The Damascus Declaration
Seizing
the Moment:
A
Call for Action on Literacy and Adult Education for All
The
informed and effective participation of women and men in every sphere of life
is needed if humanity is to survive and to meet the challenges of the future.
Preamble
We,
representatives of 704 literacy, adult and lifelong learning non-governmental
organisations from Africa, Arab states, Asia, The Caribbean, Europe, Latin
America, and North America, in Damascus, Syria September 22-26, 2000 on the
occasion of the Executive Committee meeting of the International Council for
Adult Education hosted by the Syrian Ministry of Culture and the Higher Council
for Literacy, being deeply concerned
with the lack of concrete results in the provision of access and opportunities
for adult women and men to pursue their right to learn, hereby issue the
following Call for Action on Literacy and Adult Education for All:
Everywhere,
we, women and men, citizens of the world in our roles as parents, workers,
artists, teachers and peasants are looking at ways to improve our life: we as
learners want to explore, invent, modify, question, speak out, produce, and
seek opportunities for lifelong learning in our community and beyond.
The
International Council of Adult Education and others, have emphasized at all the
world summits in the last decade; in Jomtien on Education for All (1990), Rio
on the Environment (1992), Vienna on Human Rights (1993), Cairo on Population
(1994) Beijing on Women and Copenhagen on Social Development (1995), Rome on Food (1996), Hamburg
on Adult Education (1997), Istanbul on Habitat (1998), and The Hague on Peace (1999) that the key ingredient in the achievement of democracy and
well-being everywhere is the creativity of citizens.
While
reaffirming the Right to Learn as a universal right without discrimination or
limitation, we are dismayed that, a decade after Jomtien, adult women and men
in underprivileged groups; persons with disabilities, ethnic and linguistic
minorities, street and working children, rural and urban poor, nomads,
migrants, and refugees, are still struggling for opportunities, access, equity and adequate resources for quality literacy, adult basic
education and lifelong learning.
Progress has been made in raising the awareness of the importance of
schooling for the young, but what counts is action. Provision of complimentary
learning opportunities for the parents, vocational and skill training for adults in both the urban workplace and
farming communities and for other adults in difficult situations has not been
sufficiently addressed.
We
note with appreciation many notable achievements in the global literacy and
adult education movement such as the accomplishments of Syria in the field of
literacy and adult education. Within the ICAE networks important recent
developments have taken place: the establishment of the Arab Network for
Literacy and Adult Education; the emergence of the Pan African Association for
Literacy and Adult Education; the active advocacy role of the Asia South
Pacific Bureau for Adult Education; the establishment from Latin America of the
Gender Education Office with specialized expertise in adult education and
women; with the support of stronger community-university linkages by the North
American Alliance for Popular and Adult Education; with university-based
distance education for adult s in the Caribbean; with the increasingly
effective policy role being played by the European Association for the
Education of Adults; and finally with the establishment of thematic
non-governmental networks concerned with adult education and peace, human
rights, the environment, and literacy.
Critical Assessment
When
we assess the results of world summits at the turn of the century (Dakar
Jomtien + 10 on education for all in April, New York Beijing + 5 on women in
June, and Copenhagen +5 on social development in Geneva in July 2000), both at
global and national levels, we acknowledge the universal recognition of the
importance and the need of adult learning.
Consensus
The
response in terms of both policy and practice has fallen discouragingly short
of the needs. While literacy and adult education have been
recognized as critical for all aspects of human and social development, in fact
the opportunities for people to acquire the skills and knowledge to be active
citizens, to play productive economic roles and to pursue personal learning
goals are inadequate.
A growing global consensus
has been reached that:
·
resources
for literacy and adult education be increased as recommended by the Hamburg
Conference on Adult Education and the World Summit on Social Development;
·
various
statements on Education for All have called for support to both the education
of children and youth and the education of adults who play active economic,
social and political roles in their communities. Gender equity in primary and secondary education has been called
for by 2005 and full global literacy for all adults by 2015;
·
literacy
and Adult Education are a means for people to overcome poverty and exclusion,
establish and reinforce democracy, achieve
justice and comprehensive peace, enhance economic and social well-being and improve their health and ensure
food security. Adult education helps to prevent and eliminate gender and racial
disparity, and other social problems such as violence against women, drug
addiction, environmental destruction, and HIV/AIDS.
·
full
implementation of literacy, adult education and lifelong learning are severely
constrained by factors such as ethnic conflicts, forced population
displacement, foreign occupation, lack of recognition of the rights of
indigenous peoples and continued military expenditures.
However,
With
few exceptions, national education plans have either not included or severely
neglected literacy and adult education policies in spite of government
commitment to the above mentioned declarations. In cases where policy frameworks are in place, mechanisms for
implementation are often missing.
Despite
the commitment to partnership among governments, NGOs, and other civil society
groups for purposes of policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation, this
partnership has not developed as expected.
It is important for all these groups to recognize and respect each
other’s roles, strengths, and contributions, and be transparent and accountable
to each other and to the people.
Indeed
our global non-governmental literacy and adult education movement has not been
strong enough in monitoring the situation and informing decision-makers at national, regional, and global levels.
Call for Change
We
cannot wait until the next generation gets better initial school education: the
need for creative and informed participation is immediate. The uncertainties and risks with which
citizens are presently confronted require, without delay, support for creative
participation and greater competency.
It is now, not in 2015, that women and men, in cities and in rural
communities attempt and desperately need to increase their autonomy of
action. We have enough knowledge and experience around the world to show
that adult learning works for people and can make a difference. The time has
come to make it work for all.
The
Right to Learn will not be implemented and the demand of adults to reinforce
their capacity to act will not be met without renewed vigorous and
network-oriented global and regional non-governmental oriented organizations.
We Call on Governments,
Bi-Lateral and Multi-Lateral Agencies, Non-governmental Organisations and
Citizens Throughout the World To:
v
establish, reinforce, increase financing and
implement policies and legislation
in support of literacy, adult education and lifelong learning;
v
include
literacy and adult education organisations in the national, sub-regional,
regional and global working groups being set up as mechanisms for planning and
implementation of the Dakar Jomtien+10 commitments;
v
include
literacy, adult education and lifelong learning as a necessary complement to
child education fully funded within national education plans being developed by
the National Working Groups for 2001 as called for in the Dakar recommendations on Education for All;
v
strengthen
the contributions of all United Nations Agencies including UNESCO, UNICEF, FAO,
UNIFEM, World Bank, UNEP, ILO, UNDP, WHO and UNAIDS to the achievement of
Literacy and Adult Education for All;
v
strengthen the capacities of already existing
literacy, adult and lifelong learning organisations and networks at local, national, sub-regional, regional and global levels;
v
increase
sharing of information, collaboration and
networking amongst various global NGO advocacy and policy initiatives;
v
support
for the enhanced infrastructure of information technologies, increased
attention to the role of media, and the reduction of the ‘digital divide’;
v
call
for support to the UNESCO Institute for Education as the United Nations
structure for adult education and to ask UNESCO to mandate the UNESCO Institute
for Education to prepare a follow-up meeting six years after the UNESCO
International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) in 2003;
And
we in the International Council for Adult Education make the following
commitments:
v
initiate
an effective global “Literacy and Adult
Education Watch” process;
v
undertake
a global study on “The State-of-the-World Adult Education”;
v
promote
the United Nation’s Adult Learners Weeks throughout the world; and
v
convene
an action-focussed world assembly of civil society organisations concerned with
literacy and adult education and lifelong learning to take place in Jamaica
between the 10th and 13th of August, 2001