways the virus can be transmitted.
With mothers’ help, more girls are going to school in Cameroon
GAYAK, Cameroon, 25 May 2007 – In a small village in the northern part of Cameroon, a group of women, both young and old recently gathered to sit under a mango tree. Gayak is in the poorest region of Cameroon where as many as 4 out of 10 people live below the poverty line.
Transitional schools keep children learning in earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan
PAKISTAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR, 15 May 2007 – At 1 p.m., 54 students are actively participating in a mathematics class at Sarikala Government Girls’ Primary School in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. They frown and concentrate on the blackboard but smile mischievously from time to time.
UNICEF helps local government build pre-schools in Cambodia
SVAY RIENG PROVINCE, Cambodia, 11 May 2007 – Every weekday morning, Nita, 5, joins her friends at the Banteay Kraing Village community pre-school. Small sandals and shoes are neatly lined up in a row outside the wooden shelter that houses the school.
Children set-up their own school in an Indian village, defying caste barriers
JAMALPUR, India, 16 May 2007 – The steep, narrow path leads you to an enclosure covered by a thatched roof. The floor has been plastered with clay and the walls are built on columns of tree trunks.
‘Girl Stars’ reach out to rural India through films on the power of education
NEW YORK, USA, 9 May 2007 – Starting this week, three colourful trucks will take 15 short films on a road show to 180 villages across three states in India, encouraging a positive dialog with communities on the benefits of girls’ education.
UNICEF provides school supplies to 60,000 children in flood-affected areas of Zambia
LUSAKA, Zambia, 8 May 2007 – To help respond to humanitarian needs in flood-affected areas of Zambia, UNICEF has turned over 640 ‘School-in-a-Box’ kits to the country’s Ministry of Education. The kits will provide educational supplies to more than 60,000 children and 1,000 teachers in six provinces.
Learning takes centre stage for displaced adults and adolescents in Timor-Leste
METINARO, Timor-Leste, 8 May 2007 – The Metinaro camp for displaced persons is 30 km east of Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. When widespread violence broke out in Dili in 2006, Metinaro was lined with tents sheltering thousands who had lost their homes or were afraid to return.
A post-tsunami milestone: 100 new schools built or under construction in Aceh and Nias
ACEH AND NIAS, Indonesia, 7 May 2007 – The mayor of Banda Aceh, Mawardi Nurdin, recently opened SDN 96 Primary School in the community of Neusu Aceh, Baiturrahman – thereby reaching a milestone of 100 new schools either completed or under construction since the December 2004 tsunami devasted the education infrastructure in this region.
A letter from Sunita: Keeping our promises on girls’ education
BIRATNAGAR, Nepal – My name is Sunita and I am 15 years old. I live with my mother and sister in Biratnagar in eastern Nepal. When I was still a young child my father abandoned us, leaving us even poorer than we had been before. To make ends meet, my mother took a job in a jute mill, and I started working at matchstick factory.
Overcoming obstacles to child survival and gender equality in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Kosovo, 1 May 2007 – Despite the progress made during the post-conflict period since 1999, the UN Administered Province of Kosovo remains one of the poorest territories with one of the most vulnerable economies in Europe.
Child-friendly schools boost learning in Turkmenistan
KONEURGENCH DISTRICT, Turkmenistan, 30 April 2007 – Two years ago Aigul, Nurgozel and Sahypjemal had never used a computer. Now they use the Internet to browse English-language websites.
UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken visits Afghanistan
NEW YORK, USA, 18 April 2007 – UNICEF National Ambassador Clay Aiken has visited central Afghanistan to see for himself how UNICEF is trying to improve life for children in the region.
Child-friendly schools support girls’ education in Cambodia
KAMPONG THOM, Cambodia, 12 April 2007 – Taxi, 14, lives in a rural community of Kampong Thom Province, central Cambodia. It is the dry season and dust chokes the air in her poverty-stricken village, as in most of rural Cambodia. Small palm-roofed bamboo huts line the dirt road that leads to Sankor School, where Taxi attends sixth grade.
Girls’ Education Project focuses on getting students back to school in Nigeria
BAKORI, Nigeria, 11 April 2007 – Full of energy, pupils run in circles on the playground of Nadabo Primary School in the small town of Bakori, northern Nigeria. They are having fun in gymnastics class, where the female teacher has them exercising.
Despite dangers, an Iraqi mother is determined to educate herself and her children
NEW YORK, USA, 28 March 2007 – Nada, 40, lives in Baghdad with her husband and four children – two boys and two girls, all school age. “Our life is a hard life,” Nada (not her real name) told UNICEF Radio in a telephone interview.
Community contracts help build child-friendly schools in Madagascar
AMBOHITNIBE, Madagascar, 26 March 2007 – In the middle of an isolated community, an hour’s walk from the nearest road, there is a primary school that is setting the standard for child-friendly education in Madagascar.
Literacy empowers women and girls in Northern Nigeria
BABBAN KUFAI, Nigeria, 20 March 2007 – It’s a quiet Sunday in the Muslim community of Katsina, a northern state in Nigeria. While students at the local primary school enjoy their day off, more than 80 women are crammed inside one classroom, busy learning how to read and write, many for the first time in their lives.
Mamiwhe’s story: Advancing girls’ education for the sake of Liberia’s future
MONROVIA, Liberia, 19 March 2007 – After school, Mamiwhe Kpahgbor, 16, goes to the market to help her mother sell fish here in Liberia’s capital.
Displaced with her family in northern Iraq, a girl dreams of education
NEW YORK, USA, 19 March 2007 – Sheelan, 14, has never gone to school. Neither have any of her seven older sisters. Her family is Kurdish and has been displaced for two decades, ever since the Iran-Iraq War.
For a young Iraqi woman, a second chance to learn and grow
WASSIT, Iraq, 9 March 2007 - In a small classroom in southern Iraq, Reem (not her real name), 22, is bent over her books. The stifling air is making it hard to concentrate, but she is determined to finish the lesson. She knows the few hours she spends here could determine the course of the rest of her life.
On International Women’s Day, an Iraqi mother and daughter stay focused on education
NEW YORK, USA, 7 March 2007 – As the 51st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women comes to close at the United Nations on 8 March, International Women’s Day, women and girls around the world struggle to make ends meet, get an education and stay safe. One of the places where these challenges are most acute is Iraq, where ongoing violence has become the norm.
At UN panel, girls describe challenges keeping their peers out of school
NEW YORK, USA, 1 March 2007 – Youth panellists shared the experiences and challenges of girls growing up in their four different countries today at a discussion hosted by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) in New York.
At 10, a young boy discovers school for the first time in Gabon
OMBOUE, Gabon, 1 March 2007 – "Look, I can write ‘3’,” Yacine exclaims, proudly holding up his slate chalked with many number threes carefully aligned.
Formerly abducted into rebel forces, a Liberian girl makes a new start
GANTA, Liberia, 26 February 2007 – Towards the end of Liberia’s 15-year civil war, Gloria (not her real name) was abducted into the rebel forces by boys she knew. She tried to resist but they forced her at knifepoint. She went on to spend six months cooking, cleaning and learning how to use a weapon.
Youth voices heard at opening of UN Commission on the Status of Women
NEW YORK, USA, 26 February 2007 – The 51st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women opened at United Nations headquarters in New York this morning, launching two weeks of discussions and events in the run-up to International Women’s Day.
Community-based schools bring hope to Afghanistan’s remote settlements
NEW YORK, USA, 23 February 2007 – Hakima, 9, only recently came to know about her country and its people.
Donors come together for Zimbabwe’s orphans and vulnerable children
HARARE, Zimbabwe, 22 February 2007 – In a one-room hut with a torn blanket for a door, Miriam, 16, lives with her six younger siblings.
Protecting and educating children affected by floods in Mozambique
SOFALA PROVINCE, Mozambique, 20 February 2007 – Orlando and his family were among the first to arrive at Chupanga Camp, near the town of Caia in Mozambique’s Sofala Province, after the recent floods began.
UNICEF Executive Director visits child-centred projects in Egypt
NEW YORK, USA, 20 February 2007 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman has commended Egypt’s progress towards advancing child rights at the end of a three-day visit to the country.
Uganda launches education campaign for war-affected children
NEW YORK, USA, 15 February 2007 – UNICEF Uganda and its partners have put education in the spotlight this week with the launch of their ‘Go to school, back to school, stay in school’ campaign to help 1.3 million children get primary education in the country’s conflict-affected north and northeast.
Partners’ Forum meets to support rebuilding in post-civil war Liberia
NEW YORK, USA, 14 February 2007 – “This meeting is crucial to the future of the people of Liberia,” stated President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the Liberia Partners’ Forum held this week in Washington DC.
School restoration campaign builds hubs of stability in Iraq
NEW YORK, USA, 15 February 2007 – Schools are becoming critical hubs of stability within Iraq, thanks to a UNICEF-supported restoration programme designed to stem school closures and growing drop-out rates.
In India, ‘Girl Stars’ show that determination and education are keys to success
NEW YORK, USA, 26 January 2007 – Laxmirani Majhi, 17, also known as Laxmi, is an international-level archer and a student at the Tata Sports Academy in Jamshedpur, India. Laxmi is also one on India’s ‘Girl Stars’, young women who are breaking away from socio-economic discrimination to achieve success.
Water and hygiene facilities change lives for families in rural Viet Nam
DAI PHAC COMMUNE, Viet Nam, 17 January 2007 – During class break, Nguyen Thi Huyen, 10, and her classmates at An Thinh 1 Primary School crowd the small open area outside their new latrine and washing facilities. They wash their hands vigorously, as instructed by the teacher.
Supporting early bilingual education in rural Viet Nam
SUOI GIANG COMMUNE, Viet Nam, 15 January 2007 – She’s only five years old, but Mua Thi Xay is already learning a second language. She is ethnic Hmong, from a community in the mountains of northern Viet Nam. Until now she knew little of her nation’s main language, Vietnamese.
In Djibouti, Fatouma struggles to become her village’s first female high school graduate
ARDO, Djibouti, 2 January 2007 – Fatouma, 20, carries a heavy burden on her small shoulders. She is the eldest of 16 children whose father was lost during the civil war in Djibouti. Her mother ekes out a living by selling crepes. Despite the hardships of her daily life, Fatouma will soon be the first girl from the village of Ardo to complete her secondary education.
New educational approach keeps Madagascar’s children interested in learning
DIÉGO-SUAREZ, Madagascar, 28 December 2006 – About 20 feet away from the famous emerald-green waters of Diego, students of Ramena Primary School are discovering that learning can actually be fun.
Mothers Clubs playing a crucial role advocating for girls’ education in Gambia
SARE SAMBA, Gambia, 18 December 2006 – Girls growing up in Gambia’s farming communities are often faced with a tough life. Very little emphasis is put on education. Instead, they are usually forced into early marriages and are expected to do farming work and take care of the home.
Basic school supplies reach children and teachers in post-war Southern Sudan
KWAJOK, Southern Sudan, 20 December 2006 – Angelina Nyanyok, 18, a student at the local primary school, identifies her classroom by the single element that provides any shelter.
School access a challenge for girls at camps in northern Uganda
PABBO CAMP, Acholi Region, Uganda, 19 December 2006 – Christine Lawil remembers vividly the day that the LRA came to her village near Pawel, Uganda. “My husband was working in our garden and the rebels attacked the village,” she says. “They beat him and then killed him.”
UNICEF UK Ambassador Martin Bell witnesses ‘thirst for education’ in Afghanistan
NEW YORK, USA, 13 December 2006 – UNICEF UK Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies Martin Bell has returned from a week-long trip to Afghanistan.
Deputy Executive Director talks women’s and children’s rights in the Middle East and Africa
NEW YORK, USA, 10 December 2006 – As UNICEF launches its flagship annual report, ‘The State of the World’s Children’ – which focuses this year on the links between women’s rights and children’s well-being – UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah has just returned from an extensive field visit in which those links featured prominently.
UNICEF flagship report says gender equality benefits both women and children
NEW YORK, USA, 10 December 2006 – On its 60th anniversary, UNICEF is launching a report that says gender equality is critical to child survival and development.
Bill Clinton visits rebuilt school in Aceh on final tour as UN tsunami envoy
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 4 December 2006 – Ibu Nurhayati has a big smile on her face. She just met Bill Clinton. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery has come to her school – SDN 1 Peukan Bada, on the outskirts of Banda Aceh – to take a look at UNICEF’s permanent school reconstruction program.
GEM clubs help more girls get to school in Southern Sudan
JUBA, Southern Sudan, 30 November 2006 – Like children everywhere, students in Southern Sudan spend most of their mornings studying textbooks, reciting lessons and trying to keep still. But for two days recently, 55 students and teachers came together to raise education awareness through an exuberant display of song and dance.
Pre-school classes boost girls’ enrolment in northern Nigeria
KAZAURE, Nigeria, 24 November 2006 – Enrolment of girls in early childhood development (ECD) classes is booming in areas of northern Nigeria, where local government authorities, assisted by UNICEF, are using multiple strategies to get more girls into pre-school.
A young Roma woman in Serbia overcomes poverty and discrimination
BELGRADE, Serbia, 21 November 2006 – Ljiljana Ilic, 28, is a Roma woman who has risen above the odds, conquering social, economic and cultural barriers to earn both a college and a graduate degree. But reaching her goal was far from easy.
Far-reaching survey assesses learning spaces in post-war Southern Sudan
JUBA, Southern Sudan, 10 November 2006 – For the first time in the history of this war-torn region, a major survey has made it possible to identify the location and conditions of thousands of learning spaces – many of them ‘bush schools’ consisting of little more than a few benches under a tree.
Educating young children left behind in China’s poor and remote communities
ANSHAN, China, 9 November 2006 – Zheng Qing lives in a remote village in the Cangxi county of China’s Sichuan Province. Her mother left home and her father works as a migrant labourer, so she has been raised by her grandmother. Until she started kindergarten two years ago, she was introverted and unwilling to play with other children.
Life skills-based education gets girls back to school in Tajikistan
ISFARA, Tajikistan, 7 November 2006 – Twenty per cent of young girls in Tajikistan are missing school. Most of them stay home to help their mothers with housework, while others take on seasonal farm work.
Zakia’s story: Support for education in Pakistan’s earthquake zone
BATTAGRAM, Pakistan, 27 October 2006 – Under the watchful eyes of her mother, Zakia Bibi is getting ready for school, diligently packing her books and folders.
Teen speaks out at launch of girls’ education strategic plan in Zimbabwe
HARARE, Zimbabwe, 18 October 2006 – My name is Fransisca Nyabvure I am 18 years old. I am doing my lower six at Darwin High school, in northern Zimbabwe. I live with my grandparents. My parents are dead.
Youth journalists interview Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza on key issues
BUJUMBURA, Burundi, 17 October 2006 – Despite his government’s cautious relations with private radio stations and journalists, President Pierre Nkurunziza last week granted a one-hour candid interview to 14 child journalists and warmly praised UNICEF for training the youths.
Lebanese children returning to school for the first time since conflict
NEW YORK, USA, 13 October 2006 – Children in southern Lebanon will be headed back to the classroom on Monday, 16 October, as part of the National Back-to-School Campaign initiated by the Ministry of Education with support from UNICEF.
Indonesian child-friendly schools provide a haven from abuse
KUPANG, Indonesia, 9 October 2006 – Hundreds of students in red and white uniforms line up neatly in the schoolyard of Inpres Tenau Primary School. It seems a typical start for a day at any school in eastern Indonesia.
Teachers go back to school in southern Sudan
WAU, Southern Sudan, 5 October 2006 – The day begins early and ends late for Clara Royo, a primary school teacher in this bustling market town. Rising before dawn to prepare her family’s breakfast and retiring long after dark, she has recently added another activity to her hectic schedule. At the age of 67, she is going back to school.
Improving quality basic education for children in Brazil's Amazon Region
PARÁ STATE, Brazil, 4 October 2006 – The EducAmazônia project works to improve the quality of basic education for 680,000 children attending rural schools in Pará, the largest state in Brazil’s Amazônia Region.
UNICEF Executive Director: Girls’ education vital for developing world
NEW YORK, USA, 25 September 2006 – More than half of all children who do not go to school are girls. Achieving universal primary education is a Millennium Development Goal and one of UNICEF’s primary objectives.
UNICEF Executive Director speaks up for women at Clinton Global Initiative
NEW YORK, USA, 22 September 2006 – Leading experts on child welfare and global development have been gathering in New York to discuss ways of empowering women to aid progress. UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman was one of the key speakers at the special session of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual meeting organized by the William J. Clinton Foundation to address some of the world’s most serious issues.
Dropping guns for books in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 21 September 2006 – A back-to-school campaign has brought new hope to the children of Cité Soleil, the seaside slum in the Haitian capital that has long been regarded as one of most violent neighbourhoods in the whole Western Hemisphere.
Delivering quality, child-centred education in Pakistan’s earthquake zone
BATTAGRAM, Pakistan, 8 September 2006 – Eight-year-old Parveen is once again getting used to life in her new tented classroom, following the end of the summer holidays. When the earthquake that affected so much of northern Pakistan struck in October 2005, her old school building was totally destroyed, forcing teachers to suspend classes due to lack of available shelter.
The long road back to school for children in southern Lebanon
SRIFA, Lebanon, 7 September 2006 – Now that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has ceased, the children of southern Lebanon are trying to return to normal life. But the challenges are enormous. In the village of Srifa, half the buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
Communities find innovative ways to raise money for students in Zimbabwe
BUHERA, Zimbabwe, 5 September 2006 – Like all Zimbabweans, the people of Buhera endure some of the world’s worst inflation, crippling unemployment and an HIV emergency. But there is another basic need the children here are missing – enough money to pay for their ever-rising school fees.
Empowering girls by challenging the tradition of child marriage
CHAPAI NAWABGANJ, Bangladesh, 31 August 2006 – Less than a year ago, Mosamad Mounjera Khatun watched as her future was decided without her consent. Her parents had arranged for her to be married, though she was only 14-years old. Like most young brides, she would have been forced to drop out of school and work in her in-laws’ household.
Back-to-school campaign under way in Aceh
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 28 August 2006 – Basyirah, a third-grade elementary school teacher, could not suppress her glee as she recounted her experience in Indonesia’s tsunami-ravaged region of Aceh.
Child returnees from Côte d’Ivoire go back to school in Burkina Faso
BOBO DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso, 22 August 2006 – Ousmane Nyenyi, 14, has never gone to school. Like many of their neighbors from the Serfalao commune in Bobo Dioulasso, western Burkina Faso, he and his family had to flee from their adopted country, Côte d’Ivoire, when war broke out there four years ago.
Students help make school more ‘child-friendly’ in Mozambique
ZAMBÉZIA, Mozambique, 18 August 2006 – Fourteen-year-old Esperança Soul holds her head high as she sings a welcome song in the local language to a group of visitors. Her melodic voice carries above that of her fellow students who are gathered in an arid playground surrounded by classrooms in various stages of construction.
Communities in remote Kyrgyzstan help students stay in school
NARYN PROVINCE, Kyrgyzstan, 18 August 2006 – The noonday sun scorched Askat, 13, as he used all his strength to finish building a hay pile. The last five bales were extremely difficult as the heavy mound threatened to topple over. After the job was done, he still faced a long walk home. At home, Askat found his grandmother serving tea to three guests. They had come to talk about his problems with school attendance.
Opening school doors for girls and disadvantaged children in Bangladesh
NARSHINGDI, Bangladesh, 16 August 2006 – Down a warren of shanties built with corrugated steel and thatched wood, Morzina Begum and her parents live in a one-room shack, sharing a common kitchen and toilet with several other families.
Emergency education classes in Timor-Leste
METINARO, Timor-Leste, 16 August 2006 – Lurdes Freitas, 10, was all ears as she stood watching her friend name the parts of her body in Portuguese for the rest of the class. Lurdes is one of 300 children who had registered for emergency classes at the Metinaro camp for people displaced by unrest in Timor-Leste.
Donation from the Netherlands supports girls’ education campaign in Benin
COTONOU, Benin, 10 August 2006 – A generous donation of $7.6 million from the Government of the Netherlands is helping UNICEF kickstart the ’All girls to school’ campaign in Benin.
For girls in South Darfur, finishing primary school is a major milestone
DARFUR, Sudan, 18 July 2006 – Fatma Atma Musa,13, goes to school, studies and socializes with her friends – normal activities for children in developed countries. But in Dafur, Fatma is the exception rather than the rule.
Non-formal schooling boosts access to basic education in Nepal
KAPILVASTU, Nepal, 17 July 2006 – Children who were out of school in 15 districts of Nepal now have the opportunity to learn how to read and write, thanks to the UNICEF-supported Out-of-School Programme (OSP).
In Aceh, Indonesia, children’s video diaries document their lives after the tsunami
NEW YORK, USA, 13 July 2006 – At the sprawling Meulaboh camp in Indonesia’s Aceh province, Syahrul, 12, focuses his video camera on a budding yellow flower. Syahrul is one of thousands of Acehnese children living in camps for people displaced by the December 2004 tsunami.
Child-friendly schools give Cambodian children a boost
KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia, 12 July 2006 – At the crack of dawn, the school day swings into motion in Trapaing Chhouk school, several kilometres down a dirt track from the nearest town.
Two girls determined to stay in school in South Kordofan, Sudan
KORDOFAN, Sudan, 11 July 2006 – Girls in South Kordofan, Sudan, like those in many other parts of the world, are more likely than boys to drop out of school. To make matters worse, many girls here have never been enrolled in school at all. Poverty, tradition and inadequate facilities have left a majority of girls without an education.
Enrolment drive sends almost 600,000 girls and boys to school in Gujarat, India
GUJARAT, India, 30 June 2006 – Every one of Gujarat State’s 18,000 villages was celebrating on 17 June, the start of a three-day, statewide enrolment drive that ultimately placed 593,863 children in school. Nearly half of these new students are girls.
Getting children to school in southern Sudan
RUMBEK, Southern Sudan, 30 June 2006 – In this hardscrabble town, where buildings consist of little more than rubble and tending cattle is one of the only realistic careers, getting children into school used to be a nearly impossible task.
Marie Paule’s story: Surviving life on the streets of Kinshasa, DR Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 22 June 2006 – Marie Paule is in her first year of secondary school. At 14, children her age are usually in their second or even third year. The young teenager may be late in catching up, but she has come a long way.
Colombia education project reaches children kept out of school by conflict
MEDELLIN, Colombia, 20 June 2006 – Every day after school, Johana Agudelo Norena, 11, climbs 300 steps from the road to her house at the top of the Las Mirlas shantytown in Medellin. By now she is used to arriving tired and muddy, but the important thing for her is being able to study again.
Alternative Basic Education keeps pastoral children’s dreams alive
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 19 June 2006 – Ten-year-old Medina Humed Ahmed opens up about her dreams for the future.
A community builds a school for its children with help from the UK and UNICEF
HARARE, Zimbabwe, 19 June 2006 – She has built a family. She has built a business, and built her own home. And now 72-year old Mavis Chanakira is building a school. As bulls heave a cart spilling with sand, builders give free instructions, and men mix and lay cement, Mrs. Chanakira and scores of women act as a conveyer belt, passing bricks down the line.
Closing the gender gap: An Ethiopian girl shines shoes to pay for school
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 8 June 2006 – Meskerem Geremew knew she had to get an education. So the 12-year-old girl from Ethiopia’s bustling capital, Addis Ababa, decided to take action.
‘Welcome to School’: Rallying for universal access to education in Nepal
KAPILVASTU, Nepal, 7 June 2006 – After political unrest that disrupted life in Nepal earlier this year, rallies of quite a different kind have been held in the country’s villages and towns in the last month. They have been led by children chanting slogans such as: “Send children to school ... Don’t discriminate between girls and boys ... Protect child rights ... Spread the wisdom of knowledge.”
As Angola rebuilds, tackling the causes of gender inequalities in schools
LUANDA, Angola, 6 June 2006 – In the face of an education system left in shambles by decades of war, Angola’s goal of reaching a primary school completion rate of 75 per cent by 2008 seems ambitious. But Angola is getting ready to confront the obstacles.
Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo cites benefits of girls’ education in Senegal
DAKAR, Senegal, 24 May 2006 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo walked around the schoolyard visibly at ease, greeting everyone warmly – and with good reason. In time for Senegal’s National Week of Basic Education (22-28 May) the Liberté VI A primary school in Dakar has achieved gender parity: Fifty-two per cent of students enrolled here are female.
In Ethiopia’s troubled Gambella region, a master plan to get children back to school
GAMBELLA, Ethiopia, 17 May 2006 – During a visit to western Gambella, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah laid out a master plan to get more children back to school in one of Ethiopia's most strife-torn regions.
Girls’ education movement in Uganda helps girls – and boys – stay in school
KASESE DISTRICT, Uganda, 12 May 2006 – Sylvia, 18, and Jonas, 14, are classmates in their final year at Kyabikere Primary School. Had it not been for Sylvia’s perseverance, the two friends living here in the rugged and verdant hills of western Uganda might not be moving on to secondary school together.
April 2006: A trip to Huambo, Angola highlights education successes and malaria dangers
HUAMBO, Angola, April 2006 – We arrived in Huambo yesterday and though I’ve been in the country for two weeks only, I’m enjoying the break from Luanda’s heat and constant traffic jams. Today we are heading to Dende, a small village 20 km from Huambo, to visit a primary school built recently with funds from UNICEF Germany. We want to see the finished building and speak to some of the schoolchildren.
Liberia launches Girls’ Education National Policy with support from UNICEF
MONROVIA, Liberia, 18 April 2006 – The education of girls is to become a “cornerstone” of development in Liberia, according to Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, who officially launched a Girls’ Education National Policy today.
Kenya’s abolition of school fees offers lessons for rest of Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya, 17 April 2006 – Maureen Akinyi, 14, dreamt of becoming an accountant and making it to the top of Kenya’s growing corporate sector. She came from a poor but relatively stable family in Kibera, a sprawling slum in Nairobi that is home to over 800,000 people.
Educating Fatna: For a refugee schoolgirl in Chad, a chance to learn
NEW YORK, 13 April 2006 – Today in Dakar, Senegal, the governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other partners in the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative launched their new Regional Network for West and Central Africa, where increasing girls’ access to quality education has been a challenging task.
UNICEF at Oxford: Education experts to confer on reaching children in conflicts
NEW YORK, USA, 10 April 2006 – Around the world approximately 115 million children are out of school. At least half of those children live in countries affected by conflict, while many others are excluded from the basic right to an education because of natural disasters and other crises.
Lessons learned: African countries share experiences with abolition of school fees
NEW YORK, USA , 5 April 2006 – School fees are keeping the most vulnerable children out of classrooms across the developing world. In countries where conflict, drought, famine and the HIV pandemic prevail, school fees hit these children the hardest. They need the safe environment, routine and services that schools can provide.
‘Techno Girls’ expand their horizons with career mentorship in South Africa
PRETORIA, South Africa, 29 March 2006 – Zoliswa Yoyo is spending her school vacation at the office – and she couldn’t be happier about it. The 16-year-old student from Ndyebo Senior Secondary School is one of 35 girls gaining firsthand workplace experience courtesy of the Techno Girls Career Mentorship Programme.
Students play catch-up with final exams after two years of civil disruptions in Côte d’Ivoire
NEW YORK, USA, 13 March 2006 – After a two-year wait, students in Côte d’Ivoire have at last been able to take their final examinations and complete their education.
UNICEF Mexico’s Advisory Board launches campaign urging voters to focus on child education in upcoming elections
MEXICO CITY, Mexico, 23 February 2006 – “If your candidate doesn't know how to improve education, elect another candidate. Cast a vote for education!”
Remedial education helps millions of Palestinian children
AZZUN ATMA, Occupied Palestinian Territory, 16 February 2006 – Education is a daily struggle in the remote northern West Bank village of Azzun Atma where there is only one school. UNICEF is supporting a project that trains teachers and parents throughout the West Bank and Gaza to help students study on their own or at home with remedial worksheets.
Reaching out to India’s poorest: Sister Sudha awarded government distinction
JAMSAUT, Bihar, India, 6 February 2006 – Girls from the Musahar community in the village of Jamsaut are studying at their local school. What looks like a perfectly normal classroom scene makes for an unusual sight here, as these girls belong to one of the most destitute and marginalised groups in Bihar – India’s poorest state.
Girls' education and empowerment in Zimbabwe
HURUNGWE, Zimbabwe, 24 January 2006 - Ten -year-old Mitchell Gwatidzo shudders as she retells the story of her little friend who was abused by her uncle. In her crisply ironed blue uniform, Mitchell boldly raises an issue that more and more Zimbabwean children are speaking out about.
Going door-to-door in Turkey for girls’ education
VAN, Turkey, 29 December 2005 – In schools and homes and coffeehouses across the country, the same question is being asked by teachers, journalists, local activists and religious leaders: “What will it take to get your daughter in school?”
Children strengthen communities in South Africa through the Girls’ Education Movement
GA THOKA, Limpopo Province, South Africa, 20 December 2005 – Many families in this grey, dusty village live without access to basic services like water and sanitation. There is no electricity and health facilities are almost non-existent. Yet Ga Thoka is on the brink of transformation thanks to some of its younger citizens.
‘Telling the Story’ of girls’ education
GABORONE, Botswana, 8 December 2005 – For 21-year-old Boipelo Semere, a third-year student at the University of Botswana, the law degree she will soon receive is only one measure of success.
400,000 Liberian children receive school supplies from UNICEF
HARPER, Liberia, 2 December 2005 – In a symbol of hope for Liberia’s children, UNICEF is distributing educational supplies to some 2,000 public schools across the country, benefiting nearly half a million students.
Delegates at meeting on ‘Education for All’ say urgent work is needed to achieve 2015 goal
BEIJING, China, 30 November 2005 - With more than 115 million children worldwide still out of school, and more than 770 million adults illiterate, delegates to the Fifth Meeting of the High Level Group on Education for All said urgent work must be done to reach the goal of universal primary education by 2015.
Building a just society through gender equality
BEIJING, China, 26-27 November 2005 – A new UNICEF report has proposed critical steps to help the countries that are struggling to achieve educational equality for girls.
Many countries fail to meet goals for girls’ education
NEW YORK, USA, 25 November 2005 – The world has failed in an important step towards achieving educational equality for girls this year; forty-six countries will not meet international goals for gender parity in schools set for 2005.
UN Administered Province of Kosovo: Community alliances keep girls in school
PRISTINA, United Nations Administered Province of Kosovo, 22 November 2005 – Six years after the end of the conflict here – in which bombs turned thousands of residents into refugees and reduced much of the landscape to rubble – schools are recovering with the help of an innovative parent-teacher alliance.
Kenya: Regional disparities threaten progress towards education for all
LOKICHOGGIO, Kenya, 17 November 2005 – Far from the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown Nairobi, children in this remote corner of Kenya spend their school days wondering if they will eat a single meal.
Jamaica: Gender-fair schools stem boys' anger
KINGSTON, Jamaica/NEW YORK, USA, 14 November 2005 – School life for boys and girls at Children First in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, is very different from most other schools. Here, students have a say in rules and sanctions, evaluate their teachers’ and director’s performance and make recommendations for faculty behaviour.
Mobile educators brings learning to poor families in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
TETOVO, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 11 November 2005 – A team of travelling teachers is visiting Valbone Mandzukai’s family, to teach her 7-year-old son how to read and write. But he is not the only one learning – Valbone, who was illiterate when she fled Kosovo six years ago, is also taking lessons.
Nicaragua: Child-friendly schools boost girls' self-esteem
LIMAY, Nicaragua/NEW YORK, 28 October 2005 – Victoria Rayo primary school in Limay, Estelí province, northern Nicaragua, has undergone remarkable changes since it joined the country's Child-Friendly and Healthy Schools Initiative in 2003.
Stalled peace process threatens children’s education in northern Côte d’Ivoire
NEW YORK, 6 October 2005 – For the past two years, no school exams have been held in northern Côte d’Ivoire – meaning that children have not been able to advance to the next grade or graduate. Hopes had been high that exams would finally take place this year, but the Ministry of Education has once again decided to postpone them – this time indefinitely – because of the ongoing civil conflict.
Pakistan: ‘Fair Play for Girls’ campaign uses cricket to promote development
LAHORE, Pakistan, 23 September 2005 – On a cool, grey day in September, the voices of thousands of schoolgirls singing filled a packed sports stadium.
Girls’ education advocate delivers message of hope to First Spouses during World Summit
NEW YORK, 23 September 2005 – Like many visitors on their first trip to New York, 26-year-old Lydia Wilbard stopped by the United Nations last week. Unlike most tourists, however, Lydia had arrived to deliver a speech during the 2005 World Summit.
Southern Sudan: Early marriage threatens girls’ education
YAMBIO, Sudan, 7 September 2005 – As schoolgirls here bend their heads over their books, they listen warily for the sounds of angry voices outside.
Burundi: Free primary education for all children
NEW YORK, 7 September 2005 – After 12 years of civil war, Burundi now has a new democratic government, and the reconstruction process is gathering momentum. As part of his programme, President Pierre Nkurunziza has reaffirmed his pledge to provide free primary education for all the country’s children.
UNICEF Executive Director highlights gender equality and girls education during China trip
BEIJING, 29 August 2005 – Speaking today at the opening of ‘Beijing 2005: The 10th Anniversary Commemoration of the Fourth World Conference on Women’, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman emphasized the importance of programmes and partnerships that promote gender equality and empower women.
For Cambodian girls, education is antidote to poverty and sexual exploitation
Bung Preah Commune, Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, 9 August 2005 – Fifteen-year-old Seng Srey Mach had to drop out of school for two years to work in the fields when her mother was ill and too weak to work. For a girl who always was first in class, not going to school was devastating. “I used to cry when I saw my friends on their way to school,” Seng Srey says.
Angola: After 30 years of civil war, school reconstruction helps build a bright future
HUAMBO, Angola, 28 July 2005 – The foundations of peace are now firmly in place in this country, which had been ravaged by civil conflict. Now, another sort of foundations are being laid: Construction of new schools is taking off, as part of the rejuvenation effort for Angola’s shattered education infrastructure.
Madagascar’s ‘big sister’ programme helps girls stay in school
MANJAKANDRINA, Madagascar, 11 July 2005 – Thirteen-year-old Lanee, who lives in this small village, has an important new responsibility: She is now a ‘big sister’ for her first-grade schoolmate, Nadia. Lanee’s new role is to be a helper and friend, by walking Nadia to school, playing with her during recess and lending a hand with homework.
Mothers’ zeal in the Gambia gets girls into school
SARE SAMBA & JATTABA, The Gambia, 27 June 2005 - The young actor steps forward. “My daughter will not go to school. There is no value in these western teachings. She will stay at home, do the cooking and find a husband.” He stamps his foot; the audience laughs.
Girls are equal to boys in Philippine schools. Or are they?
MANILA, 14 June 2005 – “In my class, it’s mostly boys who drop out,” said Vernelou Kidro, 16, during a recent theater rehearsal at a community centre in Tondo, a Manila neighbourhood with thousands of tiny, ramshackle houses. “Often, they lack interest or are just too poor to afford school.”
Model school in Senegal uses partnerships to open school doors for girls
DAKAR, Senegal, 2 June 2005 – It is early in the morning and the school yard at Ndiarème B primary school on the outskirts of this city is already bustling. Girls and boys are busy sweeping dusty floors and filling plastic bottles with water for the flowerbeds outside their classrooms.
New schools and accelerated learning help Liberian students make up for lost time
BUANPLAY, Liberia, 25 May 2005 – Thirteen-year-old Kosaye is the oldest student in her first grade class. Because of Liberia’s 14-year civil war, children like Kosaye missed the vital years of their schooling. With the guns of war now silenced, many schools have finally reopened. Despite her classmates’ constant teasing about her age, Kosaye is determined to stay in school and finish her education.
Combat veteran goes door-to-door to get girls back to school
RUMBEK, Sudan, 1 June 2005 – For six years, Reuben Meen fought on the front lines of Africa’s longest-running civil war.
Children map a brighter future for schoolgirls in Uganda
KAMPALA, Uganda, 13 May 2005 – As the 2005 target for gender parity in primary and secondary education comes due, children across Uganda are busily charting their nation’s progress toward education for all.
‘But Can They Read’: Monitoring educational quality
NEW YORK, 9 May 2005 – On 5-6 May, experts from the World Bank, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNICEF gathered in New York for a workshop called ‘But Can They Read’. The goal was to discuss ways of monitoring educational quality for boys and girls throughout the world.
Bhutan: School shortage forces pupils to leave home
New York, 28 April 2005 - Chandra, 9, Tika, 8, and Lela, 7, are sisters attending Beteni Community School in the district of Tsirang in south-central Bhutan. Because their home is a 6-hour walk from the school, their father, a farmer, has built a small hut for them to live in during the week. The hut is near the school and is made of mud and sticks, with an iron sheet as the roof.
Pakistan: Frontier schools blaze a trail for girls’ education
ISLAMABAD, 25 April 2005 — The students of Pitao Banda Primary Feeder School are among the trailblazers for girls’ primary education in the remote hamlets that are scattered throughout the foothills of the Hindu Kush, in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province.
‘Girl-to-girl strategy’ helps girls stay in school in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 15 April 2005 – In Madagascar, UNICEF is advocating for girls’ education through an alliance with its most important partners: children.
Progress for Children: Despite gains, too many missing out on education
NEW YORK, 15 April 2005 - UNICEF’s latest Progress for Children report says that, while more girls worldwide are going to school, the gender gap in many regions is still unacceptably wide.
Traditional Chiefs encourage girls to go to school
TCHADI, Niger 15 April 2005 - The role of Niger’s Traditional Chiefs has evolved in modern times.
From a vicious to a positive cycle: Girls’ education in Senegal
DAKAR, Senegal, 14 April 2005 – Ndiarème B Primary School is in the poor outskirts of Dakar. The school’s director, Magatte Mbow, earnestly believes that every girl has a right to an education. When she discovered that 8-year-old Aissa was being prevented by her family from going to school, she decided to pay them a visit.
In Hafun, a girl's dream comes true
HAFUN, Somalia, 7 April 2005 – Nine-year old Faduma Farah Aden always wanted to go to school but never thought she would have the chance. Like most of the girls in Hafun, a fishing village in northeast Somalia, she was resigned to spending her days looking after sheep and fetching firewood. However, that all changed the day the Indian Ocean tsunami struck the Somalia coastline.
Indian girls demand equal access to education
NEW DELHI, India, 11 April 2005 – Girls in India are demanding greater, sustained support for equal access to a good education. At a workshop organised by UNICEF in the Indian capital New Delhi on 7 April a group of around fifty girls from seven Indian states came together to discuss and share their experiences of schooling.
Football boosts girls’ education
LABE, Guinea, 6 April 2005 – Guinean girls turned out for a national football tournament this week in a bid to beat the boys at their own game and boost girls’ education.
Communities unite around education in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia, 7 April 2005 - In war-torn Somalia, where a devastating civil conflict has fractured families and ravaged national institutions, communities are finding common cause in the drive for education for all.
World Premiere of UNICEF song
COPENHAGEN, 3 April 2005 - "Children First," a UNICEF song about the plight of children worldwide, premiered in Copenhagen during the opening ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen bicentenary celebration.
Empowering girls through education in India
New York, 4 April 2005 – The state of Bihar, India's poorest, is home to nearly 90 million people. Half of them live in conditions of extreme poverty. Key development indicators, such as those related to public health or literacy, are among the lowest in the nation.
Iraqi children still committed to education despite ongoing violence
Iraq, 31 March 2005 - At the end of each school day, Selma Abbas, a veteran Iraqi teacher, prays that she will see her students return safely the next day.
Campaign urges Afghan families to enrol their daughters in school
KABUL, Afghanistan, 21 March 2005 - A nationwide campaign promoting the value of girls’ education has begun across Afghanistan, as many parts of the country prepare for a new school year commencing at the end of March.
School enrolment in Darfur doubles despite deteriorating crisis
DARFUR, Sudan, 3 March 2005 - School enrolment in Darfur has more than doubled in the last six months. Children under 18 account for more than half of the displaced population in Darfur and UNICEF believes that providing education is a key to stabilizing their lives.
UNICEF brings education to indigenous children in Panama
CHIRIQI, Panama, 17 February 2005 - For many indigenous children in the Mironó district in rural Panama, education is a challenge that goes far beyond the demands of the classroom.
Promoting girls' education in Yemen
SANA'A, Yemen, 15 February 2005 - Getting access to education - even a primary school education – is one of the biggest challenges facing children, especially girls, in Yemen today. Nearly half of primary school age girls do not go to school. Two out of three women in Yemen are illiterate.
Andorra helps UNICEF accelerate girls' education in Eritrea
NEW YORK, 11 February 2005 – Foreign Minister of the Principality of Andorra Mr. Juli Minoves-Triquell today visited UNICEF to discuss the government’s relationship with UNICEF and to present a cheque for $16,834 to Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam.
Children given chance to resume education in Côte d’Ivoire
NEW YORK, 9 February 2005 - Thousands of children in Côte d’Ivoire may finally get the chance to take their exams following orders from the country’s prime minister Saydou Diarra. An ongoing civil conflict in the country has severely disrupted education, forcing schools to close and causing many teachers in the north to flee the region.
Community-based schools bring hope to Afghan girls
BAGRAMI, Afghanistan, 8 February 2005 - Eight-year old Zakira is a typical girl from Hussain Khel village in Bagrami district, north of Kabul. There were no schools near her village that she or her five siblings could attend.
Girls celebrated for determination to stay in school
MAHARASHTRA, India, 8 February 2005 - Communities in Maharashtra, in the western and central parts of India, are coming together to give special recognition to girls who manage to stay in school against all odds.
First Lady of Zambia: Clean water gets girls into school
NEW YORK, 7 February 2005 - The First Lady of Zambia, Maureen Mwanawasa, has founded a non-governmental organization in order to help improve conditions for children and women in her home country.
Children eager to return to schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
PORT BLAIR, India, 7 February 2005 - It is lunch time and the fragrance of cooked food is infusing the air with a sense of expectancy. People seem to have settled into camp life as uncomfortable as it is. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, food, water and sanitation were the primary concerns for survival; education did not figure as a priority. Now it is back at the forefront of parents’ and teachers’ minds.
Alternative education gives adults a second chance to learn
SAKTEN, Bhutan, 7 February 2005 - Eighteen-year-old Nim Dolma dropped out of school when she was in the fourth grade because her parents could no longer afford to educate her. But thanks to the Non-Formal Education Programme, established by the government of Bhutan in 1992 with the support of UNICEF, Nim has a second chance at an education.
Education and play help children leave the tsunami behind
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, 7 February 2005 - In Batticaloa, children describe last month’s tsunami as ‘the lunge of a striking cobra.’ Snakes are a familiar danger to Sri Lanka’s youngsters, and the devastating waves that struck last month seemed to transform their entire environment into a menace.
UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy visits Thailand
PHANG NGA, Thailand, 4 February 2005 - UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy was in southern Thailand on Friday visiting schools and coastal areas that were hard hit by December’s devastating tsunami.
European Commission grant boosts education in Somalia
NAIROBI, 3 February 2005 – A new €4.5 million grant (over $5.8 million) from the European Commission will help ensure that 80,000 more Somali girls and boys will be able to go to school.
Children go back to school in tsunami-affected countries
NEW YORK, 1 February 2005 – Many Thai schoolchildren are back at their desks one month after December’s devastating tsunami, but attendance is still low.
Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai to world’s children: ‘The sky is the limit!’
NEW YORK, 28 January 2005 – Professor Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004, recently spoke with UNICEF about her experiences empowering women and children in her native Kenya for more than 30 years.
Educating girls through important new initiatives
LONDON, England, 26 January 2005 - The United Kingdom has launched a new education strategy with a £1.4 billion pledge to help girls in developing nations get the education they need to improve their futures.
UNICEF and Nelson Mandela launch child-friendly schools programme
NEW YORK, 13 December 2004 – Nelson Mandela, UNICEF and the Hamburg Society for the Promotion of Democracy and International Law have together launched a worldwide campaign in order to build more schools in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ecuador’s ambitious education programme shows positive results
NEW YORK, 1 December 2004 -- UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy has praised the Ecuadorian government for its commitment to get more children to attend school.
International Literacy Day is 8 September 2004
International Literacy Day,8 September 2004, will focus the world’s attention on the millions of children and adults who do not have access to literacy programmes and suffer from lack of education.
World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2004
World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2004, will provide an opportunity for the international public to examine the critically important contributions that teachers make, both inside and outside the classroom. On this day, thousands of education professionals around the world will unite to ensure that the educational needs of future generations of schoolchildren are taken into account.
Makka and Chekhadine go back to school in a Chad Refugee Camp
KOUNONGO, 24 May 2004—From the dusty track, coming by car, the white surfaces of the school stand out brilliantly in the midst of the yellow-brown colour of the refugee camp of Kounoungo.
Where have all the school girls in Tajikistan gone? A new UNICEF supported survey explains…
30 April 2004, Dushanbe – Ministry of Education officials, teachers, representatives from a parents and teachers association, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and school children attended a two-day conference (27 and 28 April) at the Central In-service Training Institute in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The State of the World’s Children 2007
Click here to see the multimedia version
Photo essay: The double dividend of gender equality
Press release: Empower women to help children
UNICEF flagship report focuses on women and children [with video]
In China, a mother lifts her family from poverty [with video]
Girls’ education in a Djibouti village [with video]
Opportunities for ‘untouchable’ women in Nepal
Opening doors for women in Nicaragua
Reaching women in remote Ethiopia [with audio]
Political clout empowers women in Madagascar [with video]
A new life for widowers in Sri Lanka
SOWC 2007: Women and Children – The double dividend of gender equality (publication)
