UNRWA PARTICIPATES IN 'FIRST ARAB REGIONAL MEETING ON EDUCATION 2030' IN CAIRO
25 December 2015
Under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. al-Helaly al-Sherbiny, the Minister of Education and Technical Education in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) participated in the UNESCO-led meeting on 15 and 16 December 2015, the ‘First Arab Regional Meeting on Education 2030’, with the theme ‘Towards Collective Action in Achieving Education 2030 Goals in the Arab Region’. The objectives of the meeting were to articulate the interconnectedness of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the central role of education in achieving it, discuss the Education 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal 4) Framework for Action, and agree on a roadmap to its operationalization in the Arab region. The Regional Meeting was attended by over 90 participants, including high-level officials from the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs, as well as parliamentarians in charge of the Commission on Education from 17 Arab Member States.
In his opening remarks, Dr. al-Helaly al-Sherbiny stressed the importance of enhanced cooperation between Arab States and emphasized that despite the progress achieved in many countries, especially in terms of the increase in the number of students with access to education, Arab States now need to focus on quality education. He called for regional and international organizations to respond to the Arab States’ emerging needs, especially those affected by conflicts.
While commending the Member States’ commitment to the new vision of education, Dr. Hamed al-Hamami, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States, expressed concern about the current situation in the Arab region that negatively affects national education development. He strongly urged all Member States and partners to build on this momentum to fully and collectively engage in translating global commitment into concrete national action and encouraged Member States to draw upon lessons learned from their ‘Education for All’ experience.
UNRWA, along with other UN agencies, regional organizations, civil society organizations and private foundations, took an active part in the Meeting. During a panel session, Dr. Caroline Pontefract, Director of Education at UNRWA and a UNESCO staff member, highlighted that as a guest and partner of its host countries, UNRWA had experience it could share, having gone through a reform process over the last several years. Dr. Pontefract highlighted the systemic nature of the UNRWA education reform and its policies, strategies and programmes. She described the alignment of the UNRWA Medium Term Strategy education goal with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its focus on quality, inclusive and equitable education. Dr. Pontefract further emphasized the importance of the measurement of progress and accountability and said that UNRWA had developed indicators to measure the three key dimensions – quality, inclusion and equity. She reiterated the Agency’s commitment to working within and across the region towards the achievement of the SDGs.
After two days of fruitful, forward-looking deliberations from the perspectives of Member States, as well as those of participating organizations, the Meeting culminated with the adoption of the ‘Arab Regional Roadmap for Education 2030’, which sets out immediate actions to be undertaken in 2016 by Member States and partners in order to operationalize the Education 2030 agenda in the Arab region.
With this adoption, UNESCO will continue to lead the coordinating process together with UN co-convenors, as well as regional organizations, including UNRWA; civil society organizations; and private foundations and reaffirmed its commitment to accompany and support Member States throughout the implementation process of the Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 4.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, and financial support has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, deepening poverty and conflict. As a result, the UNRWA General Fund, which supports core essential services and most staffing costs, operates with a large deficit. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large deficits, are funded through separate funding portals.
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0724
Document Sources: United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Education and culture
Publication Date: 25/12/2015