UNESCO to launch …

Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education

© Ian Berry/MAGNUM photos/”Better life, better future” Initiative.

A Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education will be launched at a high level forum to be held at UNESCO Headquarters on Thursday 26 May (13:30h Room I)

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will welcome participants to the event, followed by opening remarks from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The keynote speech for the Forum will be made by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.

Prime Minister of Mali Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, the Aga Khan, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network Foundation, and representatives of several corporate giants participating in the partnership including Nokia, Procter and Gamble, GEMS Education, Microsoft and the Packard Foundation, will also participate.

Globally, some 39 million girls of lower secondary age are currently not enrolled in either primary or secondary education, while two thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate adults are women. Only about one third of countries have achieved gender parity at secondary level.

‘Better Life, Better Future’ will seek collaborative and innovative solutions to the most fundamental obstacles and challenges to education for women and adolescent girls. A number of projects are already underway in several countries.

Launch of Global Partnership on Girls’ and Women’s Education and

High-Level Panel on Girls’ and Women’s Education for Empowerment and Gender Equality

© Susan Meiselas/Magnum Photos

Initiative  « Better life, better future »

The education of girls and women is a fundamental human right, as well as an imperative for reaching all the internationally agreed development goals.UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will welcome participants to the event, followed by opening remarks from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The keynote speech for the Forum will be made by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikha Hasina.

Prime Minister of Mali Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, the Aga Khan, founder and chairman of the Aga  Khan  Development Network Foundation, and representatives  of several corporate giants participating in the partnership including Nokia, Proctor and Gamble, GEMS Education, Microsoft, Apple and the Packard Foundation, will also participate.

Globally, some 39 million girls of lower secondary age are currently not enrolled in either primary or secondary education, while two thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate adults are women. Only about one third of countries have achieved gender parity at secondary level.

‘Better Life, Better Future’

will seek collaborative and innovative solutions to the most fundamental obstacles and challenges to education for women and adolescent girls.

A number of projects are already underway in several countries.

Details

Type of Event	Special Event
Start	26.05.2011 14:00 local time
End	26.05.2011 16:30 local time
Date to be fixed	0
Responsible	ODG
UNESCO Responsible	Guttman, Cynthia
Country	France
City	Paris
Venue	UNESCO Headquarters
Street	7, place de Fontenoy
Room	Room I
Contact
Permanent Delegation Contact
Major Programme
Themes	Gender Equality, Education
Language of Event	English, French
Estimated number of participants
Official Website
Link 1	Live webcast
Link 2	Floor -Live transmission
Link 3	“Better Life, Better Future”– UNESCO launches partnership for girls’ and women’s education
Link 4	Brochure “Better Life, Better Future” (PDF)

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Technical Media Advisory

Accreditation is essential for journalists wishing to attend this event. Contact Isabelle Le Fournis, Tel: +33 (0)1 4568 1748; i.le-fournis(at)unesco.org

A Celebration of Women