8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 1 Towards a new education system for rebuilding the Iraqi society: from vision to practice SYNTHESIS OF DISCUSSIONS DAY 1

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 2 EDUCATION REFORM  Crucial need, as a basis for rebuilding the Iraqi society  Links between education and economic & societal development  Main aim: to foster the development of persons, as both knowledgeable, creative, open-minded, tolerant and moral individuals, and active members of a democratic and open community/society  Strong political will and determination/commitment of all stakeholders  Extremely difficult context

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 3 EDUCATION REFORM: achievements to date  Leadership  Continuous delivery of education services  Education policy Reform aims Strategies and mechanisms Criteria and priorities Institutional support

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 4 EDUCATION REFORM: achievements to date  Effective partnerships  Effective change Textbooks Teacher training Education infrastructure/School rehabilitation School management Some parts of the curriculum (ICT; Environment education; Human Rights and Citizenship Education) Vocational education

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 5 FUTURE PROSPECTS  Setting priorities: curriculum development (given its importance for knowledge, skills and character building)  All the other components of the education system ought to be tackled in correlation with curriculum development

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 6 FUTURE PROSPECTS Using the momentum: Using the momentum: New Constitution Upcoming elections Building national consensus Building national consensus Gaining professional and public support for curriculum change and implementation Gaining professional and public support for curriculum change and implementation Addressing needs and challenges accurately, timely and realistically Addressing needs and challenges accurately, timely and realistically

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 7 MEANINGFUL AND EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS  Internal dialogue and partnerships: participation and inclusion  Support from international partners/Cluster approach (UNESCO, UNICEF, USAID, World Bank, donor countries: i.e. Japan, etc.): programme/project design; funding; technical assistance for capacity building  UNESCO’s pro-active role  The International conference is a sheer reflection of such existing effective partnerships and inclusive approaches

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 8 CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS  Solide and coherent education policy  Adequate legal framework  Legitimacy and competence  Human and financial ressources  Planning  Team spirit and positive attitude  Effective communication

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 9 EFEFCTIVE PARTNERSHIPS amongts education reform actors  Government  Civil society  Businesses  Media

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 10 OPENESS and BALANCE  To be open to the world, while taking stok of valuable local traditions and experiences  To learn from others, but to come up with creative solutions that ought to fit the Iraqi contex

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 11 Education policy messages  What are the ‘big’ policy questions? Examples: Systemic/comprehensive vision reflected in consensual documents Curriculum arrangements within a federal system Professionaling curriculum work Management of curriculum processes Institutional structures Institutional structures Ressources and planning Ressources and planning (short-, medium- and long-term) Design and implementation Sustainability

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 12 CONSENSUS BUILDING  Identifying issues that people agree upon (i.e. cross-cutting themes in the curriculum: ICT; HRE & Citizenship; Environmental education; Gender dimensions; life- long learning; adult education)  Identifying controversial issues and tackling them effectively

8-9 December 2005 UNESCO 13 Education policy  Does not mean politizing education  From vision to practice  Monitoring and evaluation  Quality assurance and quality control  Education systems as societal projects