Getting to Know International Contacts

Getting to Know International Contacts

I visited UNESCO’s website to explore their mission and goals on education international early childhood education. Since its creation in 1945, UNESCO’s mission has been to contribute to the building of peace, poverty eradication, lasting development and intercultural dialogue, with education as one of its principal activities to achieve this aim. The Organization is committed to a holistic and humanistic vision of quality education worldwide, the realization of everyone’s right to education, and the belief that education plays a fundamental role in human, social and economic development. The educational objectives are to support the achievement of Education for All (EFA); to provide global and regional leadership in education; to strengthen education systems worldwide from early childhood to the adult years; to respond to contemporary global challenges through education.

As the only United Nations agency with a mandate to cover all aspects of education, UNESCO’s work encompasses educational development from pre-school through to higher education, including technical and vocational education and training, non-formal education and literacy. The Organization focuses on increasing equity and access, improving quality, and ensuring that education develops knowledge and skills in areas such as sustainable development, HIV and AIDS, human rights and gender equality. UNESCO works with governments and a wide range of partners to make education systems more effective through policy change. It coordinates the Education for All movement, tracks education trends and raises the profile of educational needs on global development agendas.

Teachers, their training, recruitment, retention, status and working conditions are among UNESCO’s top priorities. “Teachers are the single most influential and powerful force for equity, access and quality in education”, says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. The main challenge faced by the teaching profession is both one of numbers and quality. In other words, the world needs more and better teachers. The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. UNESCO works to address this challenge in addition to advocating for teachers and defending their rights.

One of UNESCO’s main responsibilities is to advocate for the right of every girl and boy, young and adult woman and man, to quality education throughout life – regardless of the setting (formal, non-formal or informal). The Organization also coordinates an international movement in support of Education for All (EFA) and is responsible for monitoring the achievement of internationally agreed goals pertaining to education. The UNESCO also helps countries develop legal frameworks as well as mobilizes global partners on issues relating to the right to education.

UNESCO coordinates the international efforts to reach the six EFA goals, working closely with governments, development agencies, civil society, academics and the private sector. As EFA lead agency, UNESCO focuses its activities on five key areas: policy dialogue, monitoring, advocacy, mobilization of funding, and capacity development.

 UNESCO has developed with assistance from an independent team, the annual Education for All Global Monitoring Report monitors global progress towards the six Educations for All goals. Each year the report presents evidence to inform policy makers on a specific topic issue such as reaching marginalized populations, conflict, skills for youth, or teaching and learning. The GMR draws on data from a variety of sources including the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the leading source for international education statistics. In addition to monitoring the state of education, UNESCO also functions as a “think tank” to guide global debates on the future of education. It does so by analyzing emerging development trends and their implications for education systems and for learning. It also reviews research on education policy and suggests strategic orientations for education policy development.

UNESCO is an organization that believes early childhood education and the importance of quality teachers to ensure the success of children. They advocate for better resources and experiences for children and training for teachers. My professional goals as an early childhood educator are focused on the same path. We have to advocate, educated and empower teachers and parents so children will have an opportunity for a quality education. This means we may need to be the voice in the community on a local state and federal level.

www.unesco.org