1. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Presentation Literacy Day 2002 Hans d’Orville Director, Bureau of Strategic Planning 10 September 2002 Illiteracy : a Female Phenomena ?

2. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Female illiteracy – a wake-up callFACTS Two-thirds of the world’s 876 million illiterates are women 70 % of the poor in the world are women 113 million primary school children are being denied their right to education. Almost two- thirds of them are female Fewer girls than boys finish primary school. By the time they reach 18, girls have an overage of 4,4 years less education than boys

3. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Is ILLITERACY then a FEMALE PHENOMENON? *** Does illiteracy have – as has poverty – above all a FEMALE FACE?

4. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ? Girls in many countries are expected to begin helping out at an early age with household responsibilities which prevents them from attending formal schooling Investing in girls and women education is not considered profitable by many poor communities In many patriarchal societies women and girls are denied their fundamental human rights, among them, the right to education In some countries, empowering women through education is not considered essential and sometimes contrary to the role that they are expected to perform Women’s illiteracy is due to many related factors

5. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Cultural and social factors have a major impact on female access to schooling, Compounded by: poverty – in itself a denial of human rights. It is THE critical barrier to education, in particular for girls Illiteracy : a female phenomena ?

6. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 “We must do more and better.” “How can poverty be eradicated when the roots of ignorance are left undisturbed?” Koïchiro Matsuura WHY and HOW?

7. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ? Literacy, particularly the literacy of women, is the most important factor for sustainable and equitable development

8. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 The female “literacy chain”: Beijing Plan of Action – 1995 Dakar Plan of Action - 2000 Millennium Development Goals - 2001 UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy 2002-2007 Johannesburg Plan of Action - 2002

9. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 The overall framework: Beijing Platform of Action Strategic objectives in education: Ensure equal access to education Eradicate illiteracy among women Develop non-discriminatory education and training Promote lifelong education and training for girls and women

10. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 World Education Forum, Dakar 2000 Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality The Dakar Framework for Action: 4 of 6 commitments address women’s literacy needs

11. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Millennium Development Goals Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015

12. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation 99. Education is critical for promoting sustainable development. 99. (a) Meet the development goal in the Millennium Declaration of achieving universal primary education, ensuring that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling; 99. (b) Provide all children, particularly those living in rural areas and those living in poverty, especially girls, with the access and opportunity to complete a full course of primary education 103. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education as provided in the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All, and at all levels of education no later than 2015 to meet the development goals contained in the Millennium Declaration, with action to ensure, inter alia, equal access to all levels and forms of education, training and capacity- building be gender mainstreaming, and by creating a gender-sensitive educational system. Johannesburg, South Africa, September 2002

13. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 UNESCO’S Medium-Term Strategy for 2002-2007 (31 C/4 Approved)

14. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action including legislation, policies, and programmes, in any area and at all levels. Gender Mainstreaming ECOSOC Agreed conclusions 1997/2

15. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 UNESCO’s responses to the needs of women  Promote and facilitate the integration of a gender perspective in policy planning, programming, implementation and evaluation activities  Address and promote women’s priorities and vision of development goals and approaches through greater participation of women at all levels and in all areas of UNESCO’s action;  Establish region-specific programmes and activities that benefit girls and women of various ages  Set up capacity-building in Member States  Increase the awareness of and respect for women's human rights as explained in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

16. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ? Literacy is the first step in education – the chance for women to develop their own potential Women are often made to believe they are second-class citizens Building self-confidence and initiative through education

17. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ? Literate mothers are likely to send their girls to school Literate female relatives set role models for young girls in the family Educated women take part more confidently, actively and effectively in family and community decision-making Women’s literacy: positive impact for successive generations

18. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ? Women ’ s literacy fosters healthier families Literate women have smaller families and space better their children Literate women tend to have healthier children Literate women earn and save more Literate women have a better capacity to learn how to care for and support their families

19. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ? Beyond mere literacy: promoting gender-sensitive literacy Balanced gender roles in textbooks Female role models in all learning materials Literacy learning at suitable times and in suitable places Women as facilitators and animators Planning literacy learning in line with how women want to use literacy

20. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ?  Adapting to social, cultural and religious contexts  Connecting literacy with practical purposes and uses  Linking literacy with sustainable local development  Teaching literacy in local languages Moving from “literacy”to“literacies”

21. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Illiteracy : a female phenomena ?  Increase the awareness of and respect for women's human rights (inter alia, through world-wide dissemination of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW))  Promote gender equality in education through, notably, the United Nations Initiative for Girls (UNGEI)  Help to eradicate poverty, in particular extreme poverty, through one of its two cross-cutting themes in the Medium- Term Strategy (2002-2007), which focuses especially on women In organisational terms, this is being done by each Programme Sector and coordinated by the Women and Gender Equality Section located in the Bureau of Strategic Planning (BSP) UNESCO seeks to

22. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Moving forward: It offers an opportunity for embracing and implementing a renewed vision of literacy which will foster cultural identity, democratic participation and citizenship, tolerance and respect for others, social development, peace and progress United Nations Literacy Decade to begin in 2003

23. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 Roosevelt’s Essential Human Freedoms  Freedom of speech and expression.  Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way.  Freedom from want.  Freedom from fear. Franklin D. Roosevelt Annual Message to the Congress of the United States of America 6th January 1941

24. © UNESCO/ BSP/WYS/WGE 2002 A Fifth Essential Human Freedom?  The Freedom from illiteracy.