The Importance of Lifewide Learning Lifelong learning is a buzzword today What about lifewide learning? How long is life? Life Expectancy 680 million people in Africa : less than 55 years 1 billion people in India : less than 64 years

If you’re going to die young, lifelong education doesn’t make sense. We need lifewide education to make life long in the first place. So what is lifewide education? not just about school Today I’ll take a short tour of the world and share specific examples of education that makes life longer:

First Stop: Canada and the USA Life Expectancy: over 73 years Leading Cause of Death: Smoking Smoking kills about 435,000 people a year in America Smoking kills about 45,000 people a year in Canada

How can lifewide learning make life longer in North America? Let’s look at the Stats Smoking in America has declined 1% since Smoking in Canada has declined 10% since 1993 Every Canadian smoker knows the statistics I just told you. Guess what’s written on the cigarette pack: Every year the equivalent of a small city dies from tobacco use. This is lifewide education.

How Effective is Lifewide Education? 58% of smokers interviewed in the study said full-color pictures of how cancer affects the mouth, lungs, heart and brain had made them think more about the health effects of smoking. The warnings were so effective that 44% of the smokers polled said the new warnings increased their motivation to quit smoking. And 38% of smokers who attempted to quit in 2001 said the new warnings were a factor in motivating them to try to quit.

Next Stop: Thailand and South Africa Thailand Life Expectancy: 71 years Leading Cause of Death: AIDS South Africa Life Expectancy: 45 years Leading Cause of Death: AIDS AIDS kills about 55,000 people a year in Thailand AIDS kills about 250,000 people a year in South Africa

AIDS Education How can lifewide education make life longer? Since 1991, Thailand has reduced it’s infection rate 83% by using lifewide education Every school in Thailand was required to teach AIDS Education Classes Anti-AIDS messages aired every hour on the country's 488 state-owned radio and television stations People – especially in the sex trade - were educated about condoms, which were distributed free Lifewide education has made life longer in Thailand The infection rate is slowing down. In South Africa, however President Mbeki has stated that HIV does not cause AIDS, and that AIDS drugs may be the cause of death. This miseducation costs an estimated 600 lives per day… with 1,700 new infections each day. The infection rate has not slowed down.

How Effective is Lifewide Education? Thailand has reduced the infection rate 83% AIDS is growing in South Africa

One Final Project: Islamic Terrorism

First Question: Who Supports bin Laden? This may be suprising, but many citizens in many countries consider Osama bin Laden a great world leader. When asked how much confidence they have in world leaders to do the right thing, the following countries said that they believe bin Laden will do the right thing. Citizens in the Palestinian Authority, Pakistan, Morocco, Jordan and Indonesia said bin Laden was a good world leader, far above George W. Bush. There is an Education problem here

2 nd Question: Who Supports America? From , America has lost the support of citizens all over the world. In % of Indonesians held a favorable view of the USA In 2003 that number was 15% 72% of Canadians used to think favorably of America Today that number is 63%

The Greatest Task of Lifewide Education The US has failed this Pop Quiz. It has failed to Educate the World. The great task of this generation is to use Education to fight Terrorism.

Conclusion These examples from all over the world show the great importance of lifewide learning. In order to have a long life you must have a life, And Lifewide Education can save that life.