At a recent meeting of African Ministers of Education, UNESCO’s Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to education in Africa.
Ministers of Education from African Member States as well as the African Union Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, Professor Nagia Essayad, participated in discussions.
The meeting was held within the context of the 34th session of the General Conference and offered the opportunity to discuss UNESCO’s initiatives and activities in Africa in an informal way.
Mr Matsuura referred to the second African Union Decade on Education in Africa as “a priority for the Organization under the next medium-term strategy” and underlined that the Conference of African Ministers of Education (COMEDAF) provided the formal framework for UNESCO’s cooperation with Ministers of Education of Africa.
The three Education for All (EFA) flagship programmes – Teacher Training Initiative for sub-. Saharan Africa (TTISSA), Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) and The Global Initiative on Education and HIV/AIDS (EDUCAIDS) – were highlighted as key vehicles to meeting the continent’s basic education needs. “I am happy to see that these initiatives are taking root”, he said, underlining that the entire UNESCO Education Sector – Headquarters, Field Offices and Institutes – was engaged in their implementation.
He recalled the recent UNESCO Regional Literacy Conference for Africa, organized in Bamako, Mali, on 10-11 September and drew attention to the forthcoming Education for All (EFA) High-Level Group Meeting, to be held in Dakar, Senegal, on 11-13 December.
Mr Matsuura said that he would be following the outcomes of the meeting very closely.
