1.- ICAE Virtual Seminar in Preparation for CONFINTEA VI

April 21 – May 9, 2008

We are glad to announce that on Monday April 21 the Virtual Seminar organized by ICAE, as part of the preparatory process towards CONFINTEA VI, will open.

Up to this moment 632 participants from different regions have been subscribed, and this will definitely ensure the diversity of perspectives. We expect to have an active participation and to receive creative and innovative inputs that will enrich the exchange and contribute to come up with solid advocacy proposals for CONFINTEA VI.

The general objective of the Virtual Seminar is "to generate an advocacy action around the issues proposed by ICAE and contribute to the definition of advocacy proposals towards CONFINTEA VI"

The specific objectives are:

- To create a participatory space for ICAE members, GEO members and IALLA graduates, UIL and other education actors, and colleagues committed to advocacy for the right to education in the preparatory process towards CONFINTEA VI.

- Encourage the exchange and reflection among all on the advocacy areas defined by ICAE as a priority towards CONFINTEA VI: Literacy, Migration and Adult Education, , Poverty Education and Work, Policy, Legislation and Financing for Adult Education with gender analysis in all of them.

The seminar will have 4 thematic modules and will be in 3 languages (English, Spanish and French).  We really encourage all of you to participate and take advantage of this participatory space that ICAE provides to civil society where you will be able to express your views, suggestions and proposals on the 4 above-mentioned issues, as well as enrich from the inputs of other participants. If you wish to be included in the seminar list, please write to: secretariat@icae.org.uy

Virtual Seminar Programme

Introduction  by Paul Belanger, ICAE President

Theme 1: Literacy

April 21 - 24

Papers by:

- Cecilia Soriano, National Coordinator, ENet Philippines, ASPBAE Policy Team - “Adult Literacy: Notes for Discussions: ICAE Virtual Seminar in Preparation for Confintea VI”.

- Sergio Haddad, ICAE Executive Council, Brazil

- Agneta Lind, “Comments on the Adult literacy Notes for Discussion of ICAE Virtual”

- Shirley Walters, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa – “Adult Learning within Lifelong Learning: A different lens, a different light”

- Imelda Arana, REPEM/GEO, Colombia

Theme 2: Migration and Adult Education

April 25 – 29

Papers by:

- Babacar Diop Buuba, Vice President of ICAE for Africa, PAALAE – “Africa, Scenario of Human Migration”

- Heribert Hinzen and Chris Duke, DVV – “Adult Education in Migration and Integration”

- Sofia Valdivielso, "Reflections on migration and the role of lifelong learning"

- Fanny Gomez – REPEM/Colombia

- Maria Fernanda Ramos d’Almeida - PAALAE

- Marcela Ballara - GEO/REPEM

- Fanny Gómez – REPEM/GEO, Colombia

Theme 3: Poverty, Education and Work

April 30 – May 5:

Papers by:

- Ana Agostino, Programme Coordinator of ICAE – “Poverty, Education and Work:

Some introductory thoughts”

- Julia Preece, National University of Lesotho – “Education and Poverty”

- Marcela Ballara, GEO/REPEM

- Alejandra Scampini, Women's Rights Regional Coordinator of Actionaid

- Astrid Von Kotze, University of KwaZulu-Natal – “Poverty, Work and Education”

- Graciela Riquelme, GEO-ICAE Argentina – “Education and Work”

- Iliana Pereyra Sarti, REPEM- Uruguay Latinamerican Taskforce on Education, Gender and Economy – “The learning-empowerment binomial”

Theme 4: Policy, legislation and financing for Adult Education

May 6 – 8

Papers by:

- Paul Belanger, Heribert Hinzen and Chris Duke – “Policy, Legislation and Financing for Adult Education”

- Vernor Muñoz, Special UN Rapporteur on the Right to Education – In view of the education marketization

- Elisabete Ramos, National Campaign for the Right to Education of Brazil - “Reflection on education cost and quality”

Conclusions and Closing

May 9

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2.- JOINT STATEMENT ON ZIMBABWE BY CIVIL SOCIETIES OF BOTSWANA, ZAMBIA AND ZIMBABWE

The People of Zimbabwe and Zambia are one, despite the false barriers of colonial boundaries. Our struggles for democracy and dignity are the same although the local contexts may differ.

We, the undersigned representatives of Civil Society Organisations in our countries, have met to discuss the electoral crisis in Zimbabwe in the spirit of genuine Pan-African solidarity.

We appreciate the efforts of the SADC Heads of State to address the crisis through the Extraordinary Summit of 12 April 2008 in Lusaka, Zambia.

The statement released by the SADC leaders attempts to address some of the issues that concern us. However, the statement falls short of the expectations of the peoples of our countries.

We expected the SADC leaders to make specific demands upon the Zimbabwean regime, including demands to:

1. Compel Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to immediately announce the true results of the Presidential election of 29th March 2008.
2. Prevent Robert Mugabe and his security personnel from tampering with the election results.
3. Call upon the current Zimbabwean regime to stop the continued arbitrary arrest and detentions of the non-military personnel of the ZEC.
4. Dismantle the de facto coup and apply pressure on the military to hand over power to a civilian government.
5. And in the event that the results show no winner of 50% plus one vote, to set up a Heads of State team that will mediate between ZANU PF and MDC in order to:
a. Set an election run-off time line.
b. Establish a credible, independent and impartial election management body to replace ZEC whose credibility and reputation has been damaged beyond repair that will implement the election run-off without fear or favour and constituted by people acceptable to all parties.
c. Ensure that the election run-off is internationally supported, supervised and observed and run under circumstances where Zimbabweans are able to fully an effectively participate in their national affairs in an environment of peace and tranquility, free from intimidation and political violence and retribution.
d. Demand that the duly elected and constituted parliament is immediately convened and allowed to carry out their constitutional duties.
e. Demand free access for regional observers including the media during the run-off period until after the results are accepted by the majority.

6. Ensure measures are in place, until the run-off is held, that Robert Mugabe is not allowed to rule by decree supported by the military.

The SADC Heads of States, ZANU PF, MDC and other concerned parties to take cognizant of the fact that should violence erupt in Zimbabwe, it is especially women and children that will be affected the most, therefore this situation should be treated with urgency.
Ends/

Endorsed By:
African Agenda for Peace Initiatives and Conflict Management (AAPICOM)
Anti Voter Apathy Project
Caritas Zambia
Churches in Manicaland
Citizens Forum
Civil Society APRM Secretariat
Combined Harare Residents’ Association
Crisis Coalition Zimbabwe
Ditshwanelo – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights
Foundation for Democratic Process
General Agricultural Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
International Federation For Human Rights (FIDH)
International Socialist Organisation
Manicaland Legal Practitioners’ Association
Media Institute of Southern Africa – Zimbabwe Chapter
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Namibia National Society for Human Rights (NSHBR)
National Constitutional Assembly
National Organisations of Non-Governmental Organisations
Non Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council
Organisation Development and Community Management Trust
Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe
Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe
Save Zimbabwe Campaign
Southern Africa Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes
Students’ Solidarity Trust
Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) Kenya
We the People
Women of Zimbabwe Arise
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe
Zambia Council for Social Devolpement
Zambia Social Forum
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights
Zimbabwe Coalition of Debt and Development
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
Zimbabwe Students Christian Movement
Zimbabwe Youth Movement
Other organisations


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3.- Statement from the Popular Education Network of Women from Latin America and the Caribbean (REPEM)

¿What happened in the end?

What happened with the appointment of the new Director of the UN Development Fund for Women has left us many questions and concerns. This is not about discrediting or denigrating Inés Alberdi. Rather, it is about strongly rejecting the UN procedures to appoint hierarchical positions through procedures that violate its own charter of principles. We should not be surprised with what happened because, lately, the UN has repeatedly proved to act in a unilateral and arbitrary way. The correlation between political forces and internal decisions shows that they are agreed between the most powerful countries and those that have more resources. This does not allow any democratic participation of southern countries that are not only poorer but have no power within the present and obsolete UN structure. This is not new, it has been happening for a long time.
One of the first questions that we should ask ourselves is: “Why does the UN place job postings if they are finally decided just among a few, without considering procedures? Will civil society and the organized women’s movement go on believing that the UN is a space for democratic decisions, where all countries are respected and, above all, transparent in its decisions?
We are undoubtedly, politically naive. This experience and similar ones on this and other issues, should encourage us to organize, at different levels, a more serious, solid and rigorous debate on the role that the UN plays at present, its reform and the potential Gender Architecture. At present, instead of trying to gain more space and power within the UN so that countries deliver on the internationally assumed commitments ¬ the result of the struggle of women’s and feminist movements ¬ we are on guard to prevent from going even more backwards in terms of the accomplishments deriving from UN Summits and World Conferences.
Which is the current role of civil society at the UN? It is less and less significant and more marginal, their voices are not heard and it is just another example of the same thing. We ask ourselves when will the most powerful countries and with enough resources for a development, equality and gender equity agenda, will go for this agenda without any type of conditionality, and without repeating the rhetoric, turning international agreements into objective reality for the attainment of social, economic and gender justice?. At this moment we probably do not have an answer for these questions and opinions are diverse, but we should give them a priority place in the debate, reflections and actions, and organizations, networks and women’s groups should reply from the position they would like to participate. It is a matter of political coherence and ethics. As women’s and feminist movements, we want to participate and have an opinion on these issues and we want to do it as our own right. We would like to express our recognition and sincere gratitude to all the candidates that applied for this post, to the shortlisted ones and, particularly to Gita Sen from DAWN, because this is always worth the effort when we believe that our struggles are absolutely just and necessary. The political challenges that has the new UNIFEM Director at present are huge, not only in terms of regaining what we have achieved, but also in the advancement for a non-negotiable political agenda so that all, absolutely all, women’s rights are acknowledged, promoted and guaranteed. Along this line, we would like to wish her all the success.

Montevideo, April 14, 2008





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4.- Message on the Eve of Action Week

Dear Campaigners,

On the eve of Global Action week, we will begin our letter with a powerful message from Kailash Satyarthi, the President of the Global Campaign for Education.
“The most promising reason to believe that the world will achieve its goals of education for all by 2015 has been the emergence of a strong civil society movement and the mobilisation of millions of children, women and men during Global Action Week each year. We will not remain silent until we have ensured quality education for all” - Kailash Saryarthi, President GCE

This is a profoundly exciting time for the GCE Secretariat and education campaigners all over the world. It is also a time for reflection. Almost 60 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are still millions of adults and children who still do not have an education. We are now past the half way point to Education for All goals set by world leaders in Dakar almost eight years ago, but notwithstanding the lofty commitments for EFA the right to education remains formal rather than a substantive reality. There are still many barriers to education such as conflict, poverty, disability, gender related exclusion and the list goes on.

As you participate in Global Action Week, you are making a tremendous contribution in pressuring your governments to realize education for all by 2015.

This is a time for us to remind our leaders to fulfil their promises by protecting the right to education by taking the egalitarian view which requires at the very minimum that governments must provide a healthy education environment which meets the needs of everyone and not dependent on their ability to pay. Access to good quality education is a societal good.

The past 11 months have been filled with exhilaration and anticipation as we aim to achieve a historical milestone by being part of the World’s Biggest Lesson, the signs the Secretariat has received from all of you are so far promising. We applaud campaigners for the vigorous and courageous participation in action week since its inception in 2003. The state of education in the world today reminds us that a campaign such as ours is a never ending work in progress and therefore there must be no room for complacency.

We also have new supporters and in this vein, we would like to welcome our colleagues from Afghanistan who, against all odds, will be participating in Global Action Week for the very first time. We wish them well as they settle in their role as the national ambassadors in the campaign for education.

As we begin Global Action Week the eyes of all those who fight for education and indeed those who hunger for it will be upon us. Our hearts should go out to the 72 million children and 774 million adults who have been denied an education. We must plead for the world of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be a reality.

We end by once again quoting GCE President Kailash Satyarthi:

“Voices of millions demanding their fundamental right to education cannot be ignored by any power on earth. The louder they are, better are the chances of being heard. Let us put all our strength to end exclusion through education”

Let’s make the World’s Biggest Lesson by coming out in numbers a reality!

Yours Sincerely,

Muleya Mwananyanda
muleya@campaignforeducation.org


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5.- WOMEN’S STRATEGIC MEETING RECEIVED GRAZIANO DA SILVA, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF FAO FOR LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN

Brasilia, April 9th, 2008

Report By:

Alejandra Scampini – Women’s Rights Coordinator in the Americas
Marta Antunes – IFSN Global Coordinator

In view of recent decision of FAO Latin America and Caribbean to eliminate Gender Officer Position, ActionAid International Women’s Rights Coordinator for Americas started a consultation process with women from regional social movements, mixed and non mixed CBOs and networks supported by ActionAid and facilitated the realization of a letter in which women called on FAO to revise the decision of eliminating the Gender Officer Position and informed on the reasons for this. The letter was also a vehicle for women to express their concern on the continuation and sustainability of FAO programmes and plans that have a particular look at rural and indigenous women’s needs.

Some days after that, organizations received a formal reply from Ms Marcela Villareal (Director of Gender and Population at FAO LAC) acknowledging the relevance of these letter and ensuring that FAO’s quality and quantity of work for women will not be diminished in the context of the UN Reform.

More then 30 women from 16 countries representing peasants, small-scale farmers, agro-extrativists, indigenous, widows, youth, agroecologic producers, member of social movements and networks meet in Brasília to prepare their organization for the Special Conference for “Food Sovereignty, Rights and Life” and the 30th Regional FAO Conference in LAC. This meeting was a follow up initiative of the 2007 Meeting on women, land and natural resources organized by ActionAid and IFSN project, and was convened together with ANAMURI, CONAMUCA and Via Campesina Southercone.

Mr Graziano Da Silva was invited to attend the strategic meeting to respond to the issues raised in the letter. Juana Ferrer from CONAMUCA and Francisca Rodriguez from ANAMURI briefed Mr. Da Silva on women’s concern about FAO reform process.
He was there for less than 20 minutes but his decision to show up in a room full of more than 30 “angry” women from all the region and his positive response are evidence of the power of these women in the room and the result of a process of consultation and rapid strategy that we facilitated with the women in less than a week.

After listening to few introductory comments he said:
“Mainly due to the huge amount of letters that we received, FAO LAC decided not to cancel the Gender Office Post. Marcela [LAC Gender Officer] will be with us another year and I will personally meet her and ask for a work plan, and I will also meet with CIP on this. We have not created a permanent post, it is something to discuss during this year, but the advance is that we have not canceled the post.”


Graziano also recognized that extreme poverty in Latin América has a feminine face, “mainly in the Andean and Central American region where the indigenous and afro-descendent women suffer from poverty and hunger, inclusively having many malnourished children”.

He also stated the need for a gender differentiated approach:” We are sure that there is a clear gender thematic associated to extreme poverty, hunger and access to productive resources – land and water – and that women are part of this problematic.”
A challenge to the more than 30 women present was made by Graziano: “Ballara [LAC Gender Office] can not be alone, she needs to be integrated in the ICARRD follow up process – it is there the opportunity to work the thematic of women and access to productive resources. This should not be a transversal theme, but focused on land, natural resources, hunger and children malnutrition. And ask the women present to participate in the definition of the Gender Office working plan.”

This public statement is key for us to continue the dialogue with FAO and ensure that for 2009 FAO regional office declares the Gender Position a permanent, well resourced and strong mechanism for FAO.

Women agreed to create a small group to continue working on this as part of their agenda with FAO and in the final declaration of this event they asked IPC to create a Women’s Ad Hod Group within IPC for this negotiation.


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6.- RIGHTS: Development Financing Still Gender-Blind

By Thalif Deen
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42035

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 17 (IPS) - When the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a special high-level meeting to discuss the new challenges facing the international community, the focus was largely on the credit crisis, rising commodity prices, declining development aid and the devastating impact of climate change on developing nations.

But one of the gender-sensitive issues -- the feminisation of poverty -- was left out in the cold.

"While we are pleased that some governments stated that gender equality must be incorporated into development cooperation strategies, there were no proposals on how this actually would be achieved," Nadia Johnson, Economic and Social Justice Coordinator at the Women's Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO), told IPS.

"Women's groups are thus concerned that words will continue to be met with little action," she added.

According to the United Nations, about 70 percent of those who live in extreme poverty are women and children.

The meeting, which took place Monday and was attended by high ranking government officials and senior U.N. staffers, was part of a preparatory process for the upcoming international conference on financing for development (FfD), scheduled to take place in the Qatari capital of Doha in late November.

But the FfD process, which began with the 2002 U.N. conference on financing for development in Monterrey, Mexico, has continued to marginalise or downgrade the gender perspective in development financing, according to women's groups.

"Today the majority of people living in poverty are women and girls," Cecilia Alemany of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) told IPS.

"And if the international community does not take a serious political commitment (at the FfD meeting) in Doha to change these trends, we will lose another decade," she warned.

Johnson of WEDO said that when governments agreed on the 'Monterrey Consensus'-- spelling out the priorities for development financing-- at the first FfD conference six years ago, "they made scant commitments to women's empowerment and gender equality."

The chapter addressing official development assistance (ODA) did not have a single gender reference or commitment, she said.

"It's not surprising that since Monterrey little has changed to advance the economic conditions of women worldwide," Johnson said.

She also pointed out that the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently reported that ODA is actually on the decline: down from 0.31 percent of gross national income (GNI) in 2006 to 0.28 percent in 2007.

In 1970, the U.N. General Assembly set a target of 0.7 percent of GNI as ODA to the world's poorer nations. But only five countries -- Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Luxembourg -- have either consistently met or surpassed-- that target.

And according to a 2005 report by two non-governmental organisations, Eurostep and Social Watch, only 0.1 percent of ODA is actually spent on gender equality.

"It only shows that women are often still an afterthought by governments when crafting economic policy," said Johnson.

This marginalisation of gender comes despite the active participation of the women's movement in the FfD process; despite common knowledge that women and girls not only comprise the vast majority of the world's poor but remain the poorest of the poor; and despite the consequent numerous commitments linking gender equality to sustainable development and poverty eradication.

"What is it going to take to get governments to wake up when it comes to women?," Johnson asked.

Nerea Craviotto of WIDE, a network of women's organisations based in Europe, said that despite the emphasis in the Monterrey Consensus on environmental sustainability, civil rights and gender awareness, these issues do not constitute the central starting point of that document.

They were simply added, without changing their characteristics, to the main recommendations, whose primary focus is on foreign investments and trade liberalisation.

Apart from the introduction and the first chapter (mobilising domestic financial resources for development), gender issues do not figure or are only marginally dealt with throughout the rest of the Monterrey document.

Asked how this can be rectified at the upcoming FfD Conference in Doha, Craviotto told IPS that in order to implement the principles of sustainability and gender-sensitive development, it is imperative to meticulously analyse the consequences of all economic strategies and policies against the backdrop of the lives of poor women in the global South.

It is also necessary to establish preventive measures, so that their living conditions are not exposed to further deterioration.

At the same time, she argued, the complexity of female roles has to be kept in mind, particularly their productive activities in the formal economy, in the subsistence economy and in the informal sector.

Additionally, the Doha conference should also recognise their reproductive activities and responsibilities regarding the household and the family, and their often intensive involvement in the society/community that is commonly seen as an extension of their reproductive activities.

Another element that must always be included in all plans is the disadvantaged position of women in family and society, their limited access to power, infrastructure and resources.

"Without far-reaching changes in the areas of this context, sustainable development and poverty alleviation is illusory," Craviotto added.

Alemany of AWID told IPS that if aid is to eradicate poverty and inequalities, it must integrate gender equality and women's empowerment, and therefore more aid assistance must be directed towards these critical issues.

New aid modalities and mechanisms are frequently dependent on macroeconomic conditionalities that intensify gender inequalities.

"The current aid environment and mechanisms (including the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus) and the Paris Declaration implementation remain gender-blind," she added.

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, adopted at a meeting in the French capital in 2005, is a non-binding declaration endorsed by a group of developed and developing countries, and described as a "road map to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development."

But the declaration has been criticised by several non-governmental organisations, including the Third World Institute and the European Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD).

Roberto Bissio, director of the Third World Institute, says the Paris Declaration creates a new level of supra-national economic governance, above the World Bank and the regional development banks.

He also says that institutional ownership of the Paris Declaration process remains in the hands of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the World Bank "where donors and creditors have exclusive majority control, with little or no developing country voice or vote."

Projecting into the future, Alemany said: "We need a strong political commitment at the highest levels in Doha.'

She also called upon member states, U.N. agencies and international financial institutions:

First, to make a commitment to give aid to eradicate poverty and gender inequalities, and to promote human rights, gender equality, full employment and environmental sustainability as central development goals.

Secondly, to reach and maintain the U.N. target of 0.7 percent GNI in ODA committed by developed countries. A significant share of ODA should be targeted for gender equality and women's empowerment (10 percent of GNI by 2010 and 20 percent by 2015).

Thirdly, to fully integrate gender equality and women's empowerment with concrete commitments in Doha, not only as a systemic issue and challenge, but also as a key development goal.

Fourthly, to increase efforts to build a new aid architecture, with a sensitive approach to the realities of those historically bypassed as recipients, and whose participation was absent in the process.

(END/2008)