DOCUMENT RESUME ED 332 852 RC 018 161 AUTHOR Devlin, Brian C., Ed. TITLE Education for All. South East Asia andSouth Pacific Si:lip-Regional Conference Report (Darwin,Northern Territory, Australia, October 14-19, 1990). INSTITUTION Northern Territory Dept. of Education,Darwin (Australia). SPONS AGENCY Australian Dept. of Employment, Educationand Training, Canberra.; Australian International Development Assistance Bureau.; International Literacy Year Secretariat, Canberra (Australia).; United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization, Bangkok (Thailand). PrincipalRegional Office for Asia and the Pacific. REPORT NO ISBN-0-7245-2500-9 PUB DATE 91 NOTE 232p. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings(021) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Access to Education; Adult Education;Bilingual Education; *Disabilities; Education Work Relationship; Elementary SecondaryEducation; Equal Education; Foreign Countries; *Indigenous Populations; *Literacy Education; Multicultural Education; Poverty; *Rural Education;Teacher Education; *Womens Education IDENTIFIERS *Asia (Southeast); Australia; PacificIslands; *South Pacific ABSTRACT In October 1990, 223 delegates from 22nations of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific metin Australia to discuss plans and strategies for achieving universaleducation in the region. To inform planning and action, theconference defined fivegroups of people for whom universal education isa priority: indigenous people and minorities, people in poverty,people in remote areas,people with disabilities, andwomen and girls. This report contains summaries of 25 workshops and 25 round tablediscussions that examined education for each of thesegroups from the standpoint of access and equity, curriculum and professionaldevelopment, literacy, elementary education, and the school/workinterface and continuing education. These sessions includeddescriptions of how various countries are addressing each of theseissues, and recommendations for further action. Appendices containbackground informationon the region; proposed areas for cooperativeaction; conference organ4zation; highlights of countryreports; Australia's national literacy strategy; conference participants; and theopening address. Outlines of objectives, inputs, outcomes, indicators ofprogress, anc: constraints for strategies inthe following areas ofconcern are presented in tables: earlychildhood interventionsfor literacy, improvements in Eqementaryschool literacy andnumeracy, functional literacy to generate income, literacy education forwomen, literacy and numeracy for disabled adolescents and adults, developmentof educational materials forliteracy in the mother tongue,provision of technology for literacy in remote areas, producing learningmaterials for literacy, and training teachers and personnel forliteracy. (SV) SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SOUTHPACIFIC SUB-REGIONAL CONFERENCE .r CONFERENCE REPORT ''..,-17'";;° VVViN '41\tr>t,"1.T, i li,te , -?)Ni 1%1* -1 MA"`P,12:riN1^. : V.:1),V' "PERMISSION TOREPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEENGRANTED BY Enc.IA Deul01. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER(ERIC)." BLE Y 4 . 1 U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION S % OfficeI Eclucabonal Research And -.:2 .. i . %--...'.3!'. improvement .,:. ,,.., Y:si;,.,?'1i-g; EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This 00Cumen1 hes been reproducedas isteinvae;:li nglro the person Or organilahon Darwin Austfalia 14 0 Minor changes have been modeto irn0fOv 19 October 1990 rePrOduCtiOn oratory Points 01 view or opinions slated in this00Cu- ment 00 not necessarily represent official OE qf positron or policy EDUCATION FORALL SOUTH EAST ASIA ANDSOUTH PACIFIC SUB--REGIONAL CONFERENCE DARWIN NORTHERN TERRITORY AUSTRALIA 14-19 OCTOBER 1990 Edited by Dr Brian Devlin Northern Territory Department of Education Darwin 1991 © Northern Territory Department of Education1991 ISBN 0 7245 2500 9 For further Information please contact: Executive Officer Education For All Conference Department of Education GPO Box 4821 Darwin NT 0801 Telephone: (089) 89 5710 Printed by the Disance Education Branch of the Northern Territory Department of Education P&PFebruary91/284-400 Conference report : Education for all, South East Asia and South Pacific sub-regionol conference, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia,14 - 19October 1990 / edited by Dr. Brian Devlin. Darwin : Northern Territory Dept. of Education, 1991. Hi, 220 p. ; 30 cm. 0724525009 : CIP 1. Literacy - Congresses. 2. Unesco, Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All.I. Unesco. Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All. South-East Asia and South Pacific sub-regional conference (1990 : Darwin, N.T.).II. Northern Territory. Dept. of Education. III. Title : Education for All. IV. Devlin, Brian. 374.012 20 4 Education For All Darwin 1990 Contents Page Introduction 1 Background 3 Opening Ceremony 5 Program 11 Attendance 34 Organisation of the Conference 35 Election of Office Bearers 38 Plenary Addresses 39 Workshop Programs 53 Case Study Excursions 97 Round Tables 108 Action Plans 129 Resokitions 133 Draft Resolutions 145 Conclusion 149 Bibliography 155 Appendixes 1. Opening Address by the Minister for Education, 157 Northern Territory, Australia 2. South East Asia and South Pacific Regional Action Plan 161 3. A National Lit6racy Strategy for Australia 185 4. List of Participants 193 5. Conference Support 211 ill Darwin 1990 Introduction (A note to conference delegates) I hope you will forgive me if I talk to you as a person rather than hiding behind the report as if I were invisible.It is not an attempt to draw attention to myself or to 'grandstand', but since so many people have taken the floor at this conference and spoken in a wonderfully direct and honest way about their lives, fears, hopes, problems, programs, teaching, research and dreams, I want to take this opportunity as conference rapporteur to say that you were heard. You wanted this conference to be real.I think it was. When you packed your bags and said goodbye to your friends and family, you probably did so in the belief that speaking at such a conference could make a difference.I think it did. The final test, of course, will be the actions and changes which flow on from here. Mr Paula Bloomfield (Tonga) spoke about bringing down the walls that divide us.If it is possible to bring down the Berlin wall, brick by brick, then surely it is possible for us to pull down the wallsvisible and invisiblethat separate us. Although part of the wall remains, many bricks were removed during the conference. One of the ways we found to communicate, despite the differences that separate us, was to use appropriate metaphors and images.For example, the Yolngu (Aboriginal) educators from Yirrkala used the term garma to convey the idea of Western knowledge flowing in from the sea with the incoming tide, and Yolngu knowledge bubbling up from deep springs in the land. Where and when the salt water and fresh water mingle, they produce foam and brackish water. This metaphor integrates old and new, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, fresh and salty, sea and land, past and future, changing and being changed. 1 f: Education For All While this report c4nnot hope to capture all the ideas and imagesthat were put forward at the conference, its writers have aimed to include: summaries of presentations,discussions and case study visits, the Australianand sub-regional action plans and conference tesolutions. The true test of the value of this report, however, will be the extent towhich its words are effectively put into actions. B C Devlin Conference Rapporteur 2 Darwin 1990 Background The Asia-Pacific Programme of Education For All (APPEAL) was launched on 4 November 1986 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of UNESCO. APPEAL's basic objectives are to eliminate illiteracy, to attain universal primary education and to promote continuing education.In an effort to achieve these objectives, APPEAL endeavours to strengthen the capability of each nation in the Asia-Pacific region and to foster regional cooperation. Prior to the World Conference held in Jomtien, Thailand, in March 1990, *he Australian National Commission for UNESCO considered the desirability of holding a follow-up conference in Australia to develop a National Education For All Action Plan and so a proposal was developed. When the scope of the proposal became clear, it was apparent that many of the possible themes and priorities were not confmed to Australia. The Commission asked that the plan also take into account the possibility of joining with the South East Asia and Pacific Sub-Region to consider possible areas of mutual interest. A draft proposal was developed and circulated during the Jomtien conference.This was considered at a meeting of members from Sub-Regional National Commissions immediately after the conference. Following a positive response from the sub-regional members represented at Jomtien and confirmation of Australia's willingness to act as host, a sub-regional planning group comprising nominees from UNESCO's Principal Regional Office in Bangkok and the office for the Pacific states in Apia, as well as individuals from the Pacific,South East Asia and Australiawas established to plan and implement theconfetence in accordance with the 3 Education For All World Declaration on Education For All and the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs as agreed at Jomtien. Sub-Regional Reference Committee meetings were held on 15 and 18 June 1990 in conjunction with UNESCO's Fifth High Level Consultation of Pacific States Educators.