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Webcast
Watch webcast of the conference on December 4-5, 2003.
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When
December 4-5, 2003
Where
United Nations Headquarters,
New York
For Whom
Intermediate
and Secondary Students (grades 5-12)
Theme
Sustainable Development
and Human Rights:
A Better Future For All
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Program for December 4 and 5, 2003
From mid-November through the Conference, there will be a web-based chat room or forum where students can exchange information and views as they prepare for the Conference. It is recommended that all student participants be familiar with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the EFA background and the International Literacy Decade documents, as well as the Millennium Goals. Chapter V of this document provides relevant website addresses.
Thursday, December 4th is conceived as a training day for participants in New York taking the lead in the drafting of the Plan of Action. Some 35 students representing the various co-sponsors will participate in this session. Items that will be covered in the session include: an overview of EFA, the scheduling and content of proceedings for December 5th, and election of the students who will chair and moderate the session at the UN on December 5th.
The conference on December 5th will start at 10:00 AM. The New York- based proceedings will take place at the UN. Students elected on December 4th will chair and moderate the proceedings with support from a UN Department of Public Information staff member. Since students from nine sites around the world will be participating, it will be important to adhere to a pre-established schedule for interventions from the video conferencing sites. Web-casting will allow input from even more schools and students around the world throughout the drafting process. The morning session will be devoted to discussion of EFA and collecting suggestions from students participating through videoconferencing, webcasting and the proceedings in New York. Much of the drafting will be done during the lunch break with support from a facilitator. The draft text will then be discussed in the afternoon before it is revised further and finally presented to the president of the General Assembly at the end of the Conference.
Provisional agendas for both December 4th and 5th will be established shortly and available thereafter. The final agendas will be distributed the day of the events.
Resources
Model Plan(s) of Action
Please consult the previous years' Plans of Action online at Cyberschoolbus:
2001
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/student/plan.html
2000
http://www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/studentconf2000/declaration.asp
Please note that a ‘Plan of Action’ usually includes:
1. Introduction
2. Preamble
3. Achievements
4. Challenges
5. Goals
6. Strategies
7. Appendix (if needed)
Key Words and Guiding Questions for Participating Students
Key Words
Literacy - functional vs. basic; phonetic vs. whole
Education - Primary vs. Elementary vs. Basic
Language of Instruction
International Decade of Literacy - an initiative agreed by all countries to energize work towards reaching the goal of increasing literacy levels by 50 per cent by the year 2015
Intergenerational Literacy - Parents' and older community members' skills and practices influence the school achievement of their children. Eg. If a child has literate parents, they are much more likely to become literate themselves.
Declaration vs. Action Plan
UN Millennium Development Goals – A set of goals adopted by Government leaders at the UN Millennium
Summit in September 2000 for implementation by 2015.
Guiding questions
- Who in your community does work on basic education or literacy?
- How can you support EFA abroad? Nationally? Locally?
- What percentage of your GNP (Gross National Product) does your country contribute foreign aid? How does this figure compare figures for other countries?
- How much does your country contribute to literacy and education efforts abroad?
- What are some obstacles to reach the goals of Education for All?
- Why has female literacy been identified as a key variable in development strategies?
- How is Education for All central to problems such as poverty alleviation, sustainable development and the avoidance of war?
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