High Level Ministerial Meeting 2014

30 April 2014 08:00 - 16:30

Event Details

The meeting builds on the success of the first EAC High Level Ministerial Meeting which was held in April, 2013, where 17 ministries of education and a number of EAC partners issued a public statement supporting the acceleration of efforts to reach and enroll OOSC, and in recognition of the benefits of primary education. Since the 2013 meeting, a number of projects from the countries that participated have been supported. 

The focus on countries is essential for the ultimate commitment of ministries to build education systems designed to sustain the decrease and eventual elimination of OOSC. It is expected that the upcoming High Level Meeting will assist in: 

1. Informing participants about EAC,
2. Providing opportunities for countries to communicate  the challenges that they face in relation to bringing OOSC into education,
3. Possibly identifying how EAC can contribute to overcoming these obstacles.

Morning Sessions: Wednesday 30 April, 2014

8:00 – 8:55
Set up of Country Showcase boards and tables

8:55 – 9:00
Call to Order

Masters of Ceremony:
Mr. Darren Jordon – Anchor, Al Jazeera - English
Ms. Yara Bader Al-Darwish – EAC Youth Advocate

9:00 – 9:30
Welcome and Introduction – Urgency and Opportunity

Educate A Child is a global program that aims to significantly reduce the number of children worldwide who are denied their right to a quality primary education. Launched by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in November 2012, EAC works with partners across the world toward its mission to trigger significant breakthroughs in providing out of school children an opportunity for a full course of quality primary education. The situation is urgent because, in 2000 the world committed to enable all children to enroll in and be able to complete a primary education by 2015. This meeting is one opportunity to accelerate action in support of attaining this commitment

Speakers
Mr. Marcio Barbosa, CEO, Educqation Above All Foundation
Ambassador Dr. Ahmed Al-Meraikhi, Director, International Development Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar
HE Ms. Julia Gillard, Chair, the Global Partnership for Education--Keynote Address
Dr. Mary Joy Pigozzi, Director EAC

9:30 – 9:35
Transition to Concurrent Sessions

9:35 –11:15
Concurrent sessions

> Ministerial Segment

The aim of the Ministerial Segment, is to provide an opportunity for Ministers of Education to present their primary education plans addressing Out of School Children (OOSC), and to outline existing gaps and challenges that make it difficult to successfully fulfill these plans. The meeting will also identify specific actions that are needed to overcome identified obstacles, including strengthening national efforts and boosting partnerships in EAC priority countries.

> Country Showcase

This interactive session will enable Ministry representatives to briefly present their program, progress and challenges regarding Out of School Children (OOSC) and to learn about the work of other participating Ministries. Data on OOSC in the individual countries, where available, will be provided as a basis for the discussions around solutions for reaching OOSC.

Facilitators
Mr. Darren Jordon – Anchor, Al Jazeera - English
Ms. Yara Bader Al-Darwish – EAC Youth Advocate

Speakers
Representatives of countries

11:30 – 12:15
EAC: its Goals, Commitment and Approach

By 2015/16, EAC endeavours to influence OOSC enrolment and retention to decrease the number of OOSC by at least 10 million, support educational quality, mobilize additional resources for OOSC, and keep OOSC on the top of global and national agendas. This session will summarise EAC's approach and guiding principles.

Speakers
Dr. Mary Joy Pigozzi, Director, EAC—EAC its Goals, Operating Principles and Achievements
Mr. Nick Alipui, Director, Programme Division, UNICEF—On partnering with EAC
Mr. Vijay Chadda, CEO Bharti Foundation – Key EAC priorities: Quality and Retention

Afternoon Sessions: Wednesday 30 April, 2014

13:30 – 14:15
West Africa Sub-Regional Strategy: A Coordinated Effort to Reach Out of School Children (Download PDF)

In March 2014, representatives from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger gathered to discuss the potential for a coordinated approach to increasing the enrollment and retention of out of school children in this sub-region. Some common features in all three countries include effective national and regional initiatives to address out of school children; strong government commitment and leadership; and similar barriers faced by children to access quality primary education. Resulting from this workshop co-hosted by the Burkina Faso Ministry of Education and Literacy and Educate A Child, the three countries began to develop a sub-regional strategy for expanding the reach to out of school children. The three Education Ministers will share the process and developing strategy discussed in the workshop.

Moderator
Dr. Adama Ouane, Former Director, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

Speakers
H.E. Mme. Koumba Boly Barry, Minister, Ministère de l'éducation nationale et de l'alphabétisation, Burkina Faso
H.E. Mme. Togola Jacqueline Nana, Minister, Ministère de l'éducation nationale, Mali
H.E. Mme. Ali Mariama Elhadji Ibrahim, Minister, Ministère de l’enseignement primaire, de l’alphabetisation, de la promotion des Langues nationales et de l'éducation civique, Niger

14:15 – 15:00
EAC’s alignment with national education plans:examples from experience (Download PDF)

A key operating principle of EAC is to work within the context of national education plans, even though EAC does not provide direct financial support to Ministries of Education. Ministers of Education who have collaborated closely with EAC and its partners in the country will speak to their experience and how the cooperation has proven beneficial in advocating for and supporting enrolment and retention of OOSC.

Moderator
Dr. Qian Tang, Assistant Director General/Education, UNESCO

Speakers
H.E. Mr. Maker MWANGU FAMBA, Minister, Primary, Secondary and Professional Education, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
H.E. Dr. Abdulrazaq Yahya Al-Ashwal, Minister of Education, Yemen.

15:15 – 15:45
EAC and Data on Out of School Children (Download PDF)

Accurate and complete OOSC data at the country level is imperative to both EAC and ministries’ abilities to properly analyze OOSC needs and strategically plan programming. This session will: 1) outline how EAC uses data to help set its priorities; and 2) introduce the UNICEF/UNESCO/UIS Out of School Children Initiative (OOSCI) which addresses country-level OOSC data gaps by supporting governments in improving the quality of their data. Information will be provided on how ministries can become involved in the initiative and how results can be used for country policy and programming needs for OOSC.

Moderators
Mr. Darren Jordon – Anchor, Al Jazeera - English
Ms. Yara Bader Al-Darwish – EAC Youth Advocate

Speakers

Mr. Imran Riza, Regional Representative for GCC Countries, UNHCR
Dr. Mark Waltham, Senior Education Advisor, UNICEF

15:45 – 16:30
Summary of meeting

This penultimate session of the High Level Meeting will serve to summarise the outcomes of the day and to stress the commitments and important next steps that are essential to meet the goal of enabling many more OOSC to enter and complete a quality primary education programme. Among the anticipated outcomes are commitments from Ministries of Education with regard to OOSC, a good understanding of EAC's principles and partnership model, and a shared desire and plan to significantly decrease the obstacles that OOSC face which prevent them from accessing and completing a quality primary education.

Moderators
Mr. Darren Jordon – Anchor, Al Jazeera - English
Ms. Yara Bader Al-Darwish – EAC Youth Advocate

Panel
Mr. Fahad Al-Sulaiti, Director of Finance and Administration, EAA
Dr. Mary Joy Pigozzi, Director of EAC
Mr. Leonardo de Pinheiro, Director of Policy, Research and Strategy, EAA

List of Participant Countries

1. Afghanistan
2. Algeria
3. Angola
4. Burkina Faso
5. Comoros
6. Democratic Republic of the Congo
7. Ghana
8. Mali
9. Mauritania
10. Morocco
11. Niger
12. Nigeria
13. Philippines
14. South Africa
15. Tanzania / Zanzibar
16. Yemen