The Information update on the second day (8 October 2008)

The CONFINTEA VI Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific, Korea, 6-8 October 2008

By: Yanti Muchtar and Yoko Arai

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7 October 2008

The objective of the second day were (a) to discuss policies, governance and financing that were presented by 4 speakers from Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, and Mr. Edicio de la Torre, President of ENET Philippine and (b) to discuss and distill recommendations, strategies and benchmarks that have been resulted from the conclusions of the previous day for a renewed course of action in adult learning and education (ALE, particularly in the five keys of areas of the CONFINTEA VI (policies, financing, monitoring tools, inclusion, and participation).

The sessions of the second day were:

a.      Morning session consisted of :

(a) Plenary Presentation on Policies, Governance and Financing with 4 speakers.

(b) Plenary Presentation on Participation and Inclusion for Equity and Sustainable Development with 5 speakers.

(c) Panels on specific themes and discussions – 4 parallel panels, each with 3-4 panelists.

     (i) panel 1: Quality and relevance of adult education in the learning society

         (ii) panel 2: Literacy and other key competence to build equitable societies and promote sustainable development

         (iii) panel 3: Improvement of delivery mechanism for lifelong learning

         (iv) panel 4: Assessment, accreditation and equivalence

b.      Afternoon session consisted of (a) Discussion on recommendations, strategies and benchmarks –group discussion according to the sub region: South Asia, Southeast Asia, East and Central Asia, and the Pacific (c) Presentation on the new trend and cases of adult learning in the Republic of Korea and (d) Short report on group discussions (Plenary).

The Session’s results were:

a.      The key issues of CONFINTEA VI (policies, governance and financing) have been discussed by different perspectives, from the developed countries perspective such as Korea, the developing countries perspective such as Kyrgyzstan, and the NGOs perspective. Three presentations from the government delegations (Korea, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan) described how their governments have developed policies, good governance and proper budget allocation for adult education program in their countries. While the NGO which was represented by Edicio de la Torre saw the governments should accommodating the civil society inputs in developing policies for Adult Education particularly in the context of decentralization where the local governments have more autonomy to regulate their education policies and implementation.

b.      The inputs for the draft document of the Asia Pacific Context and Recommendation that was resulted in the first day (6 October 2008) have been given by the panel discussions findings.

c.       The Inputs will be used by the drafting committee to finalize the draft.

In this conference, NGOs as observers have tried to bring up the civil society’s concerns on adult learning and education therefore the recommendations will be more pro poor, women, marginalized group, indigenous communities, and disadvantaged people and groups.  These efforts have been done intensively by participating actively in plenary, group discussions and drafting process. This intervention to some extent has accommodated the civil society’s perspectives in gender issues, financing issues, quality adult learning and education in the formal document.

..

Information Update

CONFINTEA VI Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific

6-8 October 2008, Seoul, the Republic of Korea

By: Yanti Muchtar and Yoko Arai

Español y Português

CONFINTEA VI will be preceded by five Regional Preparatory Conferences, which are programmed in relation to the overall thematic focus, however adapted to the respective regional specificities. The regional conference will discuss and validate the respective Regional Synthesis Report (prepared on the basis of national reports on the development and state of the art of adult learning and education), identify the key issues on adult learning and education in the region, and suggest key recommendations and benchmarks for adult learning and education for CONFINTEA  VI.

The Regional Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific has been scheduled to be done from 6 to 8 october 2008 in Seoul (Republic of Korea) which is organized in cooperation with the Korean National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea, the UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok and the UNESCO Office in Beijing.  Each Member State in the Asia and Pacific Region is invited to send a delegation of at least three persons.  Considering the wide-ranging nature of learning and education for adults, the composition of the delegation should, if possible (a) be multi-sectoral and (b) represent different categories of partners: government agencies, non-government and civil society organizations, research communities and the corporate sectors.  The organizer committee also invites observers from some organizations including international non governments and networks operating at regional and sub-regional levels in Asia and Pacific. ASPBAE and ICAE participate in this Regional Preparatory Conference as observers.

The conference has been started since 6 October 2008 at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill, Seoul, Korea and it will be closed at 8 October. This report is an information update of the conference.

5 October 2008

CSO Strategizing Meeting for CONFINTEA VI Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific

This meeting was initiated and led by ASPBAE which aimed to (a) orient/update on the conference (b) agree or common lobbying points for the Conference (c) map out space/opportunities for lobbying during the event and agree on CSO lobbying strategies and (d) define modes of CSO coordination during the event. This meeting was attended by Adama Ouane, Director of UIL, and CSOs delegations including GEO-ICAE.  Adama shared and updated the Conference in terms of the goals, the key issues, the mechanism, and the drafting committee. The policy brief of ASPBAE was discussed in this meeting.

The meeting agreed on (a) ASPBAE would lobby to be a drafting committee member from CSO (b) Lobbying points for the drafting committee and (c) 6 CSO’s recommendations on policies and action in adult learning and education in Asia and Pacific including recommendation on gender, migrant, and people in conflict and disaster areas and (d) coordination modes during the event.

Based on this meeting, the team of GEO-ICAE (Yoko and Yanti) prepared the documents of ICAE and GEO to be shared to the chairs, the drafting committee members and participants during the event and discussed the strategies to use the advocacy spaces during the event for bringing up recommendations from ICAE and GEO-ICAE as well as ASPBAE as a regional network in the Asia and Pacific region.

6 October 2008

The objective of the first day of the Conference was to (a) set up the Conference Bureau consisted of Chair, Vice Chairs and Chair and Members of the Drafting group (b) reflect on the presented regional synthesis report and come up with the key contextual issues, challenges on and implications for adult learning and education (ALE) in the region, particularly in the five key areas which will be addressed by CONFINTEA VI: policies, financing, monitoring tools, inclusion, and participation.

The sessions of the first day were:

a.      Morning session: (a) Opening Ceremony (b) Setting up the Conference Bureau: Chair and Vice Chairs, and the Drafting Committee (c) key note address by Ms Khuning Kasama Varavarn from Thailand (d) the Presentation of the regional synthesis report on adult learning and education in Asia and the Pacific region by Mr. Manzoor Ahmed.

b.      Afternoon session: Discussion of key issues, trends and challenges (group discussion in 4 sub region: South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific and short report on group discussion in plenary).

The session’s results were:

a.      The meeting has elected the Conference Bureau as follows:

(1)   Chair : Mr. Ahn Byong Man from Korea

Vice Chairs: Delegation Heads of India and Cambodia

(2)   Chair of the Drafting Group: Dame Lady Carol Kidu from Papua New Guinea

Members:

- Government Delegation member from Korea, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kazakhstan

- Manzoor Ahmed (the synthesis report writer)

- ASPBAE from the CSO.

b. The key issues, trends and challenges have been discussed and highlighted. CSOs contribution was significant especially in bringing up the important issues that have not been touched by the regional synthesis report and formal government presentations such as the importance of the civil society monitoring tools, gender issues, the education needs of the migrant and people in conflict areas.

The CSOs interventions that have been done during the first day of the conference were:

(a)   To lobby the delegates and UNESCO to propose ASPBAE to be a drafting member. ASPBAE has been elected as a drafting member who is represented by Maria Khan.

(b)   To influence the discussions and the results by bringing up CSO’s recommendations and participating actively in all sessions especially in group discussions.

(c)    To distribute and share the CSOs documents to the Chair and members of the Drafting Committee. The GEO-ICAE documents and ASPBAE document have been shared to the Chair, Vice Chairs, and the drafting group (Chair and the members).  Especially for GEO-ICAE documents, Yoko had made book marks and stickers to be distributed with the documents. These advocacy medias have helped very much in attracting the participants to read the documents.

In the first day, CSOs delegation led by ASPBAE has done a coordination meeting in the late afternoon to update the conference situation, advocacy spaces for the CSOs in the second day, and the effective ways to influence the meeting outcomes.

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Dear friends,

I would like to share with you the letter below, we have just received from Don Bonyo, a graduate from ICAE Academy of Lifelong Learning Advocacy and Programmes Manager of DARAJA CIVIC INITIATIVES FORUM regarding the Africa's Civil Society Summit to be held before the CONFINTEA VI Preparatory Regional Conference in Africa.

Warm regards,

Marcela Hernández
ICAE


Dear EFA campaigners,

On behalf of Elimu Yetu Coalition's pre-CONFINTEA VI working team, we send greetings from Kenya to all of you.

It is exactly one month to the Pre-CONFINTEA VI Africa Regional Conference to be held in Nairobi Kenya and plans are at an advanced stage in Kenya towards hosting the conference. Kenya's Ministry of Education through the Directorate of Adult and Continuing Education is leading the planning process together with UNESCO's Nairobi office. Elimu Yetu Coalition and ANCEFA are members of the planning committee representing the Civil Society Organizations. On the other hand, Elimu Yetu Coalition has also put in place a committee to plan for the pre-CONFINTEA VI Africa's Civil Society Summit to be held between Monday 3^rd November and Wednesday 5^th November 2008 in Nairobi.

Aware that not all CSOs will be part of respective government delegations to the regional conference; Aware that not all the African Countries held National Conferences to validate each country's report; and also Aware that many CSOs in the continent have no information in regards to the process of developing and synthesizing Africa's Report for CONFINTEA VI, Elimu Yetu Coalition finds it appropriate to convene Africa's Civil Society Summit with the main objective of consolidating the Civil Society's Position on all the thematic areas of focus during Africa Region's pre-CONFINTEA VI conference.

The purpose of this e-mail is to add our voice to the on-going communication among the Civil Society actors within Africa and beyond in regards to CONFINTEA VI. This e-mail further serves the purpose of informing all other EFA networks and partners that Elimu Yetu Coalition will be sending regular updates to the CSOs in regards to the plans, programmes and other arrangements in Kenya as pertains to the forthcoming regional conference.

For the Africa Civil Society Summit, could we get your thoughts on this, particularly in regards to those CSOs left out of their respective government delegations but are still capable of travelling to Nairobi for the Civil Society Summit; those who are not able to come and are keen on making submissions/contributions through e-mail or any other  possible channel , and further what strategies we need to put in place in advance to ensure that the Civil Society is given adequate representation within the UNESCO led conference and that the CSOs session, within the same conference is slotted sufficient time in the programme.

We hope for your responses and kindly copy all communications to Elimu Yetu Coalition's current official e-mail address which is; info@elimuyetu.net. The officer in-charge of Elimu Yetu's Secretariat is Ms. Isabella Osoro who will equally send you regular updates while at the same time respond to your enquiries as appropriate as possible.

Kindly share this communication with other EFA coalitions/networks in the continent..

Regards,

Don Bonyo

Programmes Manager
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DARAJA CIVIC INITIATIVES FORUM
Langata Rd, Child Welfare Society of Kenya Building, 1st Flr.
P O Box 6570-00100
Nairobi, Kenya.
Telefax: (020) 60 36 90
Cell Phone Nos: +254 720 299100 & 734 950877
Website: www.darajacif.org

ICAE PHOTOS

FINAL DOCUMENT OF THE REGIONAL CONFERENCE in Latin America and the Caribbean on literacy and preparing for the CONFINTEA VI

Unofficial version

RECOMMITING TO LIFELONG LEARNING:
Proposals from Latin America and the Caribbean


GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS


"From literacy to lifelong learning" is the great challenge which this Regional Conference poses for us.

In other words, the challenge to advance from initial literacy  which is the way in which literacy for youth  and adults continues to be understood in many countries of the region  to a broader vision and educational provision, which includes teaching at the same time as it recognizes and validates learning acquired, not only as adults, but also throughout our life: in the family, in the community, at work, by means of the media, through social participation and by the very exercise of citizenship.

Education is a fundamental right, a key which gives access to other basic human rights, such as health, housing, work and participation, among others, whilst also making it possible to accomplish global and regional or local agendas  for development.

This implies recognising that we are facing a paradigm which conceives the human being as the subject of education, as someone who has singular and fundamental knowledge, creator of culture, protagonist of history, capable of producing those urgent changes, necessary for building a more just society.

A conception that contemplates not only formal education but also incorporates and revalues non-formal and popular education, and that surpasses the individualistic vision of learning when it proposes the social construction of knowledge in learning communities which promote intercultural, intergenerational and intersectorial  meetings and environment protection..

In this perspective, literacy is the necessary but not sufficient, point of departure which permits that each and every person, in the twenty first century, continue and complement their learning throughout life and thus exercise their rights as citizens.

THE SPECIFICITY AND HETEROGENEITY OF THIS REGION

Latin America and the Caribbean is a profoundly heterogeneous region with great specificities, made up of 41 countries and territories, in which some 600 languages are spoken. It is formed by very different realities, including that of education and more specifically that of adult and youth education. This diversity between and within countries requires caution when generalizations are made and demands important investments in the diversification, elaboration and improvement of policies and programmes for very different contexts and specific groups, which take into consideration other differences: age, race, gender, territory, language, different capacities and culture.

It is also the most unequal region in the world, with 71 million persons living in extreme poverty and a further 200 million in poverty. Educational, political, economic and social exclusion are all faces of the same coin.  Youth and a adult education is part of  this issue which understands education as a fundamental tool for combating poverty and social exclusion, but also recognises the impossibility of education alone offering solutions for these same questions, without undertaking structural changes and without the convergence of other policies.

The diverse socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural contexts of the region pose a broad set of obstacles to literacy and other forms of learning for youth and adults. Among such factors we include unemployment, social exclusion, communications, migration, violence, the disparities between men and women, all of which are broadly linked to structural poverty. This situation has been recently aggravated by the food and energy crises and by climatic changes.

ADVANCES

After a period of stagnation during the 90?s, on the part of Governments and international organizations, youth and adult education has, in recent years, achieved renewed impulse in the region. Significant advances have been made at the legislative and policy level in the majority of countries, with regard to the recognition of the right to education, as well as with respect to their linguistic and cultural diversity. Literacy plans, programmes and campaigns have been reactivated in the national and international agendas. At the same time, provision for completing and certifying primary and secondary education for youth and adults has been institutionalized, which in some cases has been linked with vocational training programmes.

The provision of non-formal education has grown considerably, covering a diversity of topics linked to rights, citizenship, health, intra-family violence, HIV and AIDS, protection of environment, local development, social and solidarity economy, etc. Advances in gender parity have been achieved in some countries. There has also been a growth in the attention given to special groups such as migrants and prison inmates. The use of ICTs and audiovisual tools has been introduced in the field of youth and adult education, in some cases with investments and interventions by governments and by means of international cooperation.

In a few countries, youth and adult education has achieved important advances in terms of the construction of systems of information, documentation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes. We also note a growth in research both at national and regional level in recent years. South-South cooperation has been developed in many of these fields with diverse forms of regional and sub regional initiatives.


CHALLENGES

In spite of all this, each one of these advances presents, at the same time, new and old challenges. The distance between legislation and policies and what has actually being achieved, continues to be great. This implies the need for more participatory ways of constructing policies and for greater social vigilance by civil society in general and on behalf of the beneficiaries of youth and adult education in particular.

The coverage of these programmes, including those provided by governments, continues both to be very limited when faced by the existing demand, and to marginalize rural, indigenous and afro-descendant   populations, migrants and prison inmates with special education needs,  maintaining or even deepening the gap rather than reducing it.

The strategy to integrate youth and adults in the same denomination cannot allow us to loose sight of the specificities and challenges of each age group, considering that youth constitute a majority in the region. At the same time, the priority given to educational provision for certain age groups, in general up to 35 or 40 years of age, leaves out older segments of the population and thus denies them their right to education whilst contradicting the adoption of the paradigm of lifelong learning.

The diversification and decentralization of educational provision requires coordination and articulation amongst the diverse actors  national and local governments, civil society, trade unions, churches, private enterprises, international organizations, among others.

Gender parity, in various countries, has been established as a necessity, which affects particularly young women from indigenous populations and boys and young men from the English-speaking Caribbean States, from initial education to university, and also in the field of youth and adult education, requiring the implementation of policies and strategies of positive action.

There is a need to make better and more sensitive use of the new technologies for educational purposes and to learn practical lessons from the experience of countries which have developed pioneering work in this field. There is also a need to advance further in monitoring and evaluation, particularly the evaluation of learning acquisition, and to disseminate and benefit more from the results of already existing research, both for strengthening policies and for improving practice.

It is possible to identify several unresolved issues, among which we include: chronic under-funding for youth and adult education, its great vulnerability in terms of participation, institutionalization, and for the continuity of policies and programmes.

In addition, there is a need to pay special attention to the training of youth and adult facilitators and educators, and to research in this field on pedagogical-didactic frameworks that respond to the diverse contexts and specificities of the field, with support from universities.

From the point of view of its coherence with equity, there is also the need to revert present tendencies by emphasizing the need for quality and pertinence when giving priority and attention to territories, sectors and more disadvantaged groups, such as the rural, migrant, indigenous and afro-descendant populations, prison inmates and people with special needs.


Strategies and Recommendations

Recognize that the fulfillment of the human right to adult and youth education is conditioned by the implementation of policies which seek to overcome the profound economic and social inequities of countries in the region.

POLICIES        
1.   Recognize youth and adult Education as a human and citizens? right that implies a greater political will and commitment from national and local governments, in the creation and strengthening of quality lifelong learning provision, securing that youth and adult education develops policies addressing the recognition of cultural, linguistic, racial, gender and ethnic diversity, and includes programs to articulate vocational training for dignified work, active citizenship (human rights) and peace, so as to strengthen and promote community empowerment.

2. Promote policies and legislation which integrate youth and adult education into the public education systems and guarantee their application whilst encouraging changes in those structures which make them more flexible and at the same time adjusting norms to the creation of citizen observatories to follow policies ant the use of resources.

3. Construct mechanisms of coordination at national level to help establish a comprehensive policy to promote intersectorial and inter-institutional efforts which articulate state actions with civil society actions (organized social movements, churches, trade unions, employers amongst others) and make possible a holistic approach in addition to follow-ups and social watch.

4. It is necessary to go on seeking approaches which strengthen and guarantee lifelong learning, including literacy and basic education, the promotion of reading and a written culture for the creation of literate environments, with different tools to overcome inequality and poverty in the region and for the creation of alternative forms of development. In this sense, the appreciation of popular and non-formal education is fundamental.

5. Elaborate policies for initial and continuing training of youth and adult educators and facilitators with the participation of universities, education systems and social movements, to raise the quality of educational processes and to guarantee an improvement in the working and professional conditions of educators and school staff.


FINANCING       

6. Recommend more significant percentages of national budgets for education  at least 6% of the GNP  and guarantee within this budget, specific resources for youth and adult education  at least 3% of the education budget  which allows them to be used with transparency, efficacy and efficiency.

7. Guarantee intersectorial resources  national and international, from public and private funds  for youth and adult education plans, programmes and projects with gender perspective and sensitive to diversity, which make possible the development of  positive action policies and finance studies which demonstrate the social and economic cost of having huge sectors of the population without education, in countries of the region.


TOOL    

8. Develop policies to support the research and the systematization of educational experiences and to promote the dissemination of knowledge, documentation and circulation of relevant practices of youth and adult education. Strengthen Latin American and Caribbean research networks in youth and adult education.

 9. Develop an evaluation, report and monitoring system with international parameters that make possible the formulation of policies based on the evaluation of processes, systems and methods which guarantee certification, accreditation and recognition of knowledge and skills.

10. Promote, in an intersectorial and interinstitutional way, the design and elaboration of written material in native language that reflects the diversity of peoples? knowledge. 

INCLUSION       

11. Design and implement education policies that favour inclusion, with gender equity and quality that cover, through an intercultural approach, different specificities of all population groups of the countries of the region: indigenous, afro-descendant, migrant, rural populations and prison inmates, with special education needs.


PARTICIPATION

12. Promote greater participation and cooperation between civil society, private sector and different state entities, and, particularly, subjects of youth and adult education, through the promotion and strengthening of the concept of horizontal cooperation among countries as well as strengthening international cooperation in favor of youth and adult education.

13. Propose UNESCO to take a central and relevant role in guaranteeing the right to education and, in particular, coordinating the goals established in international conferences and monitoring the achievements.


Español

Regional Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean on Literacy, and Preparatory to CONFINTEA VI, to be held in Belem do Para, in Brazil, in May 2009, ended on Saturday, September 13, in Mexico.

Dear friends,

The Regional Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean on Literacy, and Preparatory to CONFINTEA VI, to be held in Belem do Para, in Brazil, in May 2009, ended on Saturday, September 13, in Mexico.

This conference is part of a series of UNESCO regional conferences to support literacy around the world and it was convened in cooperation with the Mexican government.

300 people participated on behalf of the State and Civil Society from more than 30 countries of the region.

A final document was prepared and in next bulletins it will be available in 4 languages.

Below you will find a report on the Conference, prepared by Carmen Colazo GEO/ICAE where she provides information on:

- Roundtable: “Learning through distance education and ICTs"

- Roundtable: “Measurement, follow-up and evaluation of literacy and youth and adult education”.


INFORMATION ABOUT THE PREPARATORY PROCESS TOWARDS CONFINTEA VI.

- Roundtable on "Learning through distance education and ICTs”
 

By Carmen Colazo

After the Regional Report given by Rosa María Torres, the agenda of the preparatory meeting for Confintea VI "From literacy to learning for life: Towards the challenges of the XXI Century ", followed with group work where presentations were discussed and contributions were made by topic and by groups.

On Thursday September 11, at the roundtable on "Learning through distance education and ICT", presentations were made by country, where learning experiences through the use of different media and the Internet, were presented. These lectures were given by Patricia Ramos from Mexico, Iole Bogino from Paraguay, Esmirna Garcia from Honduras and Reyna Virginia Alvarado from Honduras.

Presenters showed how learning experiences have been created and implemented through booklets, TV, radio or Internet, for adult literacy in the region. They explicitly said that most users of these programs were women (almost 80% in each of them).

They also stressed that these experiences include, in most cases, content to teach reading and writing, but also learning content for the lives of people who use them.

Presenters remarked the importance of these methodologies to lower
costs in the learning process and to reach more people.

Iole Bogino, from the organization “SUMANDO” of Paraguay said that in Paraguay more than 50% of the population has not reached the ninth grade of basic education. More than 1,500,000 people in the country have not completed primary education.

Therefore, the organization has coordinated a modal and self-organized course to contribute to literacy in the country.

She expressed that the program is also linked to micro enterprises that can further turn into job opportunities for the participants.

She said that the program has a face-to-face part, and another one using a distance CD. She believes that in the seven years that this program has been working, it has achieved success in terms of literacy of Paraguayan people who are currently even taking up university studies thanks to this learning process.

Queen Alvarado, from Honduras, referred to the importance of South-South cooperation in Latin America, particularly, the cooperation from Cuba with Honduras. She referred to a successful municipal experience, the project "Yes, I can" which, according to the speaker, achieves reading/writing results, in the short term.

She said that the program is being used mainly by women, who are raising their self-esteem and increasing their empowerment in the process.

She mentioned that the program addresses people, involves government and civil society, chamber of commerce and other organizations.

It has facilitators who have already undergone a training process and have developed 1, 2 and 3 literacy levels and are now engaging in 4 and 5.

Therefore, in two years, participants would have reached 6th literacy level.

She clarified that, so far, the program is successfully working in 300 municipalities in Honduras.

All panellists considered that the sustainability of these programs is a challenge, and remarked the importance of receiving state support. Likewise, international cooperation should value the importance of these experiences and collaborate for the sake of their continuity.

In the debate it was discussed whether these programs use its full potential to work on core gender issues with these female participants who are, in their vast majority, excluded from development. And it was also discussed whether issues such as migration, sexual and reproductive health, domestic violence, precarious work, the need for autonomy and empowerment to participate as active citizens in the region, with freedom, were being dealt with.

Presenters replied that their programs are contemplating gender issues. Anyway, they clearly showed the challenge that users, women in their vast majority, face to get the most of these experiences for the inclusion of gender issues and debates about their realities and the Latin American reality, promoting the interaction through the use of ICTs, so that programs are useful for the lives of these women, as well as for their personal and social development.





- Roundtable 3: “Measurement, follow-up and evaluation of youth and adult education and literacy”.

Friday, September 12

Panellists: Ms. Maria Gertrudis Alcaraz, México
Mr. Joao Pedro Azevedo, World Bank
Ms. María Eugenia Letelier, Chile
Mr. Cesar Guadalupe, UNESCO / UIS.

Discussion on the round table with Ministers: Presentation of Mr. Andre
Lazaro, Secretary of Continuing Education, Literacy and Diversity (SECAD) Brazil.

Dr. Andre Lazaro, referring to the presentations of the roundtable that focused on the importance of measurement, follow-up and evaluation of youth and adult literacy said that education should be
understood as a political process which must be inclusive. It should also be a process that listens to people, otherwise it will only be an imposed and compulsory process, far from users’ realities.

He expressed that illiteracy in the Latin American region is an indicator of exclusion, an element that measures this. But he added that we could not have the messianic vision that with education we will change everything. He said that change requires a comprehensive work on public policies, stemming from a political agenda of social inclusion.

He said that codes are being offered to encourage social practices, and that this process is measurable. But he said that there is no dichotomous vision among literate people and non-literate people, because the categories are not static, because everyone has detectable abilities that can be potentiated in a continuous learning process.

He said that it is very important to train literacy teachers, and that they should also have enough elements to assess the processes that they undergo with the literate people.

He noted that few literacy teachers in the region known about evaluation because they do not have academic degrees that include this knowledge, but they do have a great citizen capacity that is transmitted throughout the process.

He said that the literacy system in Brazil comes from civil society, the result of many struggles, articulations, and even pain, persecutions and deaths. They have always been committed political acts where significant experiences and biographies can be highlighted.

I believe that articulating youth and adult learning is a
challenge as well as further evaluating and criticizing the related public policies.

He explained that in Brazil there is little evaluation habit. Instruments that reveal situations or processes and results are required to improve programs in their process or in terms of achievements.

He also noted that in Brazil 75% of people are enrolled in higher education of the private sector.

He said that the policy of youth and adult education is different from that of literacy. 60% of illiterates went to school, therefore, it is important to recover them so that they follow a lifelong learning process.

He said that, obviously school has not been a friendly place for many
people in the region, and structural changes must be made in the system. It has been a place of exclusion rather than inclusion.

He stressed that we must seek not only knowledge, but also a degree or certificate that people can use to follow lifelong learning processes and have better opportunities.

He expressed that the difficult part is finding the way to do it.

Likewise, he remarked that, basically, the State is responsible of education. The state must guarantee that the rights included in the Constitution turn into reality.

He said that the black population is the most excluded in Brazil, and that native peoples also deserve special consideration and participation to develop, implement and evaluate policies and lifelong learning.

He said that "education will not change the world, but without education we will not have changes”. Likewise, he put emphasis on the responsibility of the state – not of the people who are often blamed for their situation – of guaranteeing the right to education for all, not only for those who can reach a certain level of education or learning, and that the state must commit itself through the political will to promote social inclusion through education and other human and social development strategies.

He expressed that the permanent monitoring and evaluation should be done not only on education policies but, above all, comprehensively on all policies, to analyze processes, results, and to identify changes and adjustments during this path to get efficient and effective policies in the state and the region.


 

Regional Conference in Latin America and the Caribbean on literacy and preparing for the CONFINTEA VI

French, portugues and spanish below – français, Espagnol et portugais
ci-dessous – Frances, español y portugues adjunto

Report on the Preparatory Regional Conference of CONFINTEA VI
By Celia Eccher, ICAE Secretary General

Mexico, September 11, 2008

Working sessions at the Preparatory Regional Conference of CONFINTEA VI, in Mexico, started with a controversial presentation of Rosa María Torres who made some statements that many of us thought were very appropriate but also generated opposite reactions on others who argued heatedly.

I would like to share with you some of the statements we’ve heard. The document will be available soon, so that you can form your own opinion.
The first statement is that the region did not adopt the shift of Hamburg paradigm: Lifelong Learning. The region talks about Youth and Adult Education, among many other terms.

Then world trends between Hamburg and Brazil were briefly analyzed:
- Poverty and extreme/abject poverty
- Violence, intolerance and war
- Migration and xenophobia
- Food crisis
- Environmental crisis
- Digital gap
- Unemployment

In 10 years, this world will not be desirable for most of the world population and the hope is weaker.
In the shift of paradigm from education to lifelong learning (LLL), we tend to mistake LLL for Youth and Adult Education without realizing that Youth and Adult Education is just a part of LLL.
Analyzing the Education for All (EFA) goals, the comment was that goals are reducing and deadlines are being extended, recalling that EFA goals come from 1990 and that goals had to be renewed in Dakar in 2000 because they had not been accomplished. For 18 years, we’ve been trying to accomplish goals and putting emphasis on girls and boys, knowing that those goals cannot be accomplished without Youth and Adult Education, because parents, teachers are adults. We cannot opt between adults and boys and girls.
Then it was mentioned that while the North adopts lifelong learning, the South considers 4 years of primary education as a goal.

I remember the famous phrase coined in Bangkok during the Confintea V + 6:
"No more lifelong learning for the north and literacy for the south"

Likewise in Bangkok, it was realized that there hadn’t been any progress, instead, there was a risk of moving backwards.

Education is not helping to reduce inequality, instead, it is reinforcing and perpetuating inequality. And “I am not the one who said this, this is being said by ECLAC, Unesco, OREALC” affirmed the presenter.

But the good news is the reactivation of Youth and Adult Education. Governments had been discouraged by the World Bank proposal, which now recognizes that we must return to Youth and Adult Education.
Another positive aspect is the expansion, greater access to ICTs as well as increased recognition of Youth and Adult Education in laws and policies.

CHALLENGES
• A new vision of the subject: from the lacking and disadvantaged, poor and ignorant person who has nothing to a person who has rights and can recreate knowledge that is fundamental for human life and planet preservation.
• The advocacy on education policies, promoting the exercise of citizenship by persons who have the right to education. This exercise is encouraged from social organizations, movements, communities.
• The title of this conference: from literacy to lifelong learning fits very well in the region where literacy is oversized.
• What does the shift of paradigm mean for the South and for this region?
We tend to visualize it as a long thread, however, lifelong learning is circular for example when I become a grandmother I've not reached the end, I’m starting over and I have lessons to learn that are then reverted in our grandchildren.

Another allegation is that not all learning stems from Education.
If we want to exert influence on education policies we have to know clearly that we must influence on social and economic policies, we must work in politics and in the political struggle.
She concluded recalling the legacy of Paulo Freire, basically pointing out that all education is political.

Through these fragments of the presentation that I was able to recover from my notes, I’ve tried to share, with all those who were are not at the conference, some of the issues raised.
In group work the assertion that there we are moving backwards when many countries presented the advances attained (although it was admitted that we still need to progress), was strongly questioned.
Another criticism is that financing for education was not mentioned.

After the synthesis of Rosa Maria Torres, came the group work. Below I would like to share the summary of the discussion held in one of the groups, Group B, whose rapporteur was Jorge Luiz Teles from Brazil.
All these contributions go to a drafting committee that will submit its first draft for the final document of this conference, on Saturday, September 13.

Group B Debates

First comment: Gender
Gender is not just about two or only women. It is a variable that works masculinity and femininity. Men in Anglophone Central America may be disadvantaged in terms of education, but indigenous and black women are the most disadvantaged and discriminated ones. We cannot simplify reality, even in terms of gender (it crosses class system, race, etc.). We must address this issue in all its complexity. It needs more comprehensive views on oppression systems.

Second comment: the idea of functional literacy. Literacy should be seen as higher in Anglophone Central America.
Young men in Anglophone Central America present more problems. Functional Literacy does not favour the access to professional/vocational training.
The problem of dropouts - young people who leave school early.
Lack of capacity. Unemployment and employment with low wages. Low education and functional literacy. Difficulty of access to vocational training.
Problems of quality that do not allow continuity.

Third intervention: Unesco needs to pay more attention to micro and small enterprises. More assistance and qualification for these groups. More support and subsidies for development in areas where they are working.

Fourth intervention: illiteracy and abject poverty.
Even among poor people there are groups that are more marginalized and receive less care – indigenous people, prostitutes, peasants, fishermen, etc.
The problem of literacy campaigns: people become illiterate again. Learners have no access to the world of reading. They are excluded form the literacy world. A broader policy is needed that includes more people in the world of reading.
We need sustainable policies that provide access to the world of reading. A permanent program that elaborates reading materials is needed, as a way to progress in the world of reading.

Fifth intervention: education and work.
Challenges we have to face from now on.

Sixth intervention: We are not so bad. There is progress. Progress should be emphasized.
There are no experiences, we need to give examples of countries.

Seventh intervention: the huge problem of functional illiteracy.
The gap between learning level and the degree level. How to recognize the practical knowledge and to advance n the theoretical knowledge?
What for?
Which is the state's capacity to offer an education that meets the demand, mainly in terms of careers?

There is no career where graduates are Doctors in Adult Education. There are problems in professional/vocational training in the area of adult education.

Unesco has to think more about the professional/vocational training of professionals for youth and adult education.
Bilingual education.
Scope of population from the countryside and within countries.
Literacy is also a problem in developed countries.
Literacy is not a priority of countries. Literacy is not receiving enough resources.
The problem of pedagogic methodologies and the challenge of digital inclusion. New digital and information technologies and distance education.
The problem of restrictions on education supply and the solution through distance education. The need to train educators to work with distance education for youth and adults.

EPJA remains marginal and not recognized as policy by governments.

Question for all: Why isn’t EPJA a priority government policy?
The need for a pedagogy of diversity.
Problems of internal and external migration in relation to methodologies that consider its specificities.
Acknowledgement of knowledge versus discrimination.
Illiterate people are not “lacking” people, but holders of important knowledge.
Informal economy must be reviewed in comparison with the discussion on training for work, mainly in contexts of poverty.
Media and discussion of the topic: democratization and transparency.
We should teach students how to study.
Integral or comprehensive and continuous training. Training at work.
The need for continuity of policies.
Learning and education: more discussion of didactic and pedagogic issues – materials, etc. Little reflection on contents. Too much attention on quantitative issues instead of documents - which are from governments rather than countries.
The problem of occurrence. Which are the indicators?
Need for more comprehensive views on oppression systems.

Second comment: the idea of functional literacy.
Problems of quality that do not allow continuity.
Groups that are more marginalized and worst treated.
Need for a broader policy to include in the world of reading.
Gap between learning level and degree level. How can we recognize the practical knowledge and advance in the theoretical knowledge?

Unesco should further think about vocational/professional training for youth and adult education.
Bilingual education.
Need for training for trainers/educators to work on distance education for youth and adults.
Need for a pedagogy of diversity.
Need for continuity of policies.
Advancing in a pedagogy of diversity that considers, in detail, the issues of gender, ethnicity, race, etc. and other discriminated groups.
Recognition of diversity in education policies that cover the issues of gender, ethnicity, race and other discriminated groups, considering multicultural and multilingual aspects.
Implementation of sustainable public policies to reach specific populations - such as peasants, indigenous people, etc.
Take into account the context of regional migration (internal and external).
Overcoming the vision of functional literacy, enhancing the quality of the education supply, enabling continuity and even professional education.
Need for broader sustainable policies to include in the world of reading.
Need for training trainers/educators to work with youth and adult education, in an integral and continuous way, considering diversity and distance education.
Need to use education qualitative (didactic and pedagogic) indicators and benchmarks in the monitoring and evaluation of processes and policies.
Prioritize funding for youth and adult education

-

From literacy to lifelong learning
September 11, 2008

Translation by Marcela Hernandez - ICAE

The starting point for discussion at the preparatory conference for Confintea VI has been the regional synthesis report, produced and presented by the educator Rosa Maria Torres in the afternoon of September 10.

The presentation proposed a paradigm shift: from education to learning, from lifelong education to lifelong learning, from adult education to adult learning and education. After a presentation of the regional context in the field of adult and youth education, trends and problems in Latin America, different challenges were highlighted.

- To change the vision of youth and adult education subject, of a needy, vulnerable, disadvantaged person, for a person who has rights who already has essential knowledge for human life and for the conservation of the planet;

- To build a framework of policies, priorities, strategies and indicators that includes diversity;

- To strengthen the non-conformist, alternative and changing nature of education for youth and adults and the popular education movement in the region.

She highlighted the strong inequality in the region, and recalled that "education is not helping to reduce inequality but rather is reinforcing and perpetuating it". She calls for rethinking education in terms of struggle against established powers against established powers.

The report will be discussed by participants over the coming days and will serve as input for the document to be sent to the Confintea VI in Brazil. The full version will be shared in the coming days.

ICAE PHOTO

10/09/08
Representatives from over 30 countries will participate in Mexico, in the Regional Preparatory Conference for Confintea VI
September 8, 2008

From 10 to 13 September, the Regional Conference in Latin America and the Caribbean on literacy and preparing for the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (Confintea VI) will gather in Mexico City education ministers (and also of Finance, Labour, Culture and Social Affairs), experts on issues of education of youth and adults, representatives of multilateral agencies, NGOs, academics, private sector representatives, researchers, students and media.

Under the motto "From literacy to learning throughout their lives: Towards the challenges of the twenty-first century", the conference is part of the series of regional conferences of Unesco in support of literacy in the world, and was convened in collaboration with the Mexican government. Representatives from the following countries will participate: Antigua and Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay.

In activities such as panel discussions and panels, various topics related to adult education, including the cost of illiteracy, measurement and evaluation of programs and policies for youth and adult education and teaching in multilingual and multicultural contexts, will be discussed . Each Member State has prepared a report where governments make an assessment of adult education and identify the main developments and changes since 1997, when it the previous edition of the Confintea was held. Based on these reports, the rapporteur Rosa Maria Torres will publish a regional report on the situation of Latin America and the Caribbean in the coming days.

To stimulate debate at the regional level and ensure wider participation of civil society in the preparatory process to Confintea VI, a Facilitating Committee has been created by the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE), the Adult Education Council of Latin America (CEAAL), the Popular Education Network of Women froim Latin America and the Caribbean (REPEM), the German Association for Adult Education (AAEA) and the Caribbean Regional Council for Adult Education (CARCAE) , with support from the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE).

In addition, CLADE will produce special information materials and grants to support civil society to influence on the preparatory process and during the international conference next year. National reports, studies conducted by civil society organizations, interviews with educators, students and trainees, social movements and international organizations working directly in the field of adult education will be available on the website of the Latin American Campaign.

http://clade.wordpress.com/ 

LINKS

* Campaña Latinoamericana por el Derecho a la Educación
* CONFINTEA VI (Blog de Fronesis)
* Consejo de Educación de Adultos de América Latina (CEAAL)
* Consejo Regional del Caribe para la Educación de Adultos (CARCAE)
* Informe Global sobre Educación de Adultos (GRALE)
* Red de Educación Popular entre Mujeres de América y el Caribe (REPEM)
* UNESCO