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AUTHOR Lefort, R., Ed. TITLE After Jomtien: Is Education for All on the Right Track? INSTITUTION United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). ISSN ISSN-1014-6989 PUB DATE 1992-10-00 NOTE 25p.; Published monthly. Theme issue. AVAILABLE FROM UNESCO Sources, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP France. Tel: 1-45-68-1673. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT UNESCO Sources; n41 Oct 1992 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Developing Nations; Elementary Secondary Education; *Environmental Education; *Females; Foreign Countries; Functional Literacy; *International Cooperation; *International Relations; Literacy Education; *Womens Studies IDENTIFIERS *UNESCO; *World Conference on Education For All

ABSTRACT This issue contains a variety of articles related to international events and concerns. The focus article is entitled "Is Education For All on the Right Track?" and examines what has and has not - happened since the 1990 World Conference on Education for All inJomtien, Thailand. The assessment compares the goals of the conference with new approaches to their achievement with the efforts and accomplishments of individuals, countries, and the international community, especially in expanding access and opportunities for girls and women. Other articles related to the "Planet" section include: (1) "Environment: A User-Friendly Forest"; (2) "Communication: Africa's Communicators"; (3) "Education: The Language of Learning"; and (4)"Social and Human Science: Youth in Action." (EH)

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AT WHAT PRICE? protected core area, surrounded by a buffer zone for Itis thought that a greater effort non-destructiveactivitiessuthastourism,research should be made at local level to provide Victoire Malouma public information pertaining to the age d ?yoke and education, and then a transition area for work of these agencies. With this in traditional uses and experimental research. pro- mind the Branch is planning to form [1[] At what price the Obviously, UNESCO fully supportsactivitiesthat tection of nature? According to a report working groups to cover specifically from Agence France Presse dated Sep- encourage the human inhabitants of these regions to those that are particularly active in tember 11,government authorities in live within and around them without causing lasting matters of day to day human concern. the Cede d'Ivoire have forcefully evic- damage. And obviously, these types of activities ted 8000 peasants from their farms diould be undertaken as soon as a site is recognized around the Tal Forest, which is one of as being particular importance, either ecologically the sites on UNESCO's World Heritage BETTER List. Although this step had been pre- or. culturally. dicted in an article on TaI that was For World Heritage, the case of TaT has been of concern UNDERSTANDING published in the July/August issue of for many years to the World Heritage Committee, to Dr. Adalmiro Castro RegionalDirectorforEducation Sources, I understood that evety effort which reports from the International Union for the Porto, Portugal was being made to ensure that the live- Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on natural world lihoods of the peasants would also be heritage sites are regularly submitted and to whom a Once again we find protected. And yet, AFP reports that copy of your letter shall be transmitted. In the light of your publication a really valuable ins- "the farmers homes were razed" and trument for influencing values and "thedestruction of their plantations past HMI reports onTai,the World Heritage behaviour. Its importance, isincalcul- was imminent".The despatch points out Committee would be ready to support a request for able in helping the man and woman in that an association has been created to technical assistance to draw up an integrated the street gain a better understanding retrain these people in animal husban- development project for the entire area,consistent of and thereby find solutions to some of dry, crafts and aquaculture as well as today's preoccupying problems, in par- implicating them in the protection of with biosphere reserve principles, and which would help to resolve theconflicts between resource use ticular those concerning the environ- the forest, which sounds very noble but ment. does not provide them new homes, land and nature protection. to work or food for their bellies, and which will obviously require 'a great deal of time and resources. ENCOURAGING Isthis the sort of action thatBETTER INFORMATION UNESCO condones? The Tal Forest was A "THIRST FOR inscribed on the World Heritage List in AT LOCAL LEVEL 1982. Why have efforts not been made ED. Dyke LEARNING" earlier not only to retrain and relocate InformationOfficer Deolinda Amoral these people, but to explain to them the UN Association Professor importance of safeguarding the foreit Margate, U.K. Beja, Portugal and seeking their support rather than their opposition? If the resources for [1(111 Our branch of the UN[ir2K21Teaching methods are type of operation were not available in Association, U.K., is concerned that thechanging in Portugal. Teachers are no the past, where are they going to come public image of the United Nations longer treating their students as a more from now? largely and almost exclusivelyreflects or less gifted class, but as individuals the Orgadization's political activity at whose personal growth they are super- UN Headquarters in New York. Thevising. I, in any case, am doing my best The above letter was handed to UNES(O's World sometimes controversial nature ofto move in this direction with my own students. To instillin them an interest Heritage Centre and Man and Biosphere Programme business conducted by both the Gene- ral Assembly and the Security Council in reading and generally to encourage secretariat which responded asfollows: is often unduly highlighted so that, onand develop a "thirst forlearning".I balance, the UN gets a bad press. have already introduced them to Your questions are as relevant as they are difficult to Our members aresubstantially UNESCO Sources. This has led to lively answer. For UNESCO's part, the Organization's aware of the tremendous work to thediscussions on several of your articles. For the interest that I have been able policies concerning World Heritage Sites and MA8 good carried on by the UN Agencies without which hunger,illhealth, de- to stir in my students, for your original Biosphere Reserves aim at integrating human privation and injustice would be so and attractive style, and for the excep- activities with the conservation of the environment. much more acute throughout the world, tionalquality of your magazine, my Thus, biosphere reserves, of which the Tai Forest is sad though many circumstances are inmost hearty thanks to your editorial one of 300 in 75 countries, are meant to consist of a this present age. staff. INSIGHT

THE U.S. AND UNESCO CONTENTS

The U.S. State Department submitted to the Congress last Augusta PAGE AND SCREEN 4 new summary of its attitude toward UNESCO. It is much less critical PEOPLE 5 of the Organization than the previous report (April 1990). None- theless, the Department concludes "that it is not yet time to consi- FOCUS der opening the question of whether to rejoin UNESCO. Rather, we will pursue fully our current policy of working for reform in the lasic education in PAGES 6 to 16 Ecuador: hope that it will lead ultimately to sound management and effective springboard for change. programme activity becoming integral parts of UNESCO's culture." IS EDUCATION FOR ALL

The Department uses selective observations from two recent stu- ON THE RIGHT TRACK? dies one by the U.S. General Accounting Office and the other by two prominent international figures: Knut Hammarksjold (Swe- PLANET : den) and Peter Wilenski (Australia) - to justify its judgement "that it is too early to judge the effectiveness of ... reforms, (and) that Environment: A USER-FRIENDLY FOREST 18 they have not yet taken root..." Communication: Those experienced in the evolution of intergovernmental institu- Manaus: finding a balance between AFRICA'S COMMUNICATORS 20 3 tions will find the argument a poor excuse. The report refers to, but nature and civilization. underestimates the substantial progress made by UNESCO in the six Education: THE LANGUAGE OF LEARNING 22 areas previously stated as of concern to the United States. This is Social and Human Sciences: probably why the report takes refuge in an ancillary defense that YOUTH IN ACTION .23 It would be difficult to justify the expenditure" for the contribu- tion to UNESCO. And this, without any reference to its programmes of importance within the UN system and of direct interest to the LOOKING AHEAD 24 United States.

Moreover, there is no mention of the exchange between the Chair- lownaists - trade you can't kern within man of a US. Congressional hearing on UNESCO (June, 1992) and four walls of o classroom. Knut Hammarskjold (one of several witnesses who testified on the progress made in revitalizing the Secretariat). To the Chairman's Editorial and Distribution Services : UNESCO inquiry for his personal judgement as to U.S. interests, Mr. Ham- Cover photo : SOURCES, 7 pkxe de Fontenoy, 75352 Pars 07 SP. Tel. : Md Sleeked Sohn, (1)45 68 16 73, Fax : (1) 40.65.00.29. marksjold referred to upcoming decisions concerning UNESCO's (Iiroglodesh), This magazine is destined for use as an infor- winner ol the mation source and Is not an ()Milli UNESCO medium term plans and programmes and its leadership to the end of UNESCO/ACCU document. ISSN 1014-6989. World Photo the century, specifically noting the consequent importance of 1993 Contest 1990. in UNESCO evolution. He concluded, "I cannot believe that a major UNESCO SOURCES power would want to be absent from the Organization at such a time."

Will 1993 bring a more thoughtful review and decision?

I II I I I I I I

I I II I John E. FOBES HUH I I I I I Chairman of "Americans for the Universality of UNESCO's BOOKS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PERIODICALS instrument...both all-powerful IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES and much less mature than The economic and political evo- people imagine". Even represen- SHIFTING AGRICULTURE INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL lution of Third World countries tative democracy has been AND SUSTAINABLE DEVE- reveals contradictory trends SCIENCE JOURNAL transformed by TV, he writes, LOPMENT which challenge development Historical sociology: Debate on into what he calls "media demo- An interdisciplinary Study from models and justify a critical methods. cracy'. Fortunately, "we are all North-Eastern India revision of their premises. Some About a quarter of a century learning our way. On one side The north-eastern part of India, programmes, in fact, aggravate ago, sociology and political of the screen, techniques of ma- covering about 260,000 km2 (six poverty rather alleviate it. science rediscovered history, thus nipulation are being developed states), is ethnically and culturally Produced by the International rejoining a great tradition of and refined. On the other, the very distinct from the rest of the Council for Science Policy their past, formerly illustrated by viewing public is gradually country. Hills form about 70% of Studies, this book exposes Max Weber and Otto Hintze. learning to detect lies". Suppor- total land area, where shifting analyses, proposals and For several decades before that, ting articles range from reports recommendations on the ways in under the influence of functiona- on American giant CNN through 11111111111111MEIMM9157 which science and technology lism and behaviourism, both "Reality Shows" which attract could contribute to a new phase disciplines had somewhat large audiences by putting of development. neglected their prime vocation: ordinary people in the spotlight, that of analysing social change to the "cartoon boom". Also §cience and Technology in and the historical transformations featured is an interview with Developing Countries: Strategies of society. This issue (No. 133) Herve Bourges, Director of for the 1990s, UNESCO 1992, opens a debate on methods in French Public Television Chan- 166 pp. tables, graphs, 48 FF. historical sociology, which is nels France 2 and France 3. needed for the discipline to acquire a greater operational VIDEO CATALOGUE 1992 RECORDS capacity and to reduce the gap Lists about 75 titles and 153 between comparative analysis . P. S. Ramakrishnan and the study of specific Centres holding UNESCO films INDONESIA historical paths. and video programmes. Music from West Java Covering a broad selection of From an early date, the Sunda topics, they include, to mention 4 'agriculture (locally called jhum) region in western Java was an PROSPECTS only a few, 13 spectacular pro- is practiced by about 30 million independent Hindu kingdom Higher education: II. Regional, people. An analysis of the inte- where each vassal prince had his subregional and national case- grated approach to the two own dancers,poets and musi- studies. The Open File on higher concepts of conservation and cians, and gamelan orchestras education in this issue (No. 79) sustainable development, this were seen as the main prizes of is the second of two dossiers on study combines field research war. After its conversion to Islam the subject. Ten scholarly articles CAT LOGUE with practical suggestions for in the 15th century, Javanese on universities in Africa, Latin , ,11)13.27 improving land use and manage- influence gained to gradually America, the Arab States, in ment, within a village context. It produce modern Sundanese newly industrialized countries in reflects renewed interest in tradi- musical art. After the Kacapi Asia, Eastern and Central tional agriculture which presu- Suling, an instrumental trio or Europe, the U.S. and the Euro- mably offers ecological efficiency quartet (a bamboo flute and two pean Community describe a and sustainability, along with or three zithers) accompanying multi-faceted "kaleidoscope" of social justice, as opposed to the tgb old Sundanese poems sung at highly centralized, decentralized "green revolution" in India, for home in the evening, this record- or federal systems, and others instance, which increased food ing presents a variety of where the private sector is in production, but brought with it strong competition with the grammes (30') in a World the much larger problems of public sector, of fragmented, Heritage series, documentaries environmental degradation and highly dynamic, or stagnating on literacy work and in primary unequal distribution of wealth. systems. Speaking of higher edu- education and rural life, or Addressing such topics as cation on a universal scale is thus again, in the science field, the hydrology, soil microbiological a difficult task, yet one which "Only one Earth" (the environ- and socio-economics, the book Prospects attempts by confining will be of specific value to f MUSIC FROM WEST JAW I ment) and the "Blue Revolution" MOM OE LOWST itself to just a few dilemmas and OE JAVA ras (oceanography) series. The Cata- ecologists, social scientists, paradoxes, thereby isolating the logue is available from the planners, and NGOs interested key problems from which most of Audio-Visual Division, Office of in sustainable development of the others stem. WWI" I,I- TWA T Public Information, UNESCO. traditional societies. At.

Shifting Agriculture and gamelans, as instrumental en- THE UNESCO COURIER Sustainable Development: An sembles or to accompany sin- Tele...Visions. 6-ublkaiionsand periodicals interdisciplinary study from gers, dancers, or puppet theatre. "Should we be afraid of on sale at the UNESCO Book- north-eastern India, by P.S. Ra- television?" editorializes French shop, or by order from UNES- makrishnan, MAB Book Series, Indonesia: Music of West journalist Jean-Claude Guille- CO Press, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, and is Mem- Vol. 10, UNESCO/ Parthenon Java. Anthology of Traditional baud in the October Courier, ber States through national dis- Publishing 1992, 424 pp, Musics, UNESCO/Auvidis. describing the "mysterious box" ributors. Catalogue on requesy 480 FF. Cassette 52 FF, CD 109 FF. 5-as "an explosive, hazardous PEOPLE

LITERACY LAUREATES IN SEVILLA

IIThe people said 'there are ring boarding facilities and in- many who go to school and centives to students. they don't get employment. Why A Ime example of innovation should I learn to read?" was also offered by the La Prens a "We said no, it should be a newspaper in El Salvador's capi- shame on you to be illiterate, to tal San Salvador, for which it have to sign with your thumb received an honourable mention print. There are many benefits from the international jury jud- you can get from the state - loans, ging the literacy prizes. The 77- a pension if you are over 75 ... year-old paper reached out to the but you do not know about them country's 1.7 million adult illite- because you can' t read." rates (55-60 percent of the popu- Anthonisamy Ganhiraj, Edu- lation) by publishing literacy sup- cation Minister of Pondicherry plements six or seven times a in India, obviously enjoyed tel- year - all up about 700,000 ta- ling the story of his territory's THE PRIZE WINNERS: (2ND FROM LEFT) LAMARANAH BAI-I, (5TH FROM LEFT) bloid-sized copies - to be used as battle to win the hearts and minds BILALI ABUDUREVIMU, (6TH FROM LEFT) ANTHONISAMY GANHIRAJ, WITH "textbooks" in classes organized of its 190,000 illiterates. And REPRESENTATIVES OF THE THREE PRIZES AND JURY PRESIDENT (1ST LEFT) by the Ministry of Education. The why not? The campaign was so MALCOLM ADISESH1AH (Photo UNESCO/J. Lucas). newspaper donated the $500,000 successful that it has been awar- guages used in the territory - The Guinean project, which annual cost of the supplements. ded this year's $30,000 King Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam - was awarded the $10,000 Inter- "If we are going to try to play this Sejong Literacy Prize, sponsored and had the students read mate- national Reading Association new game of democracy, we should by the Republic of Korea. The rial written in large headlines Prize, was funded by the Rome- try to let our countrymen know minister flew to Sevilla, Spain, like a newspaper." based U.N. International Fund what they' re being told, not only to accept the award on Interna- The smallest details were for Agricultural Development to listen to it but to read about it tional Literacy Day celebrated looked after. Some of the 1,000 (IFAD), which felt it could make and be able to analyze it," said at Expo 92 on September eighth. animators and 15,000 volunteer little progress in increasing food Jose Alfredo Dutriz, La Prensa's 5 Ganhiraj, representing the teachers arrived in their villages production if farmers couldn't General Manager, who flew to Puduvai Arivoli Iyakkam (Mo- on bikes for example to offset read simple instructions and Sevilla at his own expense to ac- vement for light of knowledge), local tendancies "not to listen to manuals. cept the newspaper's certificate. was joined on one of the big people who arrive in a car". As a result crop yield has The paper also launched a outdoor stages by fellow prize Thus, between 1989 and 1991, risen in the region, Bah said clever radio and TV campaign to winners from the Xinjiang Uigur 89 percent of the former French proudly. "B ut it is not only a case motivateilliteratestoattend Autonomous Region in China colony's190,000illiterates of being able to read, to apply classes, based around the slogan and the Republic of Guinea, West learned how to read and write. chemicals ,space seedlings in "El Salvador deserves to write its Africa. Guinea's representative at the fields, we also encouraged them own story." LiteracyDaycelebrations, to save some money. So now they "We saidthatbecause THE PEOPLE'S CAMPAIGN Lamaranah Bah told of a diffe- are able to read the bank state- throughout the civil war we were The Pondicheny success is a story rent problem: the lack of a ment and calcuinte their finances." told what to do and even the media of inspiration, government fun- standardized alphabet for his The other major literacy was painting a perspective quite ding and a carefully designed target group of 17,250 farming award, the $10,000 Noma prize different from the reality in El local strategy which focused on families the poorest in the created by the late Japanese Salvador," Dutriz said. The news- the psychology of the people country. Bah, who is Director of publisher Shoichi Noma, was paper manager thinks the sheer how to motivate and encourage Training and Information for the collected by Bilali Abudureyi- number of supplements circula- them. Fouta Djallon Agricultural Re- mu from the Xinjiang Uigur ting creates an excitement about The campaign became po- habilitation Project, adapted the Autonomous Region's Education the campaign that in turn serves pular, Ganhiraj said, because the Arabic alphabet to the Pular Commission. Illiteracy in the as a strong motivator. "If people people felt it belonged to them. language of northern Guinea - Region fell from 64 percent in have an instrument of teaching in Literacy material was tailor-made. eliminating some letters and 1964 to 12 percent in 1990 after their hands they are reluctant to "We used words that avoided the adding others. It was only then a concerted effort by the Com- throw it away...". most complicated, curvy, letters that literacy material could be mission to teach literacy in six in the alphabets of the three Ian- produced. languages, which included offe- Peter LOWREY

"I think that wecan literature and so on" declared government. Commentingon the between the different communities exchange profitably in Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon meeting, Director-General of scientists, culture and academi- introducing some cultural ideas, Peres on September 10, during Federico Mayor said the two cians in the Middle East. He also both for the Middle East and for the first official visit to UNESCO men had reviewed planned accepted an invitation from the us in general cooperation in the in more than 20 years by a activities and explored ways of Israeli Government to visit the domain of science, of culture, member of the Israeli 6 strengthening the relationship country early next year. - F OCUS This month's dossier

IS EDUCATION FOR ALL ON THE RIGHT TRACK?

In March 1990, the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand, launched an historic campaign to make basic education - encompassing early childhood and primary education, literacy and life skills training for youth and adults - available to all by the year 2000. It also aimed at halving the number of illiterates (950 million), and narrowing the gap between men and women. This month's FOCUS takes a hard look at what has - and has not - happened since the Conference (see below), lining the goals and new approaches to their achievement (p. 10) up against the efforts and accomplishments of individuals (p. 9), countries (pp. 12, 15, 16), and the international community (pp. 11, 13), not least towards expanding access and opportunities for girls and women (p. 14).

he Jomtien World Conference on Edu- them to develop field projects and obtain tion to say that when it comes to providing cation for All has marked a turning point funding support. We must realize that education for drop-outs, adapting teachers in the efforts of the international communi- many NGOs work closer to the grassroots, to local needs, providing low cost learning ty to make the basic human right to educa- are more familiar with day to day problems materials, meeting the basic learning needs 7 tion a reality. The Conference came after a and often more readily accepted by local of street and working children, etc., the decade of lost opportunities: it had seen counterparts than larger international orga- North has a great deal to learn from the student numbers stagnating or declining; nizations. They thus can spearhead developing countries. education quality eroding and the problem UNESCO's action and give it the relevance A new UNESCO programme launched of illiteracy becoming more and more acute we may at times lack. with several Jomtien partners will therefore not only in the developing world but also Through its programme which closely seek to identify and promote innovations in in the industrialized countries. reflects Jomtien, UNESCO is helping basic education in developing countries in In the nearly two and a half years since countries gauge their own progress towards order to make them available to others and Jomtien, have we succeeded in turning EFA goals, and strengthen their technical to encourage mutual learning. words into action? The response at this capabilities in consequence with appro- Many developing countries have res- stage is necessarily incomplete. Despite the priate training and support. The struggle to ponded to Jomtien with concrete efforts to wide range of follow-up activities, the meet the basic learning needs of women reassess basic educational needs, frame stakes and challenges remain enormous. and girls has become a major priority of new strategies and mobilize domestic part- One of the main concerns since Jomtien UNESCO. In Africa, where gender dispa- nerships and resources. UNESCO co-ope- has been to foster a policy dialogue and rities in education are particularly evident, rated in more than 60 EFA roundtables held improve co-operation between all partners the forthcoming Conference on Education for this purpose, most of them in Africa. In involved in the EFA initiative. We believe of Girls (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, many cases, detailed educational invest- this has indeed occurred. Regular meetings 1993) is expected to trigger remedial action ment programmes were drawn up and areas between the heads of UNESCO, UNICEF, at country level and rally donor support to for external assistance identified. UNDP and the World Bank have helped this vital area of concern. One example: Costa Rica's national maintain the momentum of .Jomtien and roundtable on EFA brought together the have kept EFA high on the world agenda. FRESH APPROACHES ministries of education, health, labour, An International Consultative Forum UNESCO is also convinced that EFA can- planning and agriculture, private and state on Education for All, a global "watchdog", not be achieved through a simple policy of universities, NGOs, educational associa- has been set up to monitor progress towards more of the same. New thinking and frcsh tions and aid agencies. It led to the prepa- EFA goals. Bringing about a broader and approaches are required. The necessary in- ration of a national action plan, involving more active partnership with the NGO novations must, however, not be imposed literacy and basic skills training for women, cominunity has been another main line of from outside. In fact, many countries in literacy campaigns in educationally action. Some 100 NGOs around the world Africa, Asia and Latin America have come backward provinces, an integrated early have formed an EFA Network to exchange up with promising and viable innovations childhood programme, education for the experie,nces and co-ordinate efforts. themselves - as if to prove that necessity is disabled, and multicultural, bilingual edu- UNESCO in particular is working with the mother of invention. It is no exaggera- cation for indigenous people. F OCUS

The plan also entails a major project for Apart from personally involving the The multilateral agencies have reacted quality improvement in basic education leaders, the project also aims at helping even more promptly to the challenge and which will be submitted for external develop the right strategies and priorities seem even to be influencing other donors funding. by sharing experiences among the largest through the visibility of their action. Build- Or take the case of the nine Sahel coun- countries. Size and sheer numbers may ing on momentum gathered in 1987, the tries which have decided to tackle their pose formidable challenges but they also volume of aid committed to education by educational problems in unison. In close represent a unique opportunity to take the five major multilaterals (World Bank, dialogue with UNESCO, UNDP, the World lead in a worldwide EFA movement. UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, and the Bank and major bilateral donors, this group No one doubts that the achievement of Asian Development Bank) had, by 1991, of countries has drawn up an action pro- EFA will require substantial additional re- the year following Jomtien, increased al- gramme to achieve EFA by the year 2000. sources both within countries and through most fourfold. The World Bank alone has Through cooperation and joint action in external assistance. Recent studies put the stepped up its education lending from $370 such fields as planning and management, investment needed at a yearly $10 to $20 million in 1989 to $849 million in 1991. production of learning materials, teacher billion above current levels of spending. UNESCO, though not a funding agency, training and applied research, they intend Will the donor community, in particular, has seen its field projects in basic education to overcome their resource constraints and rise to the challenge? In the past, only .1 cent go from $11 million in 1989 to close to $30 make important economies of scale. of every aid dollar has been spent on basic million in 1991. Most of these UNESCO Yet another model endeavour is that of education. Moreover, assistance has too projects concentrate, as they should, on the a small island country - Mauritius - whose often been bogged down in compartmenta- poorest countries in Africa. Will all this education master plan prepared in the wake lized projects relying on foreign imports, enthusiasm be sufficient? Will it be able to of Jomtien has brought together several experts from the North, and shied away offset the damaging effects of structural donors under the common roof of a careful- from longer-term commitment. adjustment policies, military spending and ly elaborated national strategy. Donors have, in fact, faced very real debt service by the developing world? For the largest and most populous difficulties in their attempt to assist basic countries, UNESCO and its Jomtien part- education. It is not only that certain govern- HIGH YIELD ners have launched an initative to involve ments in the developing world consistently The World Bank itself has known for a long the Heads of Government of nine countries put ba' sic education last on their priority list. time that programmes to support basic edu- 8 (Brazil, Mexico, China, Bangladesh, India, The fact that primary school systems outdo cation yield higher rates of economic return Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Egypt) virtually all other forms of public services than any other investment in either physical which alone concentrate about three quar- by their sheer size and cost, has also cooled or human capital. Its experts also realize ters of the world's illiterates. UNESCO off many donors who fear they may be that unless education is protected against Director-General Federico Mayor and pouring funds into a bottomless pit. public sector cutbacks and suffocating UNICEF Executive Director James Grant Today, we have evidence that the tide debt, economic recovery in the poorest have sent letters and met many of these has turned. UNESCO and OECD, exami- countries can never be sustained. leaders to enlist their personal support on ning the response to Jomtien, have found Education for all by the year 2000 will the premise that this will help generate that a majority of bilateral donors are now require neither economic upheavals nor ex- public enthusiasm, facilitate the mobiliza- providing significantly increased assist- treme austerity. The additional amounts to tion of national and international resources ance to basic education. Some are suppor- be mobilized represent less than 1 per cent and enhance the quality of the whole effort. ting basic education for the very first time. of the industrialized world's annual milita- ry spending. Or, as UNICEF Executive Di- rector James P. Grant put it at the Jomtien THE WORLD CONFERENCE on EDUCATION FOR ALL Conference, 'The annual extra cost by the - MEETING BASIC LEARNING NEEDS was convened by mid-1990' s would be the equivalent of just the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNESCO, two days' expenditure on arms in the af- UNICEF and the World Bank in lomtien, March 5-9, 1990. fluent North, or one week of military spen- An international steering group and nine regional con- ding by the developing countries. It is also sultations held in 1989 shaped the Conference agenda. the amount of annual expenditure on ciga- !!! Some 1500 people representing 155 governments, 33 rette advertising in the U.S. plus the amount spent in Russia each year on vodka." intergovernmental bodies, 125 NGO's, institutes and Conclusion: the time is short, the pro- foundations attended. At its closing session, the Conference unanimously adopted blems of illiteracy and lack of skills too the World Declaration on Education for All and endorsed a Framework for severe. The Jomtien follow-up is on the Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs. Subsequently, the International Consult- right track, but an accelerated pace and ative Forum on Education for All, set up to meet every two years throughout careful planning is needed to ensure a suc- the 1990s and serve as the mechanism for assuring Conference follow-up, met for cessful final balance sheet. the first time at UNESCO Headquarters from December 4-6 1991. Its 14-member Steering Committee meets more frequently, most recently in Geneva on September Dieter BERSTECHER 17 and 18, to approve a workplan for global promotional and monitoring activities Director, UNESCO Secretariat and to set the agenda for the next meeting of the Forum, in late 1993. for Inter-Agency Cooperation 9 in Basic Education F OCUS1 Portrait

MISSIONARY ZEAL A champion of educational development in the Third World, Anil Bordiaembodies the spirit of the Jomtien Conference. ror the last 40 years, the Indian govern- through his dedication, but his ability to time. Despite this effort and a substantial rment has been ceaselessly attacked formotivate people from donor agencies to drop in the percentage of illiterates, abso- its tardiness in achieving literacy targets. villagers." lute numbers of people who cannot read or While Sri Lanka to the south and China to Bordia speaks of his work and achieve- write have increased by 26.8 percent over the northto cite but two Asian examples ments in an easy, matter-of-fact way, aware the past 20 years. - have made impressive strides,India's of his role, but always focusing on the issue, These results essentially boil down, pace of progress has been a matter of not on himself. He refers, for instance; to Bordia believes, to a lack of commitment concern to planners and experts alike. the National Adult Education Programme and resources. "To the extent that political This is especially true for 58 year-old commitment manifests itself in financial al- Anil Bordia, India's former Education Se- locations commitment is on the wane" he cretary, whose commitment to education is regrets. It is perhaps to overcome such obs- tinged with missionary zeal. The son of a tacles that he has adopted a grass-roots teacher and an impressionable teenager approach, working closely with non-go- from the impoverished state of Rajasthan at vernmental organizations, to whom his India's independence, he knew as a young door is always open. college student that one of his life's ambi- tions would be the reform of basic educa- LARGE-SCALE, LONG-TERM tion. He thus joined the Indian Despite his official retirement from the In- 4 I II Administrative Service where he devoted dian administration last May, he has conti- his career to educational planning and ma- nued working towards the goals set at nagement, climbing through the ranks to Jomtien, concentrating government efforts the top job and eventually stretching and sponsors' aid on a series of large-scale, beyond India's borders to champion educa- long-term projects in India's most educa- tional development throughout the develo- tionally backward states. ping world. In Rajasthan, for example, the Lok "He is a man motivated by the unswer- Jumbish (People's Mobilisation), with ving conviction that education is the key to Bordia as its Chairman, has been set up to the emancipation of the poor,and that these achieve EFA goals in 10 years. A $7 mil- people, in turn, are the key to development" lion programme, 50% of which will come says friend and colleague Gabriel Carron ANIL BOMA (Photo Rai). from the Swedish International Develop- from UNESCO's International Institute of ment Agency (SIDA), the rest from state Educational Planning (IIEP). "He is also he organized in India 1978-79 as "dne of and central governments, aims at transfer- astonishingly energetic and, once he has the world' s most important literacy cam- ring responsibility for educational manage- his objectives in sight, lets nothing deter paigns." ment to the village community. Every him from his path" adds Carron, who met "We felt we were on the threshold of a means from electronic media, and theatre Bordia during his year as a visiting fellow great transformation," he said. "More than to folklore are being usedparticularly to the Institute. The Indian civil servant also 1000 voluntary agencies were involved in mobilise women. served as Vice-Chairman of UNESCO's300,000 literacy centres in the country. All this -seriousness and resolve may Institute of Education in Hamburg from Literacy was for the first time firmly on the convey the impression that Bordia never 1976 to 1981, filled the Presidency of the national agenda." strays into other pastures. He does. A man Organization's Geneva-based Internatio- As Joint Secretary and later as Secre- who strives for efficiency and results, he is nal Bureau of Education for its 1990 Inter- tary in the Department of Education, Bor- also known to read a poem or two to his national Conference on Education and, as dia was the chief architect of India's visitors before getting down to business. a leading figure in his country's National National Policy on Education, launched His love of music and theatre, particularly Commission for UNESCO, regularly atten- with high expectations in 1987. experimental theatre, has led him to form ded General Conferences. More than all of "For a year and a half prior to formu- many theatre and music groups in the this, however, he is considered as one of the lating the Policy, we carried out a diagno- northern Indian state of Jaipur. An avid main movers and shakers of the Jomtien sis of primary education," he says.. "We reader of Bengali and Urdu literature, Bor- conference, having been intimately invol- held consultations with 14,000 teachers, dia also has a fondness for archaeolo- ved in its preparation and one of those who villagers, trade union members and elected gy...and above all for the mountains in helped frame its message. representatives." whose folds he loves to wander. "Anil Bordia personifies the spirit of Today, literacy programmes in India Jomtien" says Dieter Berstecher from reach one third of the country with at least Latika PADGAONKAR UNESCO's education sector."Not only 30 million people participating at any given /0 New Delhi F OCUS Dossier

EDUCATION FOR ALL: MAKING IT WORK The innovations and breakthroughs made in one country can help another out of a rut. A new UNESCO project makes the link. UNESCO, in cooperation with "Rather than imposing theoretical so- the media and interested individuals. Fur- UNICEF, UNDP, and other Jomtien lutions from the outside, we need pragma- thermore, an Education for All videobank partners, is launching a project to promote tic action-oriented strategies that has been set up. Starting this month, 22 innovations in basic education. Entitled capitalize on breakthroughs that have been videos on innovative projects in basic edu- Education for All: Making it Work, it will achieved on a small-scale in developing cation will be disseminated to all those essentially spread the word about practical, countries," says Ordonez. One example of interested in making education work. affordable and relevant ideas for education this is underway in Pakistan's Baluchistan "There are a number of exciting inno- systems in developing countries. and North West Frontier Provinces, where vations out there right now,"Ordonez says. "If Education for All is ever to be girls and teachers are receiving food rations "Many of which we already know about." achieved,we cannot go on with business as in return for regular school attendance, thus usual," says Victor Ordonez, Director ofcompensating for their absence from the BANGLADESH, COLOMBIA UNESCO's Basic Education Division. home and fields (see p.14). AND ZIMBABWE "Most developing countries desperately The UNESCO project has three main The Bangladesh Rural Advancement need an injection offresh ideas, qualitative objectives: a) to promote basic education in Committee (BRAC) project for example, improvements , and a departure from bor- developing countries through innovations gives priority to community involvement. rowed concepts." which benefit girls and women, children Schools are built by the villagers, and pa- rents are involved in the selection of tea- chers, set school hours and holiday periods. 'MORE RELE- Children have a shorter school day than in VANT TO REAL- government establishments, but less annual LIFE': THE holidays. In Colombia, the Escuela Nueva 10 SCHOOL AS (New Schools) project attributes its success CENTRE OF THE to a curriculum tailor-made for rural popu- COMMUNITY lations, and a new pedagogical approach (From a poster that includes a flexible promotion system for a UNESCO seminar in Ca- allowing children to progress through racas, Venezue- school at their own speed. The Zimbabwe lainApril Integrated Teacher Education course se- 1991). lects teacher trainees from the areas in which they will eventually teach and, to ensure that poor people can join, pays its La Escuelaes el Centro de tu Comunidad A students during their training. Upon Severe economic constraints in many from disadvantaged groups, street children, completion of their studies, the new tea- countries mean that basic education ser- drop-outs, and learners in remote areas; b) chers are bonded to the government service vices must become more cost-effective, ar- to help educational pesonnel better ma- for three years. The programme incorpo- gues Ordonez. "Women and girls, along nage, evaluate and go to scale with promis- rates face-to-face classroom training and with disadvantaged groups, have to be gi- ing experiences; c) to bring about an active on-the-job distance education. ven greater educational opportunities and co-operation and information exchange The decision to depart from established curricula must be more relevant to real-life among developing countries. systems has paid off in all three of the above demands of learners. But to achieve this, UNESCO and its partners are now in examples. "However," adds the UNESCO countries must be willing to innovate." the initial phase of gathering information Director, "there are many more successful The term innovation is ambiguous in about various projects through a "snow- projects that are simply unknown to the itself. An advisory group to the project ball" system involving UNESCO and world, as poor countries often do not have consisting of 12 specialists has agreed that UNICEF field offices, the NGO communi- the means to develop and disseminate edu- the term be used in a broad sense and in- ty, research institutes and National cational breakthroughs." clude all experiences that address problems Commissions. Out of this world-wide pool, Initially, UNESCO and UNICEF unsolved by conventional practice, such as which will be available at UNESCO in the agreed to allocate funds for the "Making it drop-outm limited access of girls and lack form of a database, some 20 "show-case" Work" project over three years. But enthu- of educational opportunities for street chil- projects will be selected. An information siastic about the idea, UNDP, Germany and dren. The group also warned that the pro- package will be produced on each, consis- the International Catholic Child Bureau (an ject should avoid limiting itself to costly ting of a technical write-up, a brochure for international NGO) have since offered their and, at times, overly rigid inter-governmen- the general public and a video. The package cooperation and funding support as well. tal cooperation and instead expand to involve will be widely circulated to governments, NG0s, research institutions and specialists. agencies, NG0s, teacher training institutes, 11 Cilia UNGERTH JOLIS IMP F.0 C S Dossier

JOMTIEN IN THE NORTH Achieving Education for All implies not only that donors give more, but also that they get used to the idea that countries themselves are in charge of EFA. s Jomtien is now more than two and a projects for the first time, and others began may also have to get used to the idea that Ahalf years behind us, it may be useful to quantify what they had already done. the days of the British, Danish, Canadian or to raise a number of questions about its In any case, most donors interpret "ba- U.S. project are fmishing. National ow- impact in the North. sic education" as primary education. The nership of EFA should make the donors less Arguably the ideas for the great World worlds of adult illiteracy, out of school visible. Conference in Education for All (WCEFA) The countries in the South that are emerged from the North, especially from furthest from EFA are the very ones which the thinking of some of the multi-lateral will fmd it hardest to develop their own agencies, but what can we say about the plans.Traditionally they have been the current climate and interest in Jomtien in most dependent on the donors. Will the bulk of OECD countries? In our perso- Jomtien alter this dependency on aid? nal capacities, as individuals who have There is a possibility that in such countries, worked both in donor agencies and as re- national plans are really just collections of searchers, we put out a number of perhaps donor plans. But this may, not happen if provocative propositions donors listen to the Jomtien message on First of all, you might say that the sustainability and the building of local World Conference on EFA could more ap- capacities. propriately have been called the World A last worry about the North is whether Conference on EFA in the South. Al- it will tire of EFA, and move on to other though, like the Rio Summit (the UN priorities. At the moment there is consider- Conference on Environment and Develop- Primary able interest at the policy level, and many educanon: 0,5% ment), it was conceived as a one-world donors have commissions and policy pa- 11 conference, its message was widely regar- Totol education: 9,5% pers on the topic. But a good deal less has ded in OECD countries as relevant to the been implemented in the field. developing world. THE SMALLEST SHARE (Source: UNICEF) Other interests in educational aid, e.g. Almost no Ministries of Education in youth, and non-formal education are seen higher education, remain very powerful OECD countries think the WCEFA Decla- by many as too problematic. The result in both in the North and the South, and if there ration and Plan of action applies to them- several countries may well be that the most are difficulties in implementing basic edu- selves. In other words, they see the World disadvantaged continue to be neglected - in cation for all, other priorities will surely Conference as providing work for their De- favour of those for whom projects can more assert themselves. For instance, the new aid velopment Cooperation Ministries, not easily be developed. modalities, such as support to recurrent their Ministries of Education. Non-governmental organizations get a costs, locally available materials and local We would be interested to hear from larger slice of the Jomtien cake, but can experts, are likely to upset the academic readers in the North that this is not true, and they digest it? NGOs were full partners at and commercial lobbies in the North which also if some countries of the Common- the Conference, and because they had often have for many years been benefitting from wealth of Independent States (former been quietly doing basic education all Development Cooperation in a number of U.S.S.R.) see the WCEFA agenda as rela- along, they suddenly had the opportunity to countries. ting to their situation. do a great deal more. In fact they were able For these reasons it will be important to to argue with the donor agency that more continue to monitor the process whereby NEW MONEY funds should come to them instead of to the-new Northern policies on education for Secondly, Jomtien has made it difficult for costly overseas training in an OECD coun- all in the South get turned into new pro- donors to carry on with business as usual. try. But will they be able to take on the grammes of action at the national level. It Within the Development Cooperation Mi- sometimes much larger post-Jomtien pro- will also be important to see if the South nistries, Jomtien quite suddenly made it jects without losing their intimate grass- itself sustains its commitment to basic edu- easier to argue for a project on basic educa- roots nature. cation for all. tion even in agencies that had not done very The WCEFA Declaration and Frame- much at all in their field. work for Action encouraged countries to Kenneth KING Because of the series of donor develop National EFA Plans, stressing that Edinburgh University (U.K.) and meetings, especially at those where it was countries themselves, not donors, should be Lavinia GASPERINI clear who was spending new money on in charge of education for all. Rome (Italy) basic education, it became difficult for a What this could mean is that donors particular agency to admit it had not heeded should no longer devise their own tightly the Jomtien message. So, several donors controlled projects, but use their funding to (*) Author of just-published Aid & Education found themselves planning basic education build up the Ministry's plan of action. They in the Developing World (Longman, 1992). FACTS IN FIGURES

NATIONAL EFFORTS, INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

Education for All is first and foremost a national affair. This message from Jomtien has already become reality in some 60 countries. The international effort must, however, be radically reinforced.

1 2

COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE FOLLOWED JOMTIEN RECOMMENDATIONS WITH AT LEAST ONE 'ROUNDTABLE (Source: UNESCO).

A FLURRY OF "ROUNDTABLES" Undertaking a detailed analysis of pro- such as religious groups, trade unions, parent- form of studies as background material for gress towards achieving Education for All teacher associations, public and private in- the various debates. - in other words, carrying out a critical dustry... Nearly 20 countries have gone on to the review - a kind of instantaneous snapshot The second stage consists in elabora- next stage, that of elaborating their Plans of of the current situation and, from there, ting a detailed Action Plan along with Action, and even farther to set in motion the tracing the main strategies for making EFA estimatedcosts for its implementation. means for their implementation. (the third a reality: the "roundtables" organized at This constitutes a kind of blueprint upon stage). national level, represent a first stage in which each country as well as multilateral Proportionately, mobilization during the the process launched at the World Confe- or bilateral donors, can base decisions re- post-Jomtien period has been strongest in rence. garding the amount and destination of their the African countries - where illiteracy But more important even than the theme investment. rates are, in general, the highest. of these meetings is their composition: To date roundtables have been held in The industrialized countries including moving away from participation customa- over 60 countries. Very often financed - for those in Fastern Europe, on the other hand, rily limited to national education authori- an average cost of about $50,000 by the with the exception of Australia, have not ties (in general Ministers of Education), the four Jomtien sponsors (UNDP, UNESCO, seen themselves as concerned by the pro- "roundtables" extend the concerns of basic UNICEF, World Bank,), they have brought blem, or at least have been unable to mobi- education to include other public officials together between 50 and 150 participants. lize their efforts, despite the high rate of (Health. Finance and Planning Ministries...), In almost all cases, UNESCO has been functional illiteracy among many of their as well as representatives of "civil society" called upon to contribute, notably in the populations. 3 FACTS IN FIGUICE5

THE SAME EFFORT EVERYWHERE

This graph shows public per capita expen- 750 diture in U.S. dollars at all levels of educa- 11. tion, in different regions of the world. It reveals the tremendous differences in % of GNP public spending on education between developed and developing regions (the ratio is, for example, from one to 45 between the developed countries and those of sub-Sa- haran Africa), as well as, although to a far lesser extent, between Third World coun- 5,8 tries (a ratio of one to seven between sub- Saharan Africa and the Arab States). On the other hand, public spending on 4,9 education as a percentage of GNP, is roughly 4,1 99 4 the same in all countries, ranging from 4.0% to 5.8%. In general, national efforts in favour of education are inore or less equi- valent from one region to another. Conse- 17 13. quently, the poorest among these countries ME_ have an urgent need for international aid to II ARAB LATIN AMERICA/ help them increase their educational ex- DEVELOPED AFRICA ASIA STATES penditure. COUNTRIES CARIBBEAN PUBLIC PER CAPITA EXPENDITURE FOR EDUCATION AND AS A PERCENTAGE OF GNP (Source: UNESCO Office of Statistics).

INTERNATIONAL AID TO BASIC EDUCATION

PERCENTAGES OF AID WHICH MULTILATERAL AND BILATERAL DONORS EAR-MARK This graph shows the percentage of their FOR BASIC EDUCATION. overall foreign aid which countries and international funding organizations, listed in alphabetical order, allocate to basic Germany II0,52 education. N.B. Figures are not always exactly comparable and the base year (1990 Australia 1,33 or 1991) may vary. The choice of countries U.S.A 4,04 or organizations listed, moreover, was dic- tated by the availability of information. Japan 0 In any case, these percentages are elo- quent: basic education (mainly pre-school Netherlands 1,57 and primary education, training in literacy and life skills, as opposed to higher educa- U.K. 10,32 tion, for instance) at the time ofJomtien and immediately afterwards drew only a small World Bank 3,72 fraction of aid. On the other hand, seen as a percentage of total aid to education (9.5% Asian DB I0,28 - see p. 11) they vary radically from 0% for Japan to 100% for UNICEF. UNICEF 8,1 Sources: OECD Infography: Alexandre Darmon Dossier

AN URGENT NECESSITY Despite declarations and promises, education for girls has rarely been given the priority it deserves. The most urgent priority is to ensure why so few girls enrol,in school. The study or six children but also look after several II access to, and improve the quality of, covered Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, hundred head of camels and sheep. education for girls and women, and to re- Ethiopia, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, These women will be trained in veteri- move every obstacle that hampers theirMozarnbique, Namibia, Niger, Central nary skills, simple business practices, active participation. All gender stereotypes African Republic, Sierra Leone, Sudan, health, hygiene and population education. in education should be eliminated" (World Chad and Togo. Although distance Funded by the Danish International Deve- Declaration on Education for All, Art. 3, between home and school, and over- lopment Agency (DANIDA), the six-year Para. 3). crowded classrooms were often cited, re- project combines distance education via If the Jomtien Conference placed such sults showed that socio-cultural factors radio programmes with visiting school tea- emphasis on the urgent necessity of redu- were largely responsible. The work carried chers trained in delivering non-formal adult cing illiteracy among women it is because out by girls in the home and fields, for education. their participation is indispensable to deve- example, is considered of greater immedi- lopment.According to a World Bank study ate value to the family economy than edu- FOOD FOR EDUCATION (King and Hill, Women' s education in De- cation, which remains the privilege of sons. Another approach has been adopted for a veloping Countries: A review of Barriers, In many parts of Africa early marriage cuts $9.2 million project which began last year Benefits, and Policy, 1992), countries that short girls' education, which, in any case, in Pakistan's two poorest provinces, Balu- chistan and North West Frontier Province. In Baluchistan only two percent of rural women and girls are literate, in NWFP only four percent. Drawn up jointly by UNESCO and the World Food Programme 14 (WFP), the project aims to counter econo- A. WOMEN'S mic loss suffered by the absence of an LITERACY able-bodied daughter to the classroom, by CLASS IN CAPE providing food rations to families who keep VERDE (Photo their daughters in school. Thus, each Month UNESCO/ of the academic year, students receive one Dominique kilogram of pulses, 500 grams of butter oil Roger). and 250 grams of tea, worth about 50 Paki- stani rupees. Rations will also be allocated for teachers and female teacher trainees. This three year pilot project covers 958 girls' primary schools in both provinces, three female teacher training colleges and invest in female primary education not only parents believed, ill-prepared their daugh- mobile teacher training facilities. increase women's potential as income gen- ters as wives and mothers. Customary ini- The above-mentioned projects, how- erators, but also benefit from lower infant tiation rites are another problem, "if not to ever, are but a drop in the bucket. "Enor- mortality rates, higher adult life expectan- access to schooling, at least to regular mous disparities remain between the cy, better nutrition, and lower fertility rates, attendance ... because girls concerned no declarations of intent and practical action," thus slowing population growth. Yet great longer have the status of children, and says UNESCO Programme Specialist Krys- disparities persist. According to UNESCO's hence cannot be pupils". tyna Chlebowska. "Veryfew countries have World Education Report (1991), illiteracy is With the information provided by the made a policy commitment to basic educa- gradually decreasing, yet one in every three survey, pilot projects can be drawn up tion for girls and women and developed a women still cannot read and write, com- taking these factors into account, tailored corresponding strategy. Very few women' s pared to one in five men. more closely to the needs and concerns of literacy programmes have been successful, Acutely aware of this gender gap, the population. and the principal suppliers of funds conti- UNESCO has swung its support behind a This is also being done in Mongolia nue to give priority to primary education." range of projects throughout the develop- where UNESCO is launching a $1.7 mil- Obviously, real progress in this vital ing world aimed at women and girls. lion non-formal education and skills train- area requires a mental leap, not only at a In Africa, where, according to the ing project for nomad women in the Gobi community level, but also by governments World Education Report, more than 60 per- desert. An exodus of men to urban areas or and funding sources, that is still far from cent of women over the age of 15 were military service has left some 24 percent of being accomplished. illiterate in 1990, the Organization has car- the 15,000 families in this region headed by ried out a survey of 15 nations to discover women, who must not only raise their five i( Sue WILLIAMS FOCUS Dossier

THREE COUNTRIES ACT IN THE SPIRIT OF JOMT1EN

HIGH HOPES FOR NEPAL Nepal is one of the many test cases "For the first time in the history of Consequently, World Conference illustrating how the "Jomtien Spirit" is educational development in Nepal, a Mas- sponsors are combining forces to help the generating or accelerating cooperation be- ter Plan was prepared by Nepali educators , Government carry out the about $186 mil- tween countries and the Conference spon- instead of, as previously, by international lion 5-year programme: the World Bank sors. donor agencies." said UNESCO specialist and the Asian Development Bank for crea- Some of that spirit of cooperation was, John Beynon, one of only two outside per- tion of primary classrooms and teacher trai- of course, already taking form even before sons (the other was Marlaine Lockheed of n ing centres; UNICEF for textbook the World Conference. In fact, as early as the World Bank) called upon to contribute. production; UNDP together with 1980, His Majesty's Government and "Clearly, in keeping with Jomtien, national UNESCO for teacher training, curriculum, UNESCO, with UNDP funding, launched education is now a national affair." modernizing management of the Ministry the Education for Rural Development Pro- In a country where only 64% of chil- of Education, training district officials and ject in the Seti Zone in Far Western Nepal, dren (43% of girls) are enrolled in primary setting up a network of resource centres for integrating aspects of formal primary edu- school, illiteracy stands at 74.4% (86.6% under-qualified teachers in remote areas. cation, literacy training and special life for women) and per capita GNP at $170, Denmark will help improve run-down skills education for young girls. In 1985, the "affair" is mighty indeed. classrooms and, with UNICEF, sponsor lit- UNICEF and the World Bank teamed up to "But Nepal is very special," said eracy training especially for women. finance a similar government project in six Beynon. "Everybody falls in love with the "For a country that initiated public pri- other districts. country, its beauty and the sweetness of the mary education only in 1954, this is a brave By the time of Jomtien, these two pilot people. Those of us involved in foreign aid step indeed," said Beynon, "and one that projects were ready for evaluation. Draw- have the conviction that what we do certainly could not have been taken without ing on their success and on momentum makes a difference. If problems can be the collective courage of government and 15 created by the Conference, a national team solved in Nepal, solutions will also have donors alike gained at Jomtien." with support from UNDP, set out to prepare an impact in larger countries, like China a Basic and Primary Education Master Plan. and India." B. W.

ECUADOR STUDYING itis usual to think of literacy education Closely following the literacy cam- Ras leading to a post-literacy stage or, at paign and continuing 30 months to the end any rate, to an adult education programme. of the Government's four-year term of Not so in Ecuador where a literacy cam- office, the Programme officially concluded paign was used as springboard for a wide- its activities in June 1992. An initial eva- ranging educational project. luation reveals a wide gap between what The "Monsefior Leonidas Proano" Na- was planned and what was actually done, tional Literacy Campaign, which lasted even though many fresh possibilities and throughout 1989, involved about 75,000 alternatives prescnted themselves in the literacy teachers - most of them secondary process. school pupils - and approximately 300,000 Perhaps the biggest of many problems young and adult learners. The campaign was the fact that duration of the Pro- was planned as a starting-point for change gramme, fixed with.political criteria, was at national level, and from the outset it took so short. Thirty months was scarcely for granted the need to develop into a sys- enough time for this innovative and ambi- tematic process of education and social mo- tious project to get off the ground. bilization. Hence the project "El Ecuador Although planned before Jomtien, "El Estudia" was designed not only to continue Ecuador Estudia" fully coincided with its the literacy process, but to become an edu 'INVOLVINGONE AND ALL IN THE BUSINESS OF principles: universalize education, im- DUCATION'IPhoto UNESCO/Dominique Roger). cational proposal for society as a whole. prove its quality, provide learning opportu- The Programme, assigned to the Mi- gies. Four main areas were initially nities for children, young people and adults, nistry of Education and launched only planned: 1) basic adult education, 2) pre- diversify learning channels and involve one months after the end of the literacy cam- school education, 3) cultural and artistic and all in the business of education. paign, set out to involve children, young development, and 4) scientific and techno- people and adults, and make use of many logical development. This last area unfor- Rosa Maria TORRES different approaches, methods and strate- tunately, failed to materialize. Senior Education Adviser, UNICEF FOCUS

TRAINING TEACHERS IN MALAWI Wianting to improve education systems teacher shortage, untrained teachers and a thematics and English. Special teaching s one thing. But what happens when pupil-teacher ratio of 63 to one". aids, including cassettes and manuals have there are not enough teachers to go around? To help the country cope with the situa- also been prepared for these students often Or if "teachers" available have had virtually tion, UNESCO and the World Bank carried with their assistance, the emphasis being on no education, and certainly no training? out a study there in 1989 which indicated helping them to help themselves; showing This is precisely the situation confron- that to bring the teacher-pupil ratio down to them, for example, how to use their imme- ting many Third World countries, and is 50:1 by 1995, a minimum of 4,000 extra diate environment as a source of teaching one of the major obstacles to the develop- teachers would be needed. and learning aids, and involving the ment of their education systems. To bridge the gap the Malawi govern- community in the process. Speaking at the 39th World Assembly ment, with technical support from The ftrst crop of 4,000 teachers will of the International Council on Education UNESCO and funding from the World graduate towards the end of this year, and for Teaching, last July at UNESCO Head- Bank, has introduced a distance training so far results are promising. Although they quarters, Colin N. Power, Unesco Assistant programme for teachers, thus overcoming lack the academic background of regular Director-General for Education, said that a shortage of places and facilities in estab- college graduates, experience with similar achieving EFA "will call for urgent and, in lished colleges. programmes in other African countries has many cases, unconventional means. But The programme followed by these ex- shown that this is made up by an invaluable whatever the solution attempted, more tea- ternal students is a mix of on-the-job trai- professional confidence in the classroom. chers are going to be needed. At least 9 ning and residential schools, held over 36 Needless to say, this is just a start. The million more to reach primary education weeks during term breaks. They are paid effort must continue if authorities are to targets in developing countries alone." for their work, which is closely supervised cope with the country's annual birth rate of "Yes, for a time, we may have to accept by inspectors and headmasters, and fmish 3.3%, and its consequently burgeoning po- compromises," he added. "We shall also the three-year training period with the same pulation of almost nine million, of which need to test bold new approaches". qualifications as their peers in college. some 48.6 percent is made up of children As one example, Mr. Power cited Ma- Tutors are provided in the field to rein- under the age of 15. lawi which 'faces the problem of a severe force studies in core subjects such as ma- 1 6 WO ROD OCOU [NOM

EFA 2000:A quarterly news bulletin pub- EDUCATIONAL SPACES NEWSLETTER: deal with children with special needs in the lished by the Secretariat for the Internatio- Two issues published by UNESCO's Edu- classroom; use of computers in schools; nal Consultative Forum on Education for cational Architecture Unit: Education for ways of reducing drop-out, pilot projects on All. Includes a main Focus on such issues All: Educational Buildings and Furniture support for remote schools; meeting the as Environmental Education, Street Chil- (July 1991/No.2) and Building Basic Edu- needs of street and working children; non- dren, and Teachers, and a wealth of illus- cation (January 1992/No. 3), reflect efforts formal and adult education;teacher trated information materials, news briefs, of the Unit to design and build a physical training, etc. statistics, book notes, a calendar of environment in accordance with EFA. meetings, etc.. All articles are free of copy- Chile 1991: The Years of Change: a recent right and can be reproduced. WORLD EDUCATION REPORT 1991:pre- addition to the video bank, this UNESCO pared by UNESCO, provides a broad but production (30'), directed by Juan Luis Bu- EDUCATION FOR ALL:Aninformative wall concise analysis of major trends and policy nuel, on Chile's 900 Schools Programme, poster with eloquent illustrations, statistics issues in world education today. Includes a describes how a newly democratic govern- and background on the goals, cost, and unique set of statistics.World Education ment, with assistance from Swedish and vision of the World Conference, and Indicators - giving key aspects of education Danish donors and the World Bank is boos- UNESCO' 's role in promoting and coordi- in over 160 countries. ting learning achievement among the most nating a wide range of basic education ser- disadvantaged children in the country. The vices. EDUCATION FOR ALL VIDEO BANK:Start- video can be obtained from: Ms Ulrika ing with 22 videos, the video bank will Peppler, ED/BAS/CBE, UNESCO, for EDUCATION FOR ALL: throe mono- serve as a resource centre for governments, $60. graphs,published by UNESCO, UNDP, institutes, teacher training colleges, NGOs UNICEF and the World Bank: (1) purpose and individuals interested in educational To obtain documents, video catalogue and and context, (2) an expanded vision and (3) topics in general and innovations in parti- further information on a wide range of ad- the requirements for this vision to become cular. It will be continuously updated and ditional materials, including those produ- reality, the about 100-page monographs are broadened, with catalogues issued regular- ced by the other Jomtien sponsors, contact: based on debates, printed and audio-visual ly. Copies of videos, available for a small materials used at roundtables in Jomtien. A fee, cover such subjects as use of videos for TheBASIC EDUCATION DIVISION, set of three will be available in English late training parents and community workers UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352

1992, French in 1993, for 210 FF. working with disabled children; how to Paris 07 SP, France. . Knowing and doing Lifera(y,r11'0 /// e ti Krystyria ChlehowAka Just published

NESC0

How can literacy help women to know their rights and responsibilities in society ? Price: 45 FF

UNESCO PRESS UNESCO SOURCES No.41/ OCTOBER 1992 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP Tel. (1) 45.68.10.00 Fax: (1) 42.73.30.07 PL ANET Environment

A USER-FR1ENDLY FOREST 'We must no longer think in terms of the virgin forest from whkh "MAN AND HIS WORLD" is a witty yet serious attempt to create alternative ways people are excluded'. of thinking about the planet. Presented in cartoon form, this colourful 90-page publi- The humid tropics form the planet's richest from nearly 30 countries on all continents cation deals with issues such the environ. ecological system and contain its most were able to swap ideas. merit and development, cultural heritage, extensive biological reserves. They are home I've been attending UN meetings for industrialization, the biosphere, eco- to some 200 million people and provide 15 about 20 years. There are always tons of ideas at the beginning, but in the end, you systems and the use of natural resources. percent of the wolrd's commercial timber production. The future is, therefore, of vital have to select concrete projects. In this Intended for both children and adults, it importance to the environment and world respect, UNESCO is a great help. presents the errors of the past and suggests economy. positive ideas for the future. A joint effort Building on this premise, a meeting on So what progress has been made towards by the UNOP/UNESCO Regional Project for the socio-economic development of these launching practical projects? regions was organized by UNESCO, The Conference laid a great deal of stress UNAMAZ (Association of Amazonian on the need for research on towns and Universities and Research Institutes), the cities. This is vital. Few people know that Third World Academy of Sciences and the 60 per cent of the population in Amazonia UN University, in Manaus (Brazil) from live in cities, Manaus and Belem in parti- June 13 to 19. Some 230 experts from 28 cular. According to another participant, countries attended. Bertha Becker from the Federal Universi- The scientists deplored the insufficient ty of Rio de Janeiro, this is the "worst en- means available to the countries concerned vironmental problem facing the region". to confront problems such a deforestation, Plans are going ahead for a studyof soil degradation and urban pollution. "The Manaus, the idea being to compare it with 18 countries of the South must discover their a city in Asia, and another, for example, own model of economic development" and Kinshasa (Zaire), in Africa. "imagine a science that responds to their What is happening in Amazonia is realities" declared Ignacy Sachs, UNESCO quite clear. The forest is being depopula- consultant and one of the main conference ted. The inhabitants are simply moving organizers. out and settling in municipes, sort of regio- In response to a call by the conference, nal centres, some of which are turning into UNESCO will provide help with study huge shanty towns. From these settlements Cultural, Urban and Environmental Heritage grants, exchanges, research projects, the the people are rapidly drawn to Manaus to in Latin America, the United Nations establishment of a South-South co-opera- seek jobs and access to services, doctors, Environment Programme and UNESCO's Man tive network, and muster the estimated $13 schools...Thus the surrounding region has and Biosphere and International Hydrologi- million in extra-budgetary funds needed to become completely deserted. Outside cal Programmes, the book can be obtained launch these activities over the next five Manaus nothing remains. from the Chief Technical Advisor of the years. Project, PM Box 4480, Lima 100 Peru. Four months after the meeting, itself a What are the resulting problems? direct follow-up to the Earth Summit in Rio First of all, there are the difficulties arising A UNESCO MISSION leaves for Beirut (June 3-14), where do we stand? One of the from urban sprawl. Secondly, Amazonia this month to help plan an archaeolo- participants, Jean-Louis Guillaumet, direc- is not self-sufficient in food. There is not enough manioc and no rice. Any develop- gical campaign to uncover the city's tor of research at ORSTOM, (a French research institute for Development Coope- ment plan for the region should give food past before rebuilding seals off the ration), shared his opinion with Nicolas self-sufficiency top priority. sites. French and British archaeolo- Michaux. gists are being solicited to the Leba- Basically, then, the main concern is people nese capital to search for such sites as Was this "just another meeting?" rather than nature? the original Phoenician town and the It's always distressing, of course, to come We will, of course, continue and intensify famous Roman law school. Local , up against what I call "ecowaffle". None- the collection of data on natural processes. personnel will alsoreceivetraining theless, it's very important that such a va- But we must no longer think in terms of the during the project. riety of people were able to meet. The large virgin f orest from which people are ex- Brazilian delegation certainly biased the cluded. We must aim at better manage- UNESCO SOURCES debates. That is, we concentrated mainly ment of the forest, the question being that on Amazonia, although Zaire, for example, of where limits should be set to human A II articles are free of copyright restrictions and can be reproduced. has a huge tropical rainforest. Still, it was activity. Agricultural systems in the area the first time, to my knowledge that experts otten fringe on what is possible and desi- Iq PLANET

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LEARNING THE FACTS ABOUT AIDS and othersexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as part of school health education programmes is the subject of a new Guide just MANAUS, published by the World Health Organization 'BURSTING AT THE (WHO) in collaboration with UNESCO. SEAMS' It provides a framework within which (Photo UNESCO/ education authorities can work with Miguel teachers, parents and community leaders to Clusener). help young people make mature decisions that will reduce risk to themselves and others. The 79-page Guide, entitled School Health Education to Prevent AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, No. 10 in the WHO AIDS series, is available on request from Ms. Sonia Bahri, Education for the Prevention of Aids, rable. The tendency today is towards a It's surprising you haven't said more Division of Education for the Quality of Life, mixture, what we call agro-forest systems, about the tropicalforest Isn't it threatened? UNESCO. based both on culture and natural products. Yes and no. It's true that the tropical forest To achieve this, social considerations is in danger, but to varying degrees. In must be taken into account. In this res- Africa, it has virtually disappeared in the "AMERINDIAN ENCOUNTERS" was pect, non-governmental organizations have Cote d'Ivoire, whereas Zaire still has vast the theme of a week-long film festival 19 an important role to play. They had very forest areas. In Amazonia, which is cited organized at UNESCO Headquarters enlightening things to say at the meeting. most frequently, there has been real waste from September 14 to 18, as part of the Drawing on their own experience, NGO in certain places where pioneers have been 500th Anniversary of the Encounter of people working at grassroots level can encouraged to settle, but other areas are Two Worlds (1492-1992). often provide answers to questions puz- little affected. In any event, we must not be Some 20 films from Brazil, Canada, zling scientists for years. overly alarmist and say: the forest has Ecuador, France, Mexico, Peru, Great The second theme of the meeting focused disappeared! At the Manaus meeting, the Britain and Venezuela, presented a precisely on research programmes linking American scientist, Philip Feamside, of development and the environment. We the Brazilian Institute of Research in "cultural mosaic" which revealed must arrive at intelligent and imaginative Amazonia, presented a few statistics. He different aspects of Indian life, use of the biomass and encourage ex- estimates that human activity has been mythology and culture, and incited change among countries in the South. For responsible for the disappearance or de- serious reflection on the future of these example, the Maldives count 250 uses for gradation of about 400,000 km2 of forest.. peoples and on new forms of inter- the coconut palm. Some may be rooted in That's a big area, almost the size of France, culturalrelationships. folklore, but at least 10 could be adopted in but proportionately it amounts to only 9.2 other regions. Bamboo is another example per cent of the world's forest. of a product widely used in Asia but very "THOSE WHO DISCOVER" was the theme little in Africa. There's also the production The Conference proposed six major of an 'encounter-training session' of bio-gas. comparative research topicso) and recom- organized at Huelva and Seville (Spain) from Something must be done to rehabili- mended the strengthening of the South's August 31 to September 9 by the World Fede- tate areasdegraded, for instance, by scientific potential.W here will the money ration of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associa- mining. In the Amazon, considerable come from? tions. damage is done by the uncontrolled search The most important thing is to draw up The 65 participants from 17 countries worked for goldbyamultitudeofsmall good projects. In addition to UNESCO, a around various subjects such as UNESCO and prospectors. Entire landscapes are disap- number of French institutes and the EEC culture, youth and education, the environ- pearing. can help. When it comes to the environ- We should learn from what is happe- ment, especially with the impetus of the ment and development. With help from ning in the mining areas of Zaire. Then Rio, if you have a good project, you can UNESCO programme specialists, they there is the problem of over-grazing, or of find the money. outlined new directions for the work of the the degradation of secondary forests and N. M. clubs. To this end, Director General Federico Mayor the bush. We must regain control of all this (I) Management of renewable resources; urban land, halfway between nature and civiliza- environments; health; bicksphere reserves; mine- insisted particularly on work for the tion. ral resources; and hydrology. environment, literacy and education for all. 2./0 AFRICA'S COMMUNICATORS

Not another boring workshop? Not at all, reports UNESCO's extraordinary Silk Roads Maritime Expedition can now be shared by all, with pu- journalist/teacher France Bequette. blication of a photographic record of the At 6o'clock in the morning it is already is one thing you must not do and that is voyage. Entitled 'FROM VENICE TO 32°. The air-conditioning just about mana- complain about lack of sleep or about OSAKA", the 264-page album takes the ges to cope with the damp heat beating hunger or heat. The trainees hand in their reader on a journey of discovery across 16 down on the yellow road which runs along answers. What is a goitre? Answer: an countries, to those sites that played a major the Bdnin-Presse News Agency building abnormal pregnancy. An irreversible me- role in development of the Silk Roads net- opposite the port of Cotonou. thod of contraception? The thermometer. work that criss-crossed Asia and Europe. The On the first floor, in a large, well-lit A treatment for cancer? Ultraviolent rays. book was prepared by photo journalist Sun room, 18 dark heads are bowed over white Astonishing responses that reveal a lack of Tuft of the China Pictorial agency, who ac- sheets of paper. The written test they are general information on health issues even companied the expedition from its departure taking is a regular feature of all our first amongst the ranks of these professionals. in October 1990 to its final port of call in meetings and is perhaps a bit like school, There is some sorting out to be done here! Japan in March 1991. It is available from the but how else can one discover what these One lecturer follows another as the China International Book Trading Corp. P.0 African journalists, attending a training programme unfolds, covering population Box 399,Beijing 100044, China, for S35. course organized by UNESCO, know about problems,drinkingwater,traditional . health matters, the environment and popu- medicine and sexually transmitted diseases. lation questions? Their talks are followed by press conferen- Aitiggrall Two courses of this kind have been ces, and if the specialists have tried to blind held, one in Cotonou in March and the us with science they pay for it, because the g, other in Yaounclé in July/August. The trai- journalists are certainly not backward in WitffiC nees were between 25 and 40, from 20 coming forward with their questions and F D CE States in West and Central Africa. Women criticism! 20 VO 0 were in a minority. All were employed by Atucle and their country's own news agency and had RUMOURS VS FACTS photographs by Sun 'lift, chosen to specialize in one of the five All the same, you cannot learn about health modules offered by UNESCO: economics, and the environment within the four walls international relations, rural development, of a classroom. The Yaoundé trainees went health and the environment. off to visit a bush dispensary to find out why the numbers of people making use of BUILDING UP NATIONAL - it had dropped suddenly. We learnt that the NEWS AGENCIES neighbourhood healers, who insist on being e3 The courses are linked with two projects called tradi-practitioners, had organized a known as WANAD (West African News campaign to discourage mothers. A ru- Agencies Development) and CANAD mour had been circulated that the purpose of the vaccination programme launched by "CARIBBEAN EYE", a UNESCO sup- . (Central African News Agencies Deve- theUnited Nations Children's Fund ported TV documentary series, has lopment), which were launched in 1985 with funds provided by Germany, now (UNICEF) in Cameroon was to sterilize earned top prizes at the Annual Carib- totalling nearly $10 million. The idea took little girls! The rumour had reached such bean Media Awards for: Best Televi- shape in 1982 in UNESCO's Communica- proportions that UNICEF admitted that it sion Documentary, Best Presenter and tion Sector, which wanted to build up na- was vaccinating scarcely 45 per cent of the promotion of regional integration. tional news agencies in Africa by equip- children in a country where it had hoped to Produced by the Banyan company ping them with dish aerials and computers, vaccinate at least 80 per cent. This was a with a $40,000 contribution from training maintenance technicians and gi- situation in which our journalists had a role UNESCO's International Programme . ving staff the resources to process infor- to play. Nevertheless, to be convincing for the Development of Communica- mation properly. they had to have a clear understanding of tion (IPDC), Caribbean Eye presehts a Maintaining the hectic pace set by the advantages of vaccination themselves, panorama of regional culture from UNESCO programme specialist and for- so the UNICEF representative came to the local festivals, music and arts to oral mer Senegalese journalist Babacar Fall, training course to provide an explanation tradition and indigenous popula- . often proved difficult for the trainees. Be- and to give out documents, to put on the tions. hind the wheel of his car, Fall travels very empty shelves of the news agencies. thousands of kilometres through Africa, A similar exercise was carried out on UNESCO SOURCES where he knows all the tracks and the AIDS. The trainees interviewed people in All articles are free of copyright tiniest villages. It is not surprising that he the street , discovering that a certain num- restrictions and con be reproduced. calls the instructors on his training courses ber did not even believe the virus existed: his "marines". If you work with him, there it was "an invention of the white man". It I was also very difficult for them to accept na gave them an opportunity to see the ad- the idea of a person being "HIV positive", vantages and disadvantages of such pro- 'NATIVE PEOPLE are in the vanguard of i.e. infected by the virus and although not jects: diseases associated with water deve- development thinking and practice in yet really ill, capable of infecting other lop, such as bilharzia, a disease of the liver Canada. Native communities have a great people. Then came the turn of the repre- and bladder, and onchocerciasis (elephan- deal to say to the rest of the world about what sentatives of the World Health Organiza- tiasis), while valuable ecosystems are floo- development is and how to promote it.' In his tion (WHO). Jean, an American woman ded and populations displaced. At Oursi, study 'Canada: In search of Lost Eyes', Dr. perfectly at her ease, produced a magnifi- in Burkina Faso, it was possible, from the Michael Bopp examines the process of cent carved penis from a plastic bag. A edge of the lake, to see the golden sand development among Canadian Natives and Chadian volunteered to hold it upright. dunes spreading over the village. The desert argues that the world's dominant cultures She took a condom the only known way was advancing where an old shepherd told will inevitably turn towards indigenous us that, when he was a boy, there used to be peoples and counter-culturesior new eyes'. thick forest teeming with wild animals. The journalists planted a hedge of Dr. Bopp's essay is one of four case studies euphorbia to help halt the sand's advance. just published by UNESCO in its 'Analytical Near Tara, in Togo, there were bushfires. and Methodological Studies' series. The villagers have to clear the land to feed Nor Division ol Studies for Development themselves but the method of growing V crops on burnt soil, which in the short term THE ARAB INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN sterilizes the land, is the forest's worst RIGHTS (IADH) has won the 1992 enemy. In Niger, reafforestation was pro- UNESCO Prize for the Teaching of Hu- ceeding. The forest of Guesselbodi, near MAN Rights. The IADH was the una- Niamey, amazed the giant trainee from the nimous choice of tbe jury which paid Congo, as the trees there only came up to tribute to its "unique and irreplace- his waist! The forest is nevertheless very. able work in the Arab States region". well managed and provides the firewood 21 Founded in 1989, the Tunis-based that the housewives of the capital cannot do without. After every stop and every Institute is not only involved in raising lecture, the journalists had to write all awareness of human rights in general, kinds of articles. Information about health, but also active in such specialized and the environment and population had to be complex issues as women's and perfectly assimilated. children's rights.It was selected from Back in their agencies, they will con- 33 candidates for the $10,000 prize. JOURNALISTS TRAINING IN A CAMEROON tinue to learn. Our greatest pleasure comes VILLAGE (Photo F. Bequette). when, during our travels in Africa, we of avoiding infection with AIDS and as come across articles based on the dispat- 'CREACTIONS" was the title of a UNESCO she pulled it over the organ, she made it ches of our trainees, or discover, for exam- stand at the International Salon of Interior clear that the testicles were to stay outside. ple, that a former woman student has star- Decoration in Paris from September 4-8, The onlookers were not convinced, so to ted a health colunm in a Lagos daily. The . aimed at promoting African crafts in a con- prove that the rubber was strong enough , training courscs have really proved useful. temporary setting. The display incorporated she blew a condom up, turning it into Another thing that gives us great satisfac- table settings by French designer Caroline something that resembled an airship! tion is to have started a ball rollingthe Winckel and inspired by the traditions of Thunderous applause followed. trainees have decided, on their own "initia- Burkina Faso, Cöte d'Ivoire and Mali. The Cotonou students and instructors tive, to set up an association of Central and went off on a long journey, dubbed "6000 West African specialist journalists, and kilometres of dust", and which took them we shall do all we can to help them. through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger. The dam at Akosombo in Gha- France BEGUETTE

In Memoriam Aram, as he was known to all from Bamako to Brazzaville, was a great field operator. The technical development of the PANA, WANAD and CANAD news agencies over the past 10 years, was largely of his creation. He was passionately involved with the African continent; as eager to plumb its depths and understand its inhabitants as he was to share his knowledge and commitment with the hundreds of technicians he had trained. On August 12, in the suburbs of Lagos, Aram Husinec, 41, Yugoslav, was murdered by car thieves. The African media and his colleagues at UNESCO have not only lost a real expert but a loyal friend. THE STAND 'CREACTIONS", (Photo UNESCO). 22, Education

THE LANGUAGE OF LEARNING

"There is no alternative to mother tongue education". A strategy of inclusiveness and integration of CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS into The use of indigenous languages in schools initial literacy is a continuation of colonial the regular school system and within the fra- has long been a source of controversy, and practices. mework of Education for All is the main tool at the biennial International Conference on "The only serious question that arises to ensure their equal a«ess. This was the Education (Geneva, 14-19 September) was is whether it is adequate to limit the use of conclusion of educational officials from 10 once again raised as an issue of concern to African languages to early primary edu- African countries, at a UNESCO seminar on numerous governments seeking to conso- cation only. Does this imply that such lan- Policy, Planning and Organization of lidate their sovereignty and cultural identity. guages cannot support instruction in sub- Education for these children (physically or In many developing countries, it is the jects beyond this level?" he asked. mentally handicapped, underprivileged...) language of a former colonial power that is Prof. Bamgbose said despite the costs in Gaborone, Botswana from August 3 to 6. involved in developing language, "there is The major obstacle, they said, has been no alternative to mother tongue educa- maintenance of a dual system of education, tion". He said three implications have to one "normal", the other 'special', and the be borne in mind in choosing a language lack of clearly defined policies and plans. policy: will it achieve the objective of to mass education or will it simply produce an elite; will the policy enhance national These Old Czech Legends accepted in development; and will it also enhance the the European series of the UNESCO culture of its products. COLLECTION OF REPRESENTATIVE Professor William Mackey of the In- WORKS, tell much about the nation, its ternational Centre for Language Manage- history and temperament. They were ment Research at the Université Laval, in written by the prodigious historical NJ Canada, said if the present rate of language 22 novelist and playwright Alois Jirásek, THE LANGUAGE LESSON shift continues, half the world's languages in the 1890s, at a time when the Bohe- (Photo: Pham Minh Gang -Viet Nam, winner of will not survive the next century. At the mian lands were still a part of the the WU Contest, 1990). same time, economic development mo- Austro-Hungarian empire. Presen- dernization, higher and more specialized officially taught in schools. Thus, official educationtoleratefewer andfewer languages of some 125 sovereign states languages. are restricted to English, French, Spanish Prof. Mackey said the Council of Europe and Arabic yet there are about 6,200 lan- has already taken a first step towards esta- guages worldwide. blishing a workable language policy by However, as one language specialist adopting a Charter of Regional and Mino- put it, "the inertia of traditional thinking in rity Languages in Europe which was incor- matters of language education is being porated as a chapter of the Maastricht shaken by the social realities of a new age, Treaty on European unity. This seeks to by opposing forces of cultural diversity give legal status to indigenous regional and socio-economic globalism, giving new languages within European states. meaning to the concepts of language, lite- He said the Permanent International racy, culture and education": Committee of Linguists last month adop- In some countries, local or indigenous ted a resolution to be presented to UNESCO's languages are used for instruction at the next General Conference next year. early stages of primary education. But is It states: "As the disappearance of any ing various stories, partly fact and this an ideal situation given the fact that one language constitutes an irretrievable partly fiction, unified into one artistic language is the most evident and pervasive loss, it is for UNESCO a task of great whole, the 200-page book conveys a manifestation of cultural identity? urgency to respond to this situation by characteristically Czech picture of During the Conference, UNESCO promoting and, if possible, sponsoring Bohemian history.Itis available from organized a round table on language poli- programmes of linguistic organizations Forest Books, 20 Forest View, Ching- cy, literacy and culture where the limited for the descriptionin the form of gram- ford, London E4 7AY UK., for £10.95. use of indigenous languages in preference mars, dictionaries and texts, including the to official languages emerged as one of the recording of oral literatures - of hitherto sticking points during discussions. unstudied or inadequately documented en- UNESCO SOURCES Professor Ayo Bamgbose ofthe dangered and dying languages." All articles are free of copyright Department of Linguistics and African restrictions and can be reproduced. Languages at the University of lbadan, Ndaba NYONI Nigeria, said the use of mother tongue for Geneva PL ANET Social and Human Sciences

YOUTH IN ACTION They're young, enthusiastic, and are all working towards the 'STANDING UP TO NATURAL same goal: a better world. DISASTERSis an easy-to-read,guide to Diana was sixteen. Of Mexican origin, she Sami (a painting of his is reproduced basic protection measures against earthqua- lived in Washington. Having succumbed here) is 25 and called a "loony" in the kes, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, mudslides to a depression, she dropped out of school. region he comes from in Tunisia. A street and the like, published as port of UNESCO's WAVE (Work, Achievement, Values and painter, he carries his naive works from contribution to the International Decade for Education), an association that helps young town to village, exhibiting them on the Natural Disaster Reduction. people with problems, came to her rescue. walls, in youth and cultural centres, inci- Today, two years older, Diana Manzo ting both children and inhabitants to parti- speaks with confidence, laughs freely and cipate. leads an active life. She now heads the as- sociation that once came to her help. BANK LOANS AND JOBS With 13 other young people from va- Nineteen year old Renuka, from Nagpur, rious countries, she was invited to UNESCO India, works with single mothers, who from September 11 16, as part of an often are in dire straits. Her association initiative called "Youth in Action". (Gandhi Sewa Ashram Samiti) helps them to earn their own livelihoods - by selling tea or sweets in the street, making clothes or other goods. She organizes loans for them (2000 rupees, that is 20 pounds) to help them launch small projects and make ends meet. "Being so poor, these women are not even allowed to enter a bank, let alone 23 . . .. read or sign documents, etc...", she says, but adds on a proud note: "114 loans have been approved, and the 102 little jobs thus Illustrated with remarkable photos of created are functioning very well". Joao, natural disasters and their results, it looks 24is with the federation of Agronomy at where such phenomena are most likely to students in southern Brazil and wants to occur, the latest scientific knowledge on set up a "new breed of specialists", who their causes and various UNESCO projects live and work with peasant communities. aimed at increasing public knowledge and He wants to gear his knowledge to social preparedness. needs, and hopefully to convert people Or Division of forth Sciences from other disciplines, the medical ones in particular, to do likewise. He does not

think agronomists can remain indifferent UNESCO SOURCESisamonthlymagazine to reality"83 percent of peasants own published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific bare& 3 percent of agricultural land'''. and Cultural Organization. Enghsh and French editiom These young people were chosen after 23 year old Monica, from Colombia's are produced at Paris Headquarters; the Spanish and consultation with various NGO's on the Scouts association, devotes her time to a Catalan editions in cooperation with the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, Mallorca 285, 08037 Barcelona, basis of their contributions to society. Aged home for the aged, near Manizales. Her Spain; the Portuguese edition with the UNESCO (entre between 18 and 27, they were able to motto: "Let' s live with the aged". Edou, 23 in Porto, rua Jose Fakao, 100 R/C, 4000 Porto, exchange experiences, present their pro- is the president of Gabon's Christian Youth Portugal. jects and meet with UNESCO experts. Organization and has launched several Editor-In-Chief: R. ("fort. Associate editors: With some 125 local projects to its initiatives in favour of the environment or 8. Wedher, S. Williams, N. Michaux, C. Breuil. As- credit, WAVE has come to the help of university strikes. Others are involved with sistant Managing Editor: C.Mouillare. 120,000 young people in difficulty. Diana literacy or sex education programmes. And Assistant (Spanish edition): C. Medrano. Lay- works with the Hispanic community. She all of them, whatever continent they come out: G. Traiano, F. Ryan. Circulation and Secre- convinces companies to offer jobs and from, are deeply concerned about the threats tariat: D. Maarek. training, offers clothePlo the neediest so to young people. The words AIDS and Photoengraving and printing in UNESCO that they can present themselves correctly, drugs are subjects of conversation com- Workshops. Distribution by UNESCO's sets up youth centres, contributes to the mon to them all, regardless of cultural or spedalizedservices. rehabilitation of suburbs, organizes tuto- language differences. Publicity: Chloi Communication, Paris. Tel. (1) rial help for adolescents doing badly at 43.26.40.66 Fax: (1) 43.54.82.21. school... N.M. ' 1" AO

To mark the 40th anniversary of the UNIVERSAL COPYRIGHT CONVENTION, writers, publishers, personalities from the art world and the media will attend a symposium at Headquarters from

November 16 to 18, on "The Role and Challenges of Copyright on the Eve of the 21 st Century." OOD

IntergovernmentalCouncilGoo ollig Ogllmna alueRmAimea PC30C3RAMMg &IX Lo06163 420

000dioo GOHeadquarters 600c2cake 00 GO NO, GE OLOGY AND THE ATOM will be the theme of a colloquium organized in collaboration with the Soclité Géologique de France, at Headquarters on November

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C3CR7gELEMIgMal OGflOS R M Ai700@ PDC®RAMMTA mow otou 500e3 oo agenda, oondou (0000ff1700 00 En 00800 oudou oo acootoo POII0O7f300 00 to 00R mai 0oincreasefloo offloeot000go.

Two meetings will be organized by the INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC

COMMISSION: the 14th session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and

Information Exchange (WE), from November 30 to December 9 at Headquarters; and the 4th session of the

IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (IOCARIBE) from December 1 to 10, In Ensenada,

Mexico. AmongMCLIOUgD IlL240eMe3 Dn7e3 00 LOcelebrated DecemLGQ C008 wgemao ace

DLY7 oo Gth2 x(1EO MANDOC31170 cnv om Ger moa As part of festivities marking the latter event on the same day at Headquarters, some 350 YOUNG PEOPLE will take part in a workshop on the theme "Human Rights and the Environment". Um CRTARD630WOCT3 Cia2g123CDMOD3 &ill 80

Headquartersgoug GO)g Mg) Peso P0033 aducation VxiG 90vemberft (TA to MOO Pato gop (60 Weaching 00 NeEporDRights, Decem ba The WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE will hold its 16th session from December 6 to 14 in Sante Fe (New Mexico, USA). The Committee will, notably, examine: an evaluation of the Convention, future strategies, the state of conservation of cultural and natural sites, and the Inscription of new ones on the World Heritage List.

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UNESCO SOURCES No.41/ OCTOBER 1992

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U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement (0ERI) ERIC National Library of Education (NLE) Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

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EFF-089 (9/97)