SOCIALIZATION
OF SENEGAL FOLLOW UP REPORT
Jamaica
- Report of National Meeting Held August 22, 2003
ASSESSMENT
OF DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION POLICY
AND ACTION IN LATIN AMERICA
SOCIALIZATION
OF SENEGAL FOLLOW UP REPORT
1)
The socialization of Senegal's case study of the
shadow report took place on july 9-10, 2003.
It was during the regional workshop on Confintea mid
term review held in Unesco/Breda headquarters in
Dakar.
The
opening ceremony was presided over by Ms Martina
Simeti of Unesco, Dakar.
The workshop was attended by several senegalese and
african adult educators from which we can quote
-Babacar
Diop,ICAE vice President and chairperson of the
senegalese umbrella body of NGOsCONGAD
-Gorgui sow,Ancefa coordinator,
-Macisse Lo,trade unionist and representative of the
senegalese national coalition for EFA,
-cheikh Sadd bouh Kamara, PAALAE representative in
Mauritania,
-Serigne Mass Ndao, representative of the Paalae
focal point in the Gambia,
-Tharno Diallo representative of th Paalae focal
point in Niger
-Jennifer Chiwela,Ancefa representative in Zambia,
-Chiekh Diarra, Pamoja representative in Mali,
-Julie Adu Gyamfi,Action Aid Ghana and Pamoja
representative,
-Samuel Salifu Ghana,Action Aid and Pamoja member.
-Carol Medel of the Hamburg Unesco Institute
(observer)
The workshop reviewed various national reports among
which,the senegalese case study that I presented.
The case study bred very interesting discussions
among the senegalese nationals but also among other
colleagues.They discussed in large the
"famous" faire-faire policy that some
participants were defending and others criticising
with passion.
I shared with the participants the limits of the
study due mainly to the retention of information by
some government officials particularly when the
needed information was somehow related to finances.
Participants deplored 'the new race' of senegalese
businessmen involved in Adult Literacy since Donor
Agencies has started funding literacy activities in
this country.
Howhever, participants noticed the lack of advocacy
skills for the involvement of civil society
organisations in policy formulation in this country.
I found my personal experience around the whole ICAE
Project as something very interesting and
instructive.
Paraphrasing a famous french writer,I would say if
the experience was to be re-started
"Je le ferai encore, si j'avais à le
faire"!
2)
Senegalese official delegation to Bangkok
Since last week this country is living in a
political crisis.The prime Minister who resigned was
asked to form a new administration.
This won't be an easy task for him,given the ongoing
economic and social situation.Many people expect
that a government of national union will emerged out
of the intense political consultations the Prime
Minister has engaged since last friday.
Certainly its because of this situation,that some
colleagues in the Ministry of Education told me
today that the senegalese official delegation to
Bangkok will be composed of only three junior
representatives,namely
The Minister's first technical adviser,one civil
servant from the National Literacy Directorate and
finally, one representative of the National
senegalese Coalition for Education fo All All(E.F.A)
to represent the civil society.
Best regards,
LAMINE KANE
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Jamaica
- Report of National Meeting Held August 22, 2003
Members
of the Meeting were the Executive Members of the
Jamaican
Council for Adult Education
(JACAE)
Present
were:
Dr.
Adolph Cameron
President, JACAE
Dr. Lascelles Lewis
Mrs. Vilma McClenan
Mr. Seymour Riley
Mrs. Gloria Salmon
Dr.
Angela Ramsay
_______________________________
I.
Purpose of the Meeting
To
discuss the report entitled The Right to Learn
Throughout Life: Follow-up of the Accomplishments of
Confintea’s Commitments and Education for All
(EFA) Goals; The Jamaica Report prepared by Dr.
Angela Ramsay on behalf of the International Council
for Adult Education (ICAE).
II.
Discussion of the Report
Dr.
Ramsay explained the rationale for the Shadow
Report. She
proceeded to read and to clarify the information
contained in the report.
She invited the members of the meeting to ask
questions and to share their ideas and concerns with
respect to the content of the report.
III.
Outcome of the Meeting
The
Executive Members found the report to be a useful
one.
The
Executive Members gave valuable feedback to Dr.
Ramsay both with respect to: (i) the information
presented and (ii) their own knowledge and
experience of the adult education environment in
Jamaica.
There
was general agreement with the information presented
by Dr. Ramsay.
However, most members of the committee
disagreed that there was a national plan for adult
education in Jamaica.
It was widely felt that the only national
plan for adult education that existed was the plan
to eradicate adult illiteracy.
There was also disagreement from some of the
members with the statement that ‘although the
literacy programme was in standard English, concepts
were explained in the mother tongue (Jamaican
Creole) in the classroom’. These persons maintained that Standard English was in fact
the mother tongue in Jamaica, and not the Creole.
IV.
Follow up
One
major decision was made at this meeting.
As
a ‘follow up’ to the report, JACAE plans to
propose that a comprehensive research study on adult
education be conducted on Jamaica, incorporating not
only the government’s role in adult educatoin, but
also the roles of the NGOs and Private
Organizations.
This report should assist JACAE to make
critical decisions regarding adult education
programmes and activities in Jamaica.
JACAE
will meet on September, 30, 2003 to discuss the
nature and level of information that should be
included in the study.
Decisions with respect to funding and other
critical issues will also be made at this meeting.
V.
Researcher’s Comments
The
report commissioned by the ICAE has been useful in
many ways to the researcher in that it:
i.
gave an overview of adult education
programmes in Jamaica
ii.
may serve as a stepping stone to the
commissioning of a more
comprehensive
research study.
The
disadvantages of the report are that:
i.
the report only focuses on government’s
role in adult education, and
therefore gives a distorted picture on the level of
adult education being
implemented in the country.
Most adult education activities occur
at
the NGO and private organization levels.
The
researcher thanks the ICAE for commissioning the
report.
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ASSESSMENT
OF DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION POLICY
AND ACTION IN LATIN AMERICA
The Latin American Council on Adult Education
(CEAAL) is carrying out a regional assessment
process with key CSO's with experience in the field
of Youth and Adult Education who have been active in
EFA policy review and CONFINTEA V follow-up to date
in the 20 Spanish-speaking countries of Latin
America where CEAAL has influence. This assessment
process is being organized as just one of many
regional assessment efforts to review progress made
since CONFINTEA V on an international level and is
CEAAL s contribution from Latin America to this
broader effort.
This regional assessment focuses on national
governments and their educational policies as well
as the actions of civil society organizations
engrossed in the field of youth and adult education.
The assessment process consists of the following
moments
* Analysis of situations and tendencies by country
developed by individual reporters
* Analysis of the principal tendencies by sub-region
the Andean Region, Central America and Mexico, the
Caribbean, Mexico and the Mercosur Region.
* Analysis of the principal tendencies in Latin
America.
The regional text will be developed in time to be
presented at the Mid-Term Review in September in
Thailand.
For futher information, please contact the office of
the CEAAL Secretary General (ceaal@laneta.apc.org).
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