Kofi Annan Live
Live now: Kofi Annan in dialogue with young people on global issues. Join the conversation live now: bit.ly/17YXaye
More than 65% of girls over 15 in Ghana’s Northern Region have received no formal education (compared with the national average of 21%). This is why our support continues to be pivotal to these communities. DFID Ghana will be working with communities in the north, Camfed and the Government of Ghana to ensure that these 70,000 girls remain in and complete secondary school through targeted incentives by 2016. The support includes school fees, uniforms (made by local tailors which helps provide the community with work), and school supplies. (via UNGEI - Ghana - What does education mean to girls in Ghana?)
Mind the Gap
Imagine you are a little girl in Mali or India. What are the chances that you will complete primary school or go on to higher education. Find out by exploring the data in Mind the Gap.
Great rediscovered resource: Mind the Gap - Gender and Education: An interactive data game
Go to School, graduate and get a Job
Many years back, what was prevalent amongst the advice of our parents was that, it is important to go to school. No doubt, education is very important in order to acquire required knowledge in diverse areas and for development. We were not only encouraged to go to school but motivated and given incentives to ensure we complete. I remember my parents used to tell me the importance of education which I also discovered as I grew up. In their words…“if you go to school, after you graduate, you will get a good job”. Ofcourse, this has been the experience of so many people however, it may no longer apply in this process.
One of the buzz words which is prevalent in development is ‘entrepreneurship’. You may have also met or read about people who are proudly entrepreneurs by profession. Entrepreneurs own their own businesses and live up to the risks involved in managing businesses. How can entrepreneurs then extend these opportunities for wider societal development impact while ensuring that their entrepreneurship targets are met?
Social entrepreneurs as defined by Ashoka ‘are individual with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems, it further mentioned that they are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change’. The youth make up more than 60% of the Nigerian population. Nigeria also has a large number of unemployed youth hence, the need for change in thinking and time to start getting innovative. The government makes promises in every sector for what they plan to do or provide as the case maybe however, will definitely not be able to cater for the whole population especially with the problem of good governance. Globally, there is general excitement at the discovery of a new way of doing things which demonstrates that innovation in development is crucial.
The world is yearning for social entrepreneurs who will not wait for the government of their country but step up their thinking for innovative ideas and solutions for wider societal good. So, as you go through school, while also allowing school to go through you, be open to other form of learning and ideas. This should be the thinking for today and advice to all energetic youth out there.
“A house built on a weak foundation, cannot stand”, Liberia’s President Sirleaf underscores the importance of education to development. http://bit.ly/131Ucrs
What do you think makes a good teacher?
Last year, our report showed that 250 million children aren’t learning the basics, whether they’re in school or not. This year, our report will look into why this is the case, and how teachers can help us fix the problem.
Join us as we start the debates via twitter using #teachandlearn and on facebook
Bridging the finance gap to get all children in school
The world needs to discuss how to find the $26bn needed to get all children into school.
We have an idea how it can be achieved: http://bit.ly/10PdBJJ
AMANDA HOLLEY
everybody has a little “soul singer” inside - whether you are a painter, a musician, a writer, a builder, an executive … each of us has that light inside of us to share with the world - we overcome our obstacles and triumph, and go through more struggles only to become stronger than we ever believed we could be - and it makes us a testimony to the power of the human soul!
Let the haters go and show the world what you know - knowledge isn’t just what we learn in school - it doesn’t come from a degree or a diploma alone. It’s that innate knowledge that each of us has within us. You are born with it. It fuels your passion and makes you who you are….
Building Better Futures With Education
Have you ever needed a second chance at an education? The persistence of these young people is inspiring and will pay off for their communities.
YIP
My name is Alexandria Forsyth. I am writing on behalf of the International Youth Initiative Program (YIP), and on the behalf of youth worldwide. After studying for a year in University, I decided I needed something more out of an education and I applied to YIP.
In the most basic sense, YIP is 40 participants aged 19 to 25, from all over the world, living and studying together for one year, exploring how to change the world through developing themselves.
YIP is primarily concerned with strengthening the capacity of young people to take an active role in fostering positive cultural, social, environmental, and economic change that will benefit all sections of society.
Acknowledging the challenges presented by the current issues presented by the time and world in which we live, the culture of YIP is one of questioning complexity, rather than seeking simple ‘quick-fix’ answers to dynamic challenges. YIP provides a space that allows its participants to stay with their questions, however uncertain and uncomfortable it may be. Instead of mandating obscure or irrelevant educational requirements, YIP challenges its participants to explore deeply those questions that interlink the human being to the greater whole.
As a YIP alumni, I believe that this is one of the most relevant and important educational programs of our time. Because of this, I am writing to you now, asking you to join me in supporting this amazing initiative. YIP is striving to be one of the world’s first crowd-funded education programs. Our goal is to raise 1 million SEK ($155,210). In order to raise this money, we want to build a community of 1000 “YIP Friends” who donate an amount of 1,000 SEK ($155) every year. We all know that times are tough, and one-time donations of any amount help us out as well! This global network of YIP-Friends will make YIP financially resilient and community-supported. Your money will cover the educational costs of the program, which under Swedish law cannot be charged to students.
As we step boldly into an unknown future full of a convergence of crises, it is clear we need to find new forms to address these challenges in innovative, dynamic, and holistic ways. YIP is an education that provides young people with the opportunity to truly find the capacities necessary within themselves, and equips them with the tools to create the sustainable change necessary, as well as the ability to continually develop new tools as circumstances demand. By becoming a YIP Friend, you are saying yes to a new form of education, where youth are given the freedom to explore these capacities and tools.
Applications are also open for YIP 2013-2014! An opportunity not to be missed.
Thank you from all of us in the YIP network,
Alexandria
Please go here to donate, apply, or read more about YIP!
www.yip.se
As many countries celebrate International Workers’ Day tomorrow, let’s think about the importance of education in skills training for getting young people into work: http://bit.ly/12Xmrrw
23 April 2013 – Calling for quick action by authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that education was becoming another casualty of the months-long conflict, with half the country’s schools shuttered and hundreds of thousands of students at risk of missing out the entire year.
At least 250,000 children who started the 2012-2013 primary school year, and 30,000 who were in secondary school at the start of the crisis, could lose the entire school year if schools do not re-open in the coming weeks, the agency said in a news release.
Do you know teachers or are you a teacher? If so, help answer our questionnaires!
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2013/teacher-form-2/
Messages from youth campaigners to governments on the skills deficit
The Arabic version of the 2012 Global Monitoring Report was launched this week in Cairo, at an event hosted by the League of Arab States. As the last of the regional launches of the Report, the event will also mark the end of the official youth campaign, which has gathered the voices of over 1,000 youth from approximately 100 countries. Young people have stressed the importance of governments giving all young people, whatever their circumstances, the opportunity to learn relevant skills that prepare them for rewarding work.
The outcomes of the youth campaign have been compiled into a multimedia report, which will be delivered to ministers of education around the world. Click on the image to flip through the pages of messages, photos and videos from youth around the world to governments.
In addition to this multimedia report, young people have also prepared a youth version of the 2012 EFA Global Monitoring Report which has been widely disseminated at launch events around the world. Although the launch in Cairo marks the end of the official youth campaign for the 2012 Report, the GMR is continuing to engage with young people to listen to their voices on the theme of the 2013/14 Report on Teaching and Learning for Development.
This International Women’s Day, let’s make sure that women and girls everywhere have an equal opportunity to get an education.
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