Under the Patronage of H.E. the Minister of Education, Dr. Omar Razzaz, the Arab Network for Civic Education (ANHRE) held the launch ceremony of the 2017 Global Action Week for Education under the theme “Accountability for Education 2030 and Citizen Participation” at the Geneva Hotel in Amman, Jordan. The event was organized in partnership with the Jordan Coalition for Education for All, the Arab Campaign for Education for All, the German Adult Education Association, and the Swedish development partner, with regional participation from ANHRE members in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt, as well as representatives of official institutions, civil society organizations, media professionals, and education activists.
Global Action Week is an international campaign that seeks to unite voices around one common theme and present coordinated demands to politicians and decision-makers in the field of education. It is observed by people around the world, with millions participating annually in nearly 100 countries.
The keynote speech launching Global Action Week at the Arab level was delivered by the main speaker and Jordan’s guest, teacher Hanan Al Hroub from Palestine, winner of the 2016 Global Teacher Prize. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of joining efforts regionally and prioritizing the allocation and spending of education resources in ways that focus on increasing equity and supporting the most marginalized groups and areas affected by conflict or post-conflict conditions.
Ms. Fotouh Younes, Executive Director of the Arab Network for Civic Education, stated that the 2017 Global Action Week, launched by the network nationally and regionally, calls on citizens to participate under the slogan “Defend Education — Now Is the Time to Deliver.” She urged governments to commit to Sustainable Development Goal 4, which guarantees every person’s right to free, public, quality, inclusive, and equitable education. Two years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, she stressed that it is time for governments to prove that they are working toward achieving this goal and that they have established mechanisms for implementation.
Younes added that the escalation of armed conflicts, wars, and political unrest affecting the Middle East and North Africa region, directly or indirectly, has prevented millions of children from attending school. Schools and education infrastructure have been destroyed, or used as bases by parties to conflict or as shelters for displaced people. The devastating impact of war is not limited to physical damage to education infrastructure; it also affects an entire generation of schoolchildren who feel frustrated as they witness their basic hopes and aspirations being shattered.
Mr. Refat Sabbah, General Coordinator of the Arab Campaign for Education for All, noted that this year’s Global Action Week focuses on holding governments and the international community accountable for delivering the full Sustainable Development Agenda, ensuring citizen participation, and calling on governments to “keep your promises.” He emphasized SDG 4 and reminded governments and peoples that democratic governance is the cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals. Credible roadmaps are needed to provide quality, inclusive, free education and lifelong learning opportunities.
Accordingly, the Arab Campaign for Education calls for holding governments and donors accountable for education budgets, including budgets allocated to education in humanitarian response plans and relief programs in areas affected by conflicts and wars. Sabbah added: “It is time to hold governments and other actors in the field of education accountable for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 and fulfilling their promise of the right to inclusive, quality, public, and free education for all.” The campaign calls on all governments and international actors in the region to take concrete and serious action to deliver on their commitments toward achieving this goal now. It also calls for enabling greater scrutiny of education spending by making education budgets more open and transparent, allowing civil society actors and others to track budgets and monitor spending and performance, thereby reducing corruption and ensuring sufficient free space for civil society to monitor education spending and take part meaningfully in all decision-making processes related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda.
For his part, Mr. Khalil Abu Radwan, President of the Jordan Coalition for Education for All, stated that the Arab Campaign for Education for All, represented by the Jordan Coalition for Education and in partnership with the Arab Network for Civic Education (ANHRE), calls on governments this year to implement credible plans for the full delivery of the Education 2030 Agenda, with a focus on increasing domestic financing for education. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening public systems and state capacities to ensure that education is free, high-quality, equitable, and inclusive, and of ensuring credible and transparent mechanisms for civil society participation in monitoring and accountability processes related to the Education 2030 Agenda.
He further stressed the importance of a humanistic vision based on universal ethical principles, which should form the foundation for an integrated approach to learning objectives for all and their organization, and should be reflected in the design of education processes that promote the acquisition of relevant knowledge and the development of competencies.
Researcher Khuzama Rasheed from the Jordanian coalition for Education emphasized that education is the responsibility of society as a whole. Good governance in the education sector requires multiple partnerships between the government and civil society, and national education policy should be the outcome of broad national consultations and consensus. She added that strengthening the role of civil society in education in a clearer and more significant manner can contribute to advancing education. Strong partnerships with local community networks and nonprofit organizations can help convey the concerns and priorities of families regarding the state of education in Jordan.
It is worth noting that the Arab Network for Civic Education (ANHRE) is a regional network working across the Arab region to promote and strengthen the values of citizenship and a culture of human rights, while integrating the principles of gender equality, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the rights of groups most vulnerable to discrimination and exclusion, through coordination of efforts and capacity building.
The Arab Campaign for Education for All (ACEA) is a multi-stakeholder, independent, nonprofit coalition composed of networks, coalitions, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, teachers’ unions, federations, and other education-focused actors in Arab countries. ACEA seeks to unify and mobilize civil society efforts to ensure the achievement of education goals.
The Jordan Coalition for Education for All was established in 2009 at the initiative of the Arab Network for Civic Education (ANHRE), with the aim of reminding the government of its international commitments to improving the quality of education, ensuring openness to challenges, recognizing and addressing them, and following up on them. This is based on the belief that education is the key to rights, and on the need to urge the government to prioritize spending on education and increase the budget allocated to education development.
