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Gender equality in education: Digging beyond the obvious 2021-07-22 Young girls in class in the Kaduna region of Nigeria. When we talk about gender inequality in education, we first think about the barriers to schooling for girls and young women. And for good reason: three-quarters of the children who are at risk of never going to school are girls. Yet disparities exist in other dimensions of education, sometimes to the detriment of boys. To reduce them, IIEP-UNESCO favours an intersectional approach, which looks at gender through all other forms of discrimination and social exclusion. Here is how it works. Globally, progress towards gender parity in schools has been significant over the past 25 years. According to UNESCO data, the number of girls enrolled in primary and secondary school has increased by 180 million over this period, including 69 million in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet girls and young women still face the most severe forms of exclusion, which are the result of several cumulative factors. Among them are socio-economic status, place of residence, ethnicity, religion, and living with a disability. As a result, nine million girls aged 6 to 11 will never go to school worldwide, compared to about three million boys. Poverty, rurality and intersecting inequalities The recent Education Sector Analysis (ESA) of Sierra Leone shows that only 5% of poor, rural girls complete secondary school, compared to 68% of urban boys from better-off backgrounds. This high vulnerability of rural girls has also been observed in Nigeria. These two recent gender-sensitive ESAs are part of the Priority to Equality Initiative, the technical component of which is led by the IIEP-UNESCO Africa Office. Beyond the issue of schooling, gender inequalities are manifested in other components of education, such as learning or school guidance. Two types of obstacles are generally distinguished. On the one hand, are those related to the educational offer, which are directly related to education systems, policies, or schools. On the other hand, are those related to the demand for education, i.e. the obstacles inherent in families, children, and society at large. Ultimately, all these factors are linked and impact each other. What about boys? Contrary to popular belief, gender disparities in education also weigh on boys. The social expectation for young men to earn an income can lead them to drop out of school before the end of lower secondary school. They may even never attend school to help their families. In Sierra Leone, 67% of boys who drop out of school do so for economic reasons, compared to 53% of girls, according to the ESA. In Nigeria, food shortages during the rainy season and armed conflict in some areas are seen as additional barriers to boys' retention and completion. Addressing the weight of social gender norms Around the world, IIEP observes the growing political and legal commitment of countries to gender equality in education. While early pregnancy and early marriage are among the leading factors in girls' dropout from secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa, many states have recently lifted bans that previously prevented pregnant girls from attending classes. Sierra Leone and Mozambique, for example, did so in 2020. This is an example of a significant step towards more inclusive education. "However, the presence of entrenched gender norms at the local level, combined with weak institutional capacity, can hamper the implementation of gender policies and strategies in education," explains Fabricia Devignes, Head of the Gender at the Centre Initiative at IIEP-UNESCO Africa Office. Social gender norms are the set of implicit ideas, stereotypes, and rules that consciously or unconsciously dictate how a person should supposedly be and act, depending on whether they are a woman, man, girl, or boy. These norms manifest themselves, for example, through an unspoken rule that men should be strong and financially support their families. Or through the conditioning of boys' educational orientation towards technological and scientific paths, and less towards 'care' professions, for example (personal services, health and social work), associated with lower salaries. In Niger, only 6% of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates are women. Schools can play a key role in challenging these gender norms, the impact of which can have serious consequences for children's education and women's economic empowerment. But it can also reinforce and reproduce them, if education policies and systems are not based on the principles of gender equality. "In education, we see significant differences in the treatment of girls and boys, linked to socio-economic realities, ethnicity, vulnerability to conflict, or gender norms. Taking these specificities into account is a way to produce more comprehensive and effective education sector analyses and plans.Fabricia Devignes, Head of the Gender at the Centre Initiative at IIEP-UNESCO Africa Office Gender-responsive education planning: What conditions, what solutions? Gender-sensitive educational planning is not limited to the formulation of strategies to combat gender inequalities. It must take into account the weight of gender norms and social roles in both process and content. In addition to IIEP's support for the whole process of gender-sensitive planning, strengthening the gender sensitivity of budgets is one of the technical levers promoted by the Institute to the member countries of the Gender at the Centre Initiative. This approach ensures that investments in the education sector advance gender equality. IIEP also works with countries on gender mainstreaming within education administrations. The aim is to strengthen their capacity to introduce gender into their operations in a systematic and considered way. This includes building the capacity of all staff in ministries of education on gender issues at all levels. It may also involve increasing the representation of women in senior positions in ministries of education. URL:http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/gender-equality-education-digging-beyond-obvious-13854 
UNESCO convenes world education ministers to relaunch global cooperation for accelerated progress 2021-07-19 Over 85 education ministers and leaders of the international education community endorsed a reform to improve global cooperation in education to better respond to the grave and lingering learning disruption caused by COVID-19 and to put education at the center of political agendas. The ministerial segment of the Global Education Meeting, organized by UNESCO on the sidelines of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum, sent a powerful message about the joint commitment of countries, of multilateral, bilateral and regional organizations, of civil society, the teaching profession, and students and youth themselves, to embark on a new path towards acceleration of the 2030 Agenda. At the beginning of the meeting, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay recalled the need for more effective international collaboration in the area of education: “we need a Global Coordination Mechanism that is more agile, more efficient and more focused on shared priorities’’. Ministers commended UNESCO’s leadership in leading consultations to improve the global education cooperation mechanism over the past eight months. The proposal to reset the existing mechanism aims to create a better policy environment to drive recovery and accelerate countries’ progress towards SDG4. The Director-General called for improved action in three education priority areas: collecting and sharing more and better data; investing more and investing better in education; and streamlining and strengthening international cooperation. To improve coordination in the area of data, UNESCO announced the establishment of a Global Education Observatory that will provide Member States and the international community with a gateway to education-related data and up-to-date information on education policy practices and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting saw the launch of the UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank-OECD Survey on national education responses to COVID-19 covering 142 countries. The Survey finds that around one in three countries where schools are or have been closed is not yet implementing remedial programmes post-COVID-19 school closures. During the meeting, education ministers shared their innovative responses in transforming their education systems amid the crisis, as well as the immense challenges that still remain. Many ministers emphasized the importance of skills to adapt to an increasingly digital and globalized environment, build resilience to future shocks and to steer the transition towards green societies. “There is urgent need to develop human resources that will be the driving force for social transformation,” said Koichi Hagiuda, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and co-chair of the current SDG-Education Steering Committee. The Minister emphasized the importance of education for sustainable development and its role in helping individuals and societies respond to future shocks. “We know that by working more coherently together, our collective efforts will be more effective in accompanying countries to accelerate towards SDG4 in the Decade of Action,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. As part of the reformed Global Education Cooperation Mechanism, a High-level Steering Committee will be established at the Global Education Meeting, that will be chaired by France and scheduled for November 2021, on the fringe of UNESCO’s General Conference and the Paris Peace Forum, as announced by the French Education Minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, who said that education required massive investments and a universal vision. Chaired by the UNESCO Director-General and a Head of Government, the High-level Steering Committee will provide strategic guidance, review progress, and make recommendations on priorities, monitor and advocate for adequate financing, and encourage harmonization and coordination of partner activities. “The commitments you make here will only have meaning if they are acted on - by putting education once again at the top of the political agenda,” said Ms Azoulay. Media Contact: Clare O’Hagan, + +33 145 68 17 29 URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-convenes-world-education-ministers-relaunch-global-cooperation-accelerated-progress 
Forum international de politique éducative de l'IIPE-UNESCO : « L'enseignement supérieur doit s'adapter aux besoins des personnes » 2021-07-19 Flexible learning pathways (FLPs) are an important new policy direction in higher education systems worldwide. As the sector rapidly expands and students become more diverse, FLPs support students with everything from getting in to getting out of higher education. They can also help address equity and fairness, and prepare students for the realities of a changing world. New directions in higher education How to support flexibility for students in higher education was the focus of IIEP-UNESCO’s recent online International Policy Forum. From 6-8 July 2021, policy-makers, experts, and researchers from over 80 countries discussed how to improve the effectiveness of FLPs in a series of panels and parallel workshops.The forum was also an opportunity to share new research findings from IIEP’s multi-year international study on flexible learning pathways in higher education to advance the United Nation’s Education 2030 Agenda. Exploring the broad question of how national policies influence institutional practices to foster flexibility, the research zoned in on experiences from Chile, Finland, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Morocco, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. “Higher education remains central to IIEP’s research to deliver on the global Sustainable Development Goals. Today, we are ready to share and discuss the findings with a truly international public of policy-makers.” -- Paul Coustère, Director a.i, IIEP The global picture Occurring amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Policy Forum was an opportunity to discuss the rapid, global change facing the sector, as well as where it will go next. It also showed how prescient FLPs are: evidence is increasingly showing that institutions that already embraced flexibility were better equipped to face the crisis, which has affected some 220 million post-secondary students worldwide. “Higher education institutions that have been offering flexible approaches in the delivery of education are better equipped to respond to crisis. We need higher education systems that can accommodate these new realities.” -- Michaela Martin, Team Leader a.i, Research and Development, IIEP Aside from the current crisis, FLPs can help higher education institutions adapt to other global shifts. For example, the ongoing industrial revolution – and the development of artificial intelligence – requires a radical new approach to upskilling and reskilling, and therefore a more flexible approach to accessing higher education than taking part in full degree programmes. “There is a need for most of the working population to have their qualifications upgraded and skills as well as knowledge enhanced in line with the industrial 4.0 revolution.” -- Noraini Ahmad, Honourable Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia To help facilitate this, Institutions must embrace new technological developments to facilitate flexibility in terms of where, when, and how students learn. The current COVID-19 crisis advanced the practice of online learning; however, major questions still stand. How can FLPs truly benefit all students and ensure the relevance of higher education for years to come? Moreover, as IIEP’s Martin said, “the challenge now is to move from remote teaching to quality e-learning.” “Higher education is expanding in all world regions. However, it has been done at the expense of the most vulnerable. Not all segments can benefit from higher education.” -- Francesc Pedró, the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Supporting entry to higher education Diverse entry pathways are one of the most important ways to support the policy objective to improve availability and accessibility of higher education. To broaden access, successful recognized prior learning (RPL), for example, needs both national policies, funding and institutional investment. The variety of open universities, open studies, MOOCs, and micro-credentials shared during the Forum illustrated how to widen access and develop skills in new, shorter, and more accessible yet certified formats. “The time has come for micro-credentials. There is a demand for new competencies. People need to train, and retrain. We need to find new access to higher education and avoid this meritocracy trap.” -- Peter van der Hijden, Higher Education Strategy Advisor, Brussels, Belgium. However, quality assurance and recognition remain a challenge in many countries. And, with the proliferation of programme options, better information and individualized support is needed to help students make informed study choices and reorient when needed. Technology-based solutions Technology-enhanced learning empowers students to have choices in the pace, place, and mode of delivery. As mentioned, the pandemic has accelerated this shift to online learning at momentous speed. While its impact is still being explored, one thing is for sure: this mode of learning is here to stay. Therefore, moving from remote teaching to quality e-learning and defining quality standards for it is indispensable. Addressing disparities in technological access and recognition of online learning are also a work in progress, and the latter requires quality assurance in the same manner as face-to-face learning that will need to be organized between institutions, governments, and quality assurance agencies. Flexible progression through higher education Transfer policies in higher education are necessary to allow students to reorient their studies and increase their chances of succeeding in higher education. To help foster seamless transfers and recognized prior learning processes, national qualifications frameworks aligned with quality assurance will play a fundamental role. Guidance during one’s study, flexibility in the pace of learning, and combining work-based learning and traditional study are useful ways to adapt to the needs of diverse learners. “As the road to higher education can no longer be confined to only one pathway, diversification should be the new practice. Students need to be able to decide which course they want to embark in and when and where they want to study.” -- Mazlan Yusof, Secretary General, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia The way forward Higher education is a sector on the move, constantly evolving and adapting to changing realities, whether it be in what students want to learn or what the job market demands. Going forward – even when the current crisis subsides – flexibility will remain the policy target. “We need to stop and think and change. Today’s universities are not the same as yesterdays. It is not just about bachelors or masters, that is over, that is last century. We need to think about what people need.” -- Peter Wells, Chief of Higher Education Section, UNESCO Only by embracing change, and letting go of what higher education may have looked like in the past, will the sector remain relevant, equitable, resilient, cutting-edge, and a means for people to lead fruitful lives and contribute meaningfully to society. The challenge now is to strengthen governance and instruments that further enhance flexibility, and to balance regulation and quality standards with autonomy to create the higher education systems of tomorrow. The event was a collaborative effort between IIEP, the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility, the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, the Department of Higher Education (JPT), the Universiti Sains Malaysia, the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, and the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO. URL:http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/higher-education-needs-adapt-peoples-needs-iiep-international-policy-forum-13849 
Insecurity in northern Mozambique continues to forcibly displace thousands 2021-07-11 This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains gravely concerned for the safety of civilians in northern Mozambique as armed conflict and insecurity in the coastal city of Palma continues to displace thousands of people, two and a half months after a brutal attack by non-state armed groups. People are fleeing daily in a desperate search for safety both in Mozambique and across the border in Tanzania. Those fleeing have told UNHCR staff that the situation in Palma remains very unstable, with regular gunfire at night and torching of houses. Some 70,000 people have fled Palma since 24 March, bringing the total number of displaced in Cabo Delgado province to nearly 800,000 according to humanitarian estimates. UNHCR continues to advocate for the internally displaced to receive protection and assistance in Mozambique and for vulnerable people seeking safety in neighbouring Tanzania to access asylum. The ongoing insecurity has forced thousands of families to seek refuge in the south of Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces. The districts of Nangade, Mueda, Montepuez, Ancuabe, Metuge, Balama, Namuno, Chiure, Mecufi, Ibo and Pemba continue to register new arrivals every day. Thousands of others are reported to be stranded in very insecure areas around Palma with restricted humanitarian access. However, UNHCR and partner agencies were recently allowed access to some remote areas to help displaced people living in dire conditions. UNHCR continues to work with partners to assess their needs and provide life-saving assistance. We have distributed relief items to some 10,000 displaced people. Many others have attempted to cross the river that marks the border with Tanzania to seek international protection. According to Mozambican border authorities, more than 9,600 of them have been forcibly returned through the Negomano border point since January this year. Some 900 were pushed back into Mozambique in just a few days from 7 to 9 June. UNHCR teams have been supporting people arriving in a desperate condition, many separated from their family members. Those pushed back from Tanzania end up in a dire situation at the border and are exposed to gender-based violence and health risks as many are sleeping in the open at night in extreme cold without blankets or a roof over their heads. There is an urgent need for emergency relief items including food. UNHCR reiterates its call for those fleeing the conflict to have access to territory and asylum, and, in particular, for the principle of non-refoulement (no forced return) to be respected. Refugees must not be forced back into danger. URL:https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2021/6/60c312e94/insecurity-northern-mozambique-continues-forcibly-displace-thousands.html#_ga=2.75711645.982380942.1625975801-329418574.1625975801 
Seven ways to change the world 2021-07-04 Convened by UN Women, co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, together with civil society and youth, the Generation Equality Forum is taking place in Paris, from 30 June to 2 July. Here’s how it’s set to be catalytic and action-oriented, unveiling major investments, programmes, and policies that accelerate progress on women’s rights. Equal rights and opportunities for all people, of all genders, everywhere. It’s not a new vision, but still a bold one, as no country in the world has achieved gender equality in all aspects of life. Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 3.7 million lives globally and created and exacerbated a gender equality crisis. Even before COVID-19, almost one in three women worldwide experienced abuse; during the pandemic, calls to helplines increased five-fold in some countries. The World Economic Forum estimates that at the current rate of progress, women will not achieve pay or leadership equity with men for at least another 135.6 years. The upcoming Generation Equality Forum in Paris, from 30 June – 2 July, is an inflection point to confront the gender equality crisis and spur major investments, policy, and programmes to advance gender equality and women’s rights. Convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, in partnership with youth and civil society, the Forum will bring together governments, feminist leaders, youth, and change makers from every sector, to announce trailblazing gender equality investments, programmes, and policies. It will mark the beginning of a five-year action journey led by six Action Coalitions and a Compact on Women, Peace and Security, and Humanitarian Action. Together, the Action Coalitions and the Compact have identified the most catalytic actions and targets needed to make irreversible progress by 2026. For instance, policies that recognize, reduce, and redistribute care work and create an additional 80 million decent care jobs; laws that protect 550 million more women and girls from gender-based violence; and doubling the proportion of women working in technology and innovation, while increasing investment in gender-responsive climate solutions.As we head towards the Paris Forum, here are seven ways to change the world, and find out how you can #ActForEqual. 1. End gender-based violence Putting an end to gender-based violence is essential for fulfilling the vision of a gender-equal world. An estimated 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life. What needs to change? More governments must ratify international and regional conventions that prohibit all forms of gender-based violence, and strengthen, implement, and finance evidence-driven laws, policies, and action plans. “Everyone agrees that women’s rights organizations need to receive better funding,” says Céline Bonnaire, Executive Director of the Kering Foundation and a member of the Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence. “But when you have a look at where the money goes, women and girl-lead organizations are receiving just seven per cent of the global philanthropic funding.” That’s why the Action Coalition on ending gender-based violence is focused on increasing the amount of quality, flexible funding from governments, private sector, and other donors to girl-led and women’s organizations, as well as the broader need to scale-up and improve survivor-centred services. “Everyone has a role to play in putting an end to violence against women,” says Bonnaire. “I want a future where there are no more women that have to be survivors of violence.” 2. Guarantee economic justice and rights Women and girls are particularly disadvantaged in social protection systems. The gender gap in labour force participation has not shifted in 30 years, stagnating at 31 per cent. Young women, aged 15-29, are three times more likely to be outside the labour force and schools than young men. Transforming the care economy is one key component of guaranteeing economic justice and rights for women and girls everywhere. Women spend, on average, triple the amount of time performing unpaid care and domestic work that men do, so it is essential that labour rights reward and represent care workers. Pay equity and decent work must become the norm. Diane Ndarbawa, President of Manki Maroua, an association of girl-child mothers in Cameroon, and a member of the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights, says, “Legal change is needed urgently because it will significantly speed up progress on gender equality and contribute to economic justice, as well as safeguard this progress in the long term.” Supporting organizations that work with local communities, such as those offering expertise and financial backing to girls and women entrepreneurs, is another key action to drive progress, says Ndarbawa. “We want to make our voices heard… so that [women] have access to decent work, a professional career, a business—and so they are not left behind,” she stresses. 3. Ensure bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights Empowering women and girls to exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights and make autonomous decisions about their own bodies free from coercion, violence, and discrimination is an urgent need and critical to achieving a gender-equal world. Worldwide, 45 per cent of girls and women, aged 15-49, who are married or in unions cannot make decisions about their own bodies, such as deciding about contraception or saying no to sex. Further, women and girls in humanitarian emergencies face specific and exacerbated challenges—60 per cent of maternal deaths happen in countries affected by humanitarian crisis or fragile conditions. The upcoming Generation Equality Forum in Paris is discussing key solutions, such as expanding comprehensive sexuality education and increasing the quality of and access to contraceptive services for millions more adolescent girls and women by 2026. The Action Coalition on Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is also focused on ensuring that, in five years’ time, 50 million more adolescent girls and women live in jurisdictions where they can access safe and legal abortion. “For us, bodily autonomy is not just about removing individual friction in securing services, but also about shifting the broader market systems within which decisions are taken about what services to provide for whom and where,” says Kate Hampton, CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Action Coalition member. Central to this effort is placing the perspectives and needs of women and girls at the centre of decision-making, rather than treating them as an afterthought, says Hampton. 4. Feminist action for climate justiceA changing climate affects everyone, but it’s the world’s poorest and those in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, who bear the brunt of environmental, economic, and social shocks and face greater health and safety risks. Yet, women and girls are underrepresented in advancing climate justice across all levels and sectors, and climate interventions fail to adequately account for women’s and girls’ realities in climate crises, such as violence, healthcare needs, fraught economic resilience, and unpaid care and domestic work. Joanita Babirye, from Uganda, is the Co-founder of Girls for Climate Action and member of the Action Coalition on Feminist Action for Climate Justice, and she knows this reality firsthand. “I grew up in a community where women and girls interact with the environment every day for food, income, and to take care of their households,” she shares. “We started having to travel longer distances to look for water. We noticed that changes to the seasons were having a negative impact on agriculture, which made us increasingly concerned.” Babirye felt that something had to be done to further feminist action for climate justice, so she joined forces with other Action Coalition members from around the world to increase direct access to financing for gender-just climate solutions, enable women and girls to lead a just transition to a green economy, and increase the collection and use of data on gender and the environment. “Women and girls should be able to demand climate justice, but this is only possible when they are equipped with the tools and knowledge to hold everyone accountable,” says Babirye. “The transformation needed is to make women and girls fully aware of the issues and leaders of the solutions.” 5. Foster technology and innovation for gender equalityWhat would the world look like if women and girls had equal opportunities to access, use, lead, and design technology and innovation? This question is central to the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality, which is set to bridge the gender digital divide across generations, double the proportion of women working in technology and innovation, and eliminate online gender-based violence. Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova, a champion for women and girls in STEM and leader of Kyrgyzstan’s first Space Programme, believes that investing in feminist technology and innovation is a key part of building an inclusive and accountable future. “We encounter many negative comments that this programme will fail because girls and women are engaged in it. People do not even consider any other factors such as lack of funding and infrastructure,” she says. To level the playing field for women and girls, the diverse partners that make up the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation are proposing concrete steps to widen innovation ecosystems, embed transparency and accountability in digital technology, and expand inclusive digital economies. “We need…to break the glass ceiling and expand opportunities for women and girls in science,” says Batyrkanova, who works to promote STEM education for young women and girls, including courses on soldering, 3D-modeling, and 3D-printing. “We want to show by our own example that girls are capable of anything, even reaching for the stars,” she shares. 6. Invest in feminist movements and leadershipWithout increased action to advance feminist movements and leadership, we are far from achieving gender parity in political life. At the current rate of progress, equal gender representation will not be achieved in national legislative bodies until 2063. Feminist leaders, including trans, intersex and nonbinary people, indigenous women, young feminists, and other historically excluded people, have vital contributions to make today. “I find it problematic that, even in 2021, we still need to justify why women can and should be leaders,” says Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, an economist from Botswana, leader, and member of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. “A lot of work has been done since the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Why should I now, 26 years later, still have to justify my position in leadership?” she asks. “Feminist organizations are on the front lines in their communities as we have seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been supporting the poorest and most vulnerable, fighting and advocating to ensure that those dependent upon on services, such as women’s shelters, can continue to have access. These are the people on the ground who are making change happen on a day-to-day basis, and we must support them,” says Karina Gould, Minister of International Development at the Government of Canada, and member of the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership. “Canada signed up to co-lead the Action Coalition because it recognizes that investing in feminist movements and feminist leaders is critical for advancing gender equality”, says Minister Gould. “We see challenges and barriers to feminist movements and leadership that we want to help mitigate,” she adds. “A big challenge is funding. Less than one per cent of development assistance goes towards feminist organizations. We simply need more.” Motivated by the same sentiments as Minister Gould, the Action Coalition on Advancing Feminist Movements and Leadership are putting forth actions to fund and support diverse feminist activists, organizations, and civic space for feminist action. By 2026, the Coalition aims to advance the leadership and decision-making power of women, girls, and nonbinary people around the world. 7. Put women in the heart and at the helm of peace, security, and humanitarian actionTwo decades have passed since the landmark UN Security Council resolution 1325 was adopted, enshrining the role of women in securing and maintaining peace. Peace and equitable crisis response and disaster prevention are prerequisites for health, human security, and sustainable development. As we convene for the Paris Forum, some two billion people are living in countries affected by conflict, another billion are caught up in protracted crises, and millions more face the ever growing threat of climate change. Even in the midst of COVID-19, guns were not silenced, and women continued their efforts to keep peace or act as first responders, often without much recognition or resources. In conflict-affected countries, women’s representation in COVID-19 taskforces stands at a low 18 per cent. Although evidence shows that when women are at the negotiating table, peace agreements are more likely to last 15 years or longer, on average, women made up only 13 per cent of negotiators, six per cent of mediators, and six per cent of signatories in major peace processes between 1992 and 2019. The policies and measures to change this are already in place, but implementation and investment is lacking, in women as peacebuilders, front-line humanitarian workers, and human rights defenders. At the Generation Equality Forum in Paris, a diverse coalition will announce how they plan to accelerate implementation of the agenda. “Women and young people have a profound understanding of their countries’ peace and security situation, gender and power relations, and humanitarian needs, because they live this reality every single day,” says Mavic Cabrera Balleza, Founder and CEO of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, which is part of the Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action. Balleza and the many diverse partners engaged in developing the Compact will leverage existing peace and security and humanitarian frameworks to dismantle discriminatory barriers and promote the protection of women's rights and the work of women peacebuilders, front-line responders, and women human rights defenders. After more than 30 governments, United Nations entities, and global civil society organizations sign the Compat at the Forum, signatories are expected to implement these actions and report on progress over the next five years. “When local populations are able to shape the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security and humanitarian agendas, it becomes inclusive, participatory, intersectional, and it fosters strong ownership,” says Balleza. “This is what we need to prioritize to effectively respond to the violent conflicts, the pandemic, and other humanitarian crises.” You can #ActforEqual 2021 can be a landmark year for gender equality if we #ActForEqual and step up for gender equality. Register for the Generation Equality Forum by 27 June 2021 to join the multi-actor and inter-generational gathering and follow UN Women on social media to stay up to date with Forum news. To learn more about each Action Coalition’s commitments, see the Forum’s microsite for commitment making. URL:https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2021/6/feature-seven-ways-to-change-the-world 
Students take on global challenges during virtual AI hackathon 2021-07-03 UNESCO YouthMobile and Microsoft have partnered to host the Imagine Cup Junior Virtual AI Hackathon, a practical journey into digital literacy on the theme “AI for Earth”. From 18 to 20 June 2021, high-school students from Europe, the Middle East and Africa engaged in an intensive online experience to understand what AI is, learn how to adapt to a constantly changing intelligence landscape, and build the skills they need to take ethical control of the development and use of AI. Following the highly successful All-Girls hackathon earlier this year, the event aimed at emphasizing the impact that AI can have on the future of our planet: the practical exercises and real-life examples used during the event all focused on the use of AI to better understand and address sustainability, particularly climate change and the loss of biodiversity. These issues are all relevant to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognize the importance of tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. The hackathon culminated in a design challenge, where participants from Egypt, Russian Federation, Spain, Romania, Ireland, Nigeria, Morocco and Oman worked in teams to envision an AI solution to a real-world problem that would benefit the Earth. A panel of judges ultimately awarded 4 ideas: Team Autonomus from Egypt proposed a project that would enable governments and wildlife organizations to track elephant populations using a combination of acoustic sensors, bioacoustics recorders, camera traps and aerial imagery. Team Regression from Egypt exposed a solution to protect elders who live alone during emergency situations, in which they are unable to call for help, through an AI supervised learning and classification to correctly identify an emergency. Team Gauss from Romania worked on preservation of tiger subspecies by tracking tigers through social media and using classification for discerning pictures. Team Binary from Russian Federation proposed to mitigate the effects of the ongoing pandemic by developing an AI that can predict the degree of congestion in various areas, letting users know which high-risk places they need to avoid. I really enjoyed this Hackathon, I expected it to be harder than what we actually do but I learned things that I can’t learn at school in a “magic, interesting and unseen” way. This Hackathon showed me what I really want to do with my life and that I can actually do a lot of things that I like. It was a pleasant experience and I can’t wait to learn new things and participate to the next Hackathon.-- One of the participating students Supported by their teachers and by mentors volunteers, students started their journey by learning how to think like a programmer, break down a problem into a precise sequence of instructions, and create coding solutions that include sequences, events, loops and conditionals. On the second day, students were driven through the history of AI – from the first conceptualization of an automaton in the Greek myth of Talos to the super AIs of today. They learned about the pioneers who first defined what constitutes an AI and were shown the difference between narrow, general and super AIs. There were discussions on ethics and the responsible use of AI before moving on to more technical insights and machine learning techniques. Finally, to prepare for the design challenge, they underwent a series of exercises exploring various applications of AI in the context of sustainability. Using their knowledge of regression, classification and clustering, students were able to work in various tools and languages to solve a series of challenges, including predicting water consumption, deciding which is the best place to plant trees, and saving endangered species like penguins or the elusive snow leopard. UNESCO leverages young people’s digital creativity to shape solutions for the world. In today’s world, becoming digitally literate requires to further explore, understand, push limits and learn complex skills, such as the basics of AI. Equipped with digital skills, young people could develop digital solutions to address local challenges, supporting themselves and their communities. In consideration of recent developments in the social and digital domains, including artificial intelligence, privacy issues, the increasing importance of social competencies such as digital citizenship and education for sustainable development, UNESCO recently launched its updated curriculum on media and information literacy: “Think critically, Click Wisely: Media and Information Literate Citizens”. The event was a contribution to the Global Education Coalition, launched by UNESCO in 2020, which brings together more than 175 members from the UN family, civil society, academia and the private sector to ensure that #LearningNeverStops. Related links UNESCO YouthMobile UNESCO's programme on Media and Information Literacy Girls design artificial intelligence solutions during virtual hackathon held by Microsoft and UNESCO UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition Keeping girls in the picture campaign #LearningNeverStops UNESCO’s work on education and gender equality Artificial intelligence in education Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) ICT in Education URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/students-take-global-challenges-during-virtual-ai-hackathon 
UNESCO makes commitments to key-drivers to gender equality: education, science and culture 2021-07-02 As the world meets at the Generation Equality Forum, UNESCO is launching a set of concrete commitments to achieve tangible progress towards gender equality in key areas over the next five years while COVID-19 has magnified deeply rooted structural gender inequalities: On Girls’ Education, UNESCO will continue to lead a multi-stakeholder global coalition to support girls’ education in the wake of COVID-19, reaching 28 million learners in more than 80 countries with quality gender-transformative teaching and learning that promotes gender equality; On Technology and Innovation, UNESCO will work to close the digital gender divide, empower women scientists, and promote the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence which is free of gender bias and sexism. UNESCO will, for example, enable 10,000 women physicists to take leadership roles and provide access to at least 10,000 girls in Africa to studies on microscience; On Creativity, UNESCO will work to economically empower women artists and those working in the creative industries in Africa, by improving their access to audiences, funds, social protection schemes and increasing the number of creative industries enterprises owned and led by women, while promoting women’s rights to create, free of violence, sexism, and sexual harassment. Gender Equality is a global priority for UNESCO that cuts across its fields of competence: education, science, culture and communication. Gender equality cannot be achieved without concrete measures. Access to education for women and girls is a priority for UNESCO. Among other efforts, we are strengthening their access to scientific training where they are still under-represented. Our work also focuses on culture, where women’s representations are essential and where they are the most affected by the pandemic.-- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO Although women have been on the front lines of the crisis, they are suffering sever backlashes. In education, 767 million young women and girls were impacted by school closures and 11 million may never return to class, joining the 132 million who were already out of school before the crisis struck. From the economic perspective, the recession is pushing 47 million more women and girls into poverty, destroying their economic independence and making them more vulnerable to gender-based discrimination and violence. We must ensure that progress achieved by countries around the world is sustained notably in education, where, according to a new UNESCO report, girls’ primary school completion rates have reached 87%, almost 20 percentage points more than 25 years ago. Women still face all too many obstacles in science, despite the brilliant success of researchers like Kati Kariko, from Hungary, who contributed significantly to the creation of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine against coronavirus. UNESCO’s data shows that women make up only one out of three scientific researchers although they constitute 45 to 55% of all university students and 44% of PhD students. Only 3% of female higher education students, however, choose to study information and communication technologies. This is why UNESCO funds young women PhD researchers through its Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World. It also provides STEM mentorship programmes for high school girls to nurture their interest in the sciences through role models and provides courses in coding, robotics and Artificial Intelligence. UNESCO further promotes the careers of young women scientists and gives visibility to their achievements through the annual UNESCO/L'Oréal For Women in Science Award. Since 1998, more than 3,600 women scientists have been recognized, 3,500 Young Rising Talents, PhD candidates and post-doctorates, were supported through financial support and leadership training. In addition, 117 Laureates have been honored for their excellence in science, including five who have gone on to win a scientific Nobel Prize. In the field of culture, UNESCO’s recent publication Gender & Creativity: Progress on the Precipice, analyses the gender gaps in the cultural and creative industries where women artists and creators continue to face unequal access to decent work, unfair remuneration, marginalization, as well as limited access to information and communication technologies. Related links: UNESCO Priority Gender Equality UNESCO Report: “I’d blush if I could” URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-makes-commitments-key-drivers-gender-equality-education-science-and-culture 
Appel à articles : « Les modes d’engagement des jeunes, dans et hors l’école, en contexte de crise. » 2021-06-30 Jean-Charles Buttier, Stéphanie Demers, Aurélie De Mestral, Charles Heimberg et David Lefrançois Argumentaire La polysémie de la notion d’engagement telle qu’elle est mobilisée autour de la question scolaire et dans le contexte de l’école oscille entre inculcation et ouverture de possibles, ce qui en fait une question discutée. L’engagement des jeunes relève parfois d’une adhésion à des valeurs prônées par l’école. Il peut également s’exprimer en dehors de l’école et s’orienter vers une critique de l’idéologie dominante qui prévaut dans la société. Il est dès lors nécessaire d’articuler les visions normatives et émancipatrices de l’engagement pour comprendre comment ces conceptions antinomiques s’articulent dans et hors l’école, en tenant compte aussi de ce qui distingue la fin de la scolarité obligatoire de l’enseignement secondaire ultérieur. La pluralité des acceptions de la notion d’engagement (éthique, sociologique, psychologique, etc.) témoigne des multiples références mobilisées par l’éducation à la citoyenneté (histoire, sociologie, philosophie, science politique, droit, géographie, etc.). L’analyse des engagements devient alors un angle d’attaque pertinent pour étudier les contenus et modalités didactiques développés dans le domaine de l’éducation à la citoyenneté, une « discipline » hybride qui demeure constamment en construction. Bien que datant de 2015, l’Enseignement moral et civique en France a ainsi fait l’objet d’analyses qui montrent son caractère pluriel et controversé (Kahn, 2015 ; Desmery, 2020). Cette notion peut concerner les élèves, mais aussi les enseignant-es (sur le plan professionnel, syndical, politique, etc.), et surtout rassembler sous le même terme des engagements multiples (civique, social, politique, scolaire, etc.). Le lien entre engagements et école recèle nombre d’ambiguïtés, notamment celle de l’injonction prescriptive, c’est-à-dire la distinction de bons et de mauvais engagements, et des acteurs et actrices qui la déterminent. En témoigne par exemple la virulence des réactions actuelles face à l’engagement d’une lycéenne dans un combat contre le réchauffement climatique, faisant face à des critiques genrées, mais aussi quant à sa jeunesse et son statut d’« écolière ». Dans la même veine, les interrogations que soulève le statut de la grève dans un contexte scolaire sont une preuve de la dimension sensible de ces questions. Les engagements de la jeunesse dans des contextes nationaux variés sont un sujet de premier plan à l’heure des grèves pour le climat ou des luttes féministes, même si ces mouvements d’ampleur planétaire ont subi une réorganisation du fait du contexte pandémique actuel. Cette crise sanitaire interroge d’ailleurs les relations entre les générations ainsi que les engagements subis ou choisis de la jeunesse. L’enjeu central de cet appel à articles est ainsi de questionner la pluralité des engagements provoqués ou attendus à l’école et hors de l’école et de comprendre la relation entre injonction normative et promotion de l’émancipation. Diverses catégories de références sont mobilisables pour penser l’engagement à l’école :- Dans la perspective de la mise en œuvre d’une école émancipatrice (Freire, 1983 [1968]) qui ne soit pas fondée sur la simple prescription de valeurs qui se vident de leur dimension politique pour se réduire à de simples civilités, il s’agira de réfléchir aux conditions (pédagogiques mais aussi organisationnelles) qui permettent aux élèves d’exercer une réflexionautonome, notamment par le biais de l’examen de problèmes de société susceptibles de les engager en tant que sujets agissants. La notion d’émancipation (Freire, 1983 [1968] ; Garnier, 2014) est intimement liée à cette pluralité des formes d’agentivité des élèves et interroge sa signification du point de vue de leur autonomie d’action et de pensée, mais également de la reconnaissance (Honneth, 2000) de cette autonomie par les adultes.- Reinhart Koselleck (2000 [1979]) a également mis en lumière l’articulation entre un champ d’expérience et un horizon d’attente qui marquent le passé et l’avenir de tout un chacun, celle-ci constituant un moteur de la prise de décision, ce qui la lie à l’agentivité (agency) qui s’oppose au fatalisme. Cet appel postule que la crise contemporaine des horizons d’attente a une influence majeure sur les engagements de la jeunesse, qu’ils se manifestent dans ou hors école, qu’ils soient encouragés ou empêchés. Il ne s’agit donc pas de traiter de la crise de l’école ou de celle de la société, mais de la façon dont ces horizons d’attente troublés entrent dans l’école. Cette pénétration est souvent accompagnée d’une injonction à l’engagement des élèves encore mineur-es, cette posture étant perçue comme une réponse à ladite crise. - Le contexte scolaire nord-américain est traversé de tensions autour du rapport dialectique entre reconnaissance et universalité, certains groupes minoritaires exprimant le constat d’une forme d’assignation à l’universalisme. Abordé sous l’angle de la philosophie politique notamment, ce débat concerne l’éducation à la citoyenneté en mettant en tension les concepts d’universalisme et de particularisme (Sant, 2019). - L’engagement de la jeunesse, dans et hors école, ne se restreint pas à la citoyenneté politique à venir (pour les mineur-es) puisque le choix de s’engager dans certains clubs (pour pratiquer un sport, apprendre un art créatif, etc.) peut aussi mener à des formes d’engagements proto-politiques. Cela illustre la capacité des élèves à choisir leurs engagements en toute connaissance de cause et à faire ainsi preuve de discernement, y compris dans le choix de ne pas s’engager. Cette attitude peut ainsi être conçue comme une forme de contre-engagement (Robert-Mazaye, Demers, Boutonnet et Lefrançois, 2017).- L’étude des formes d’engagement des jeunes doit permettre de déterminer quel-les citoyen-nes l’école entend former et d’évaluer la réalité de cette formation civique. Il serait par exemple fructueux de réfléchir au rapport dialectique entre les engagements prescrits et l’encouragement à faire preuve de discernement. La notion de justice sociale transmise aux élèves, vers laquelle tend la taxonomie de Westheimer & Kahne, prend un sens particulier dans le contexte de mouvements sociaux contemporains qui touchent la jeunesse un peu partout dans le monde. Et de se demander enfin, en mobilisant par exemple la didactique de la citoyenneté comment faire face au dilemme moral qui consiste à faire valoir sans prescrire (Heimberg, 2011). La didactique de l’enseignement des questions sensibles en classe pourra être examinée en la confrontant notamment aux critiques d’un enseignement de nature dogmatique (Legardez & Simonneaux, 2006). Cet appel ne se limite pas à l’aire francophone, tous les pays pouvant être concernés par une telle approche. La jeunesse, dans sa pluralité, doit être entendue ici au sens large, bien qu’il semble intéressant de relier l’engagement des jeunes à leur minorité civique et politique, ce qui permet de prendre en compte une participation qui va au-delà du vote. D’autre part, des articles historiques traitant de crises passées (guerres, famines, épidémies) permettraient d’éclairer les enjeux contemporains de cette entrée des crises dans l’École. Ce questionnement peut ainsi s’inscrire dans plusieurs champs disciplinaires afin d’aborder aussi bien des formes passées d’engagements que des expériences contemporaines, voire des projets à venir. La perspective diachronique doit permettre un mouvement de va-et-vient entre passé et présent en historicisant les débats contemporains sur l’éducation à la citoyenneté notamment. Cet appel encourage enfin à analyser la reconnaissance de la parole et des points de vue diversifiés des jeunes, ce qui repose la question du lien entre engagement et insertion, mais montre aussi le caractère parfois normatif de celle-ci. Le concept de reconnaissance apparaît alors fondamental à prendre en compte dans le cas d’engagements moraux ou en vue d’un résultat pratique. Axes de travail Les propositions pourront s’articuler selon les trois axes suivants qui ne sont pas exclusifs : Axe 1 : Analyser la crise des horizons d’attente comme facteur et ressort d’engagements pour changer le monde de l’école ou par l’école dans des contextes traumatiques passés (guerres, catastrophes, etc.). Quelles sont les tensions, présentes et passées, liées à la conception de l’école en examinant le lien dialectique entre les contenus et les procédures ? Certains contenus peuvent être émancipateurs mais transmis par des dispositifs qui contreviennent par leur essence même à ce processus, comme la pédagogie catéchistique (Buttier, 2016 et 2017). Il est alors nécessaire de questionner la possibilité même d’un enseignement des enjeux politiques et sociaux à l’école, voire d’une éducation au politique (Mougniotte, 1999). Comment transposer les savoirs savants en savoirs enseignables à tous, en les élémentant et non en les abrégeant pour reprendre des réflexions pédagogiques héritées du Siècle des Lumières et de la Révolution française, réactivées au XXème siècle en didactique avec le concept d’élémentation des savoirs (Astolfi, 2014). Axe 2 : Examiner les engagements pédagogiques et didactiques et leur puissance émancipatrice potentielle. Comment mobiliser les travaux menés par Westheimer & Kahne (2004) qui constituent une tentative de typologie, ou taxonomie selon Éthier & Lefrançois (2015), non pas des engagements, mais des élèves engagé-es, pour étudier les diverses formes d’engagements ? Il importe donc également de partir des programmes et plans d’études afin d’identifier les attentes réglementaires concernant l’engagement à l’école. Heimberg (2007) a justement posé la question de la prescription en plaidant pour « ouvrir des perspectives de réflexion autonome pour les jeunes ». Des formes d’engagement inédites se font jour en niant parfois la capacité même de l’école à permettre aux élèves de s’engager, lorsqu’il s’agit de grèves scolaires par exemple. Quels types d’engagement découlent-ils de la pénétration de débats controversés dans l’école, quel sont ceux qui sont promus, quels engagements sont-ils empêchés, en fonction de ces questions sensibles dans la classe, dans la société mais aussi, parfois, dans les savoirs de référence ? Sachant que la citoyenneté scolaire peut se révéler très fortement normée, dessinant en creux le projet politico-éducatif d’une société, quel peut être le bénéfice d’une approche comparatiste des formes d’engagements selon les contextes culturels considérés ? Axe 3 : Interroger l’éducation aux enjeux politiques et sociaux dans l’école d’aujourd’hui : s’agit-il d’un encouragement ou bien d’un obstacle aux engagements des élèves ? Ce dossier encourage à interroger l’existence d’une volonté émancipatrice qui semble plus être le fait de certains protagonistes (individuels ou collectifs) que des institutions en charge de l’école. L’école est souvent mobilisée face à ce qui est qualifié de « déficit d’engagement » de la jeunesse, les espoirs se reportant notamment sur l’éducation à la citoyenneté, bien que l’impact de celle-ci reste largement inconnu. L’injonction à s’engager pour la démocratie dans sa forme traditionnelle et minimaliste (voter, s’insérer dans des institutions ou des structures pré-existantes) peut-elle ainsi être perçue comme un engagement forcé ? Quelles sont les formes d’engagement politique reconnues : voter aux élections, connaître les institutions, être membres des sections jeunes des partis, se syndiquer, etc. ? Un engagement peut ainsi être valorisé tout en méconnaissant certaines formes alternatives de participations à la sphère publique qui peuvent être plus engageantes pour certain-es élèves. La notion de neutralité scolaire doit être interrogée en l’historicisant et en adoptant également une démarche comparatiste pour tenir compte des contextes particuliers dans lesquels elle s’exprime (Potvin, 2015). L’engagement peut être à la fois le but à atteindre lorsqu’il vise à fabriquer des citoyen-ne-s autonomes et responsables, ou bien le repoussoir lorsqu’il se manifeste dans une radicalisation politique ou religieuse pouvant aboutir à la négation la plus extrême de l’altérité. La question doit également se poser de savoir comment traiter des effets de l’éducation à la citoyenneté sur les élèves, dans un contexte troublé comme celui des attentats qui ont touché la France en 2015 par exemple ? (Bozec, 2016). En sachant, comme le soulève l’auteure, que les attentats en France ont une influence très forte sur les finalités de l’école en matière d’éducation à la citoyenneté. Dans ce contexte de crise des horizons d’attente, l’évolution de l’enseignement devient une réponse aux tensions sociale, économique, politique, environnementale ou encore sanitaire. L’éducation à la citoyenneté et tous les enseignements qui participent de la formation civique sont perçus comme autant de leviers de transformation en même temps qu’ils sont soumis à une demande sociale. Ces quelques questions n’épuisent pas les sujets qui pourront être traités et visent à susciter des propositions aussi riches que variées. Calendrier Les articles complets sont attendus pour le 30 juin 2021 au plus tard (les adresser à Jean-Charles Buttier, à l’adresse suivante : Jean-Charles.Buttier@unige.ch)Les auteurs et autrices recevront les résultats des expertises au 30 octobre 2021 au plus tard pour permettre les allers-retours nécessaires avant les versions définitives. La parution est prévue pour fin décembre 2021. Pour toutes demandes de renseignements, contacter Jean-Charles Buttier (Jean-Charles.Buttier@unige.ch). Normes de présentation Les propositions d'articles doivent faire apparaitre Titre, sous-titre, nom et prénom de l’auteur ou des auteurs, fonction, équipe de recherche et organisme d’appartenance, un résumé de 350 à 500 signes maximum, en français et en anglais ainsi que 3 ou 4 mots-clés, en français et en anglais. Les articles doivent respecter les normes APA mises à jour : https://journals.openedition.org/trema/876 URL:https://journals.openedition.org/trema/6397?fbclid=IwAR1yjOGu973RpEx0C3Zt6ajboQigInVOstVvDECty_mA9MkRpKa4-7RtvAw#tocto1n3 
Teaching in the local language: Teacher training in question 2021-06-22 Millions of children around the world do not speak the same language at school and at home. While many countries have policies supporting the use of local languages in the classroom, implementing bilingual or multilingual education remains a challenge. In Latin America, the training of indigenous teachers is a key issue, as shown by a recent comparative study by the IIEP-UNESCO Bueons Aires office. Multilingualism: A reality in many parts of the world It has long been known that children learn best in their first language. In contexts where several languages coexist, bilingual or multilingual education is a strategy recommended by the United Nations to achieve equitable, inclusive and quality education by 2030. In India, teachers work in classes where up to 20 different languages are spoken. In Africa, it is estimated that only 5-15% of students know the official international language before they start school. As for Latin America, Spanish or Portuguese coexist with indigenous languages in communities that are still the most disadvantaged within education systems – both in terms of access to education and learning outcomes. One of the reasons for this is the lack of attention paid to the training of indigenous teachers. This is the subject of the comparative analysis of educational policies (in Spanish), carried out by Sylvia Schmelkes and Ana Daniela Ballesteros for the IIEP-UNESCO Buenos Aires office. The cases of Peru, Bolivia, Mexico and Colombia are studied in more detail. "The poor planning of indigenous peoples' education, manifested in the neglect of bilingual teacher training ... explains, but does not justify, the serious educational situation in which [these communities] find themselves.”Sylvia Schmelkes and Ana Daniela Ballesteros Rethinking and strengthening indigenous teacher training The model of bilingual intercultural education has been widely developed in the educational and linguistic policies of Latin American countries over the last 25 years. The aim has been both to combat discrimination against indigenous populations and to preserve the languages and culture of the communities. The continent is home to some 560 languages in total, most of which are in decline and some in serious danger of extinction. Indigenous communities represent at least 45 million people. This corresponds to 8% of the continent's population but 14% of the poor and 17% of those in extreme poverty. Despite policies that favour the training of indigenous teachers, the continent continues to suffer from a large deficit of qualified teachers who are able to speak the local language in addition to the official national language and to teach in bilingual schools. Among the many obstacles mentioned in the report are: historically weak basic education in indigenous communities due to lack of resources; difficulties related to language harmonization and teaching materials, as some languages are not documented; and what the authors call the "colonization of the consciousness" of indigenous populations in general, and of teachers in particular. "During their time in an assimilationist education system, many indigenous teachers have learned to devalue their language and culture, to integrate as much as possible into the dominant culture,” the authors explain. “And, as a result, to refuse to teach their culture and language in the classroom.” Despite the specific historical and cultural context of Latin America, similar obstacles can be found in many other parts of the world, hindering the effective integration of local languages and cultures into education systems. On the IIEP Learning Portal, discover a selection of resources from our library on language of instruction and learning outcomes. In Colombia, a system by and for indigenous people Among the national policies analyzed in the report, the Colombian case is particularly interesting and successful. As an alternative to the 'ethno-educational' model that had been prevailing in the country, a truly indigenous education system (Sistema de Educación Indígena Propia) was created in 2007 through the initiative of the communities. It was recognized by the Colombian government two years later. Within this framework, the Autonomous Indigenous Intercultural University (Universidad Autónoma Indígena Intercultural), based in the Cauca region in the southwest of the country, trains indigenous teachers for all levels of education, with its own curricula and content. It has developed courses of four to eleven semesters for different professional, technical or university qualifications, recognized by the State. For example, it has developed a 'Community Pedagogue' or a 'Mother Earth Revitalization Professional' titles. "Indigenous Colombians have struggled for many years to have their own needs, values, and rights recognized. The content of the programmes is based on these community and family needs," explains Ana Daniela Ballesteros. However, the approach is not closed and manages to articulate this approach with more universal educational objectives. As such, it is considered good practice. URL:http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/teaching-local-language-teacher-training-question-13800 
Addressing hate speech through education: United Nations Global Education Ministers Conference and Multi-stakeholder Forum 2021-06-15 Hate speech is on the rise worldwide, with the potential to incite violence, undermine social cohesion and tolerance, and cause psychological, emotional and physical harm based on xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and other forms of intolerance and discrimination (UN, 2020). History has shown us that genocide and other atrocity crimes begin with words – there is a collective responsibility to address hate speech in the present day to prevent further violence in the future. In June 2019, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched a strategy to enhance the United Nations response to the global phenomenon of hate speech. As part of the implementation of the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, the Secretary-General called upon UNESCO in partnership with the United Nations Office on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect (OSAPG) to convene the ‘Global Education Ministers Conference and Multi-stakeholder Forum on addressing hate speech through education’, to be held respectively on 30 September – 1 October 2021 and 26 October 2021. In this context, education can play a fundamental role to address hatred both on- and offline, and help to counter the emergence of group-targeted violence. Strengthening educational responses to build the resilience of learners to exclusionary rhetoric and hate speech also lies at the core of the Education 2030 Agenda, and more specifically Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which touches on the social, moral and humanistic purposes of education. Global Education Ministers Conference 26 October 2021 A half-day, high-level online conference, in the presence of Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Education, the United Nations Secretary-General and UNESCO Director-General to endorse global commitments to address hate speech, both on- and offline, through education. Multi-stakeholder Forum 30 September – 1 October 2021 Two days of high-level online dialogues, bringing together civil society organizations, human rights experts, tech and social media companies, and government representatives, with a view to promote meaningful engagement and identify key recommendations for a way forward. URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/addressing-hate-speech-through-education-united-nations-global-education-ministers-conference