UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 9 July-September 2011

Transcription

1 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 9 July-September 2011 The 2011 EFA Global Monitoring Report highlights the impact of insecurity and armed conflict on education. Unfortunately, in recent years the graph of insecurity continues to rise in Afghanistan, and that is one of the biggest obstacles for Afghanistan to reach the national EFA goals by UNESCO is greatly concerned by the insecurity issue which undermines the access to education, a basic human right. We believe that without education, sustainable development, peace and prosperity are not attainable. Education is a nonnegotiable precondition for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the country. Whatever the political stance and for whatever reasons war is taking place, education should be respected and kept free of violence and conflicts for the sake of the future generation. UNESCO calls on all Afghans not to hinder Afghan children s access to education which denies them from a bright future. Let s respect education and let s provide access to quality education to Afghan children, youth and adults as their basic and most needed human right. (See pp 4-5 for detailed story on GMR national launch in Afghanistan) Shigeru Aoyagi, UNESCO Representative to Afghanistan TheVictims of Insecurity On this issue Literacy programme for the Afghan police p: 2 Tailoring happiness p: 3 National GMR launch in Afghanistan p: 4-5 Celebrating WPFD p: 6 World Refugee Day- peoples view P: 7

2 July-September 2011 Issue No 9 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Arming the Afghan Police with Literacy UNESCO Office in Kabul with funds from the government of Japan launched a new programme entitled Literacy for Empowering Afghan Police (LEAP) in June LEAP will provide literacy opportunities to 3,000 Afghan National Police (ANP) officers in Kabul and seven provinces across the country in the next 20 months. The programme aims to develop better literacy skills among police officers and further improve their peace-building skills, thereby contributing to peaceful and sustainable nationbuilding in Afghanistan. As part of the programme, a comprehensive national literacy curriculum for ANP will be developed. According to Afghanistan Ministry of Interior s data, more than 70% of Afghan police suffer from illiteracy or low literacy. During the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Besmellah Mohammadi, the Minister of Interior, termed illiteracy as the biggest challenge for the Afghan police. Building human resource capacity is a major issue which the Government of Japan believes is the foundation of any development, said Mr. Reiichiro Takahashi, the Japan Ambassador to Afghanistan. This new programme is a major step toward sustainable and effective development in ANP human resource, he stressed. Afghanistan is in a critical stage of its move towards democracy and stability. While the international troops are planning to leave the country by 2014, the ANP will play a crucial role in maintaining order and security. I believe, through LEAP, UNESCO with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education and the Government of Japan will greatly contribute to building peace in Afghanistan and ensuring security and stability throughout the country, said Mr. Shigeru Aoyagi, UNESCO Kabul Director. 2

3 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 9 July-September 2011 Sewing Happiness Miss Asma, 16, lives in Badakhshan province, north-eastern Afghanistan. She is a trainee of skill development project under Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA) programme. She has successfully completed a 9-month literacy course last year. With basic literacy and numeracy skills, she has been participating in a tailoring class since three months ago. The project aims to provide skill development opportunities to more than 3,000 selected beneficiaries who have completed ELA literacy courses. Equipping the rural population with literacy and skill development will contribute to securing their livelihoods. It is true that most Afghans suffer from poverty, but there are not many like Asma who has lost her father at the age of 4. Her mother became the sole breadwinner and supporter of Asma and her two younger brothers. My mother tries hard to make ends meet and take care of me and my brothers. One of my brothers is affected by polio and this has made our problems even worse, Asma explained. Her mother, an illiterate, did whatever she could to raise her children, such as working in a school as a cleaner. I have always had the dream to help my mother; I was taking care of home chores, but wanted to do more, to help her in meeting the daily expenses, told Asma who also suffers from a birth-illness which affects her normal physical activities. Asma came closer to her dream to bring home income under the ELA skill development project. With her great record in literacy class, it was no surprise that she was chosen as a candidate for the skill development project. It was a cold winter day. My mother and I were sitting at home when someone knocked at our door. The elder of our village along with two other men were behind the door. They asked if I was interested to participate in the project, she recalled. I had no hesitation in saying Yes and applyed to learn tailoring something I liked doing since I was a child. Both my mother and I could not believe that I was able to learn tailoring for free and be provided with tailoring machines and other necessary equipments. After three months, Asma has learnt to sew simple clothes. She feels already excited about her achievements. She sewed her first clothes for her mother as a gift for Mother s Day. I was so happy to prepare my first ever Mother s Day gift. I can t remember the last time I saw such happiness in my mother s eyes, Asma said. I will try to become a professional tailor and help my family financially. I am sure I will bring happiness to my family by sewing. UNESCO UNESCO 3

4 July-September 2011 Issue No 9 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Insecurity Impedes Education Afghanistan, affected by more than three decades of insecurity, struggles to embrace peace. To achieve this goal, education is a key pre-condition. The relative security after the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001 is gradually waning and insecurity threatens the achievements made so far in education. The impact of conflict on education in war-affected countries is the main theme of 2011 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) which was nationally launched in Kabul in early May. In the GMR launch ceremony, UNESCO, the Afghan Ministry of Education, along with education stakeholders and teachers acknowledged the achievements made so far whilst admitting huge challenges ahead, namely insecurity. The education sector in Afghanistan has improved significantly in the past 10 years. The overall enrolment of students has increased eight folds reaching to 7.3 million in There are more than 11,000 schools operating across the country, almost doubled compared to The number of teachers has also doubled reaching to 156,000, 31% of whom are female. Mr. Michael Keating, The United Nations Deputy Special Representative of Secretary General to Afghanistan, praised the encouraging figures from the education sector such as raising the ratio of girl enrolment in schools from 0% in 2001 to 38% 4

5 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 9 July-September 2011 in More importantly, he continued, there is a very strong thirst for education among the Afghans, which cannot be measured by figures, but is a huge source of hope for the future. However, insecurity has grown as a major challenge in the past few years, hindering access to education. In 2008 alone, 650 schools were closed because of insecurity and 140 teachers were either killed or injured seriously. Going to school is not safe and I don t want to sacrifice my children for education, said Abdul Haq, a resident of Helmand Province, where 80% of schools are shut because of insecurity. There have been serious efforts by the Ministry of Education to keep schools out of the politicallymotivated insecurity. We try to convince communities to actively participate in providing security and encourage their children to attend schools, said Mr. Ghulam Farooq Wardak, Minister of Education. Edu- cation benefits are to be provided to everyone equally regardless of their political and ideological stances. Through this endeavor, 220 closed schools have been reopened in 2009 and around 7000 classrooms built through community-based schools supported by NGOs and local communities. Dialogue is a good tool for advancing the notion of education in communities, especially in insecure areas. Through dialogue we can convince people in the communities to not burn their schools which is essentially burning their children s future, said Mr. Gul Agha, a teacher in an internally displaced camp. As societies emerge from conflict, education offers them a chance to confront the violent legacy of the past and forge attitudes conducive to a peaceful future, said Mr. Aoyagi, UNESCO representative to Afghanistan. Parents literacy plays a key role in educating their children. A main objective of UNESCO s Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA) programme which started in 2008 and will continue through 2013 is to provide adults with literacy skills as a major step toward ensuring education for their children. The fact is also highlighted in the GMR. Literate parents are more likely to send their children to schools, the report states. A big source of hope is that people are now aware of the importance of education. The issue is also taken seriously by the Afghan education officials as well. Mr. Najibullah Kamran, director of Kabul Province Education Department believes the future of the country is dependent on how effective our education system is today. A major cause of war that we experienced in Afghanistan was ignorance and a lack of education, Mr. Kamran stressed. 5

6 July-September 2011 Issue No 9 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Celebrating the Outstanding Achievement of Afghanistan World Press Freedom Day is a unique opportunity for Afghanistan to celebrate the day with a high honor. An unprecedented development took place in the country s media and communication history, at least in terms of quantity, developing from 0 to more than 1000 media outlets in about 10 years. The media achievements become more significant when it is analyzed within the Afghanistan context where persistent insecurity has affected the lives of Afghans and continue to be a major barrier for media professionals. During communist regime in the 1980s and the civil war up to 1995, Afghanistan had only one state-run radio and television channel with limited coverage in a few big cities across the country. There were no independent and real media in place. During the Taliban rule, the situation got worse. Not only the state-run television was shut down, watching television or listening to music was declared un-islamic by the Taliban and forbidden. September 11, 2001 terrorists attack to New York was a turning point for Afghanistan which resulted in the collapse of the Taliban regime and the start of the momentum for media development. In the World Press Freedom Day 2011 ceremony held in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr. Sayed Mahdum Raheen, the Information and Culture Minister, termed press freedom and expansion of media as the outstanding achievement of post-taliban era. The number of media establishments astonishingly increased from 0 to 200 within one month after the Taliban regime collapsed, said Mr. Raheen. UNESCO Kabul Director, Mr. Shigeru Aoyagi, stated UNESCO s mandate to promote freedom of expression and flow of transparent information in the country. I am pleased to witness the great achievements of the media in Afghanistan; however, we need to do more to sustain the achievements and to invest in the new aspects of media, such as online journalism, said Mr. Aoyagi. The recent report by Nai Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, a local media watchdog, shows a considerable drop in incidents of violence against Afghan journalists in 2010, compared to However, the report warns that insecurity continues to remain as the main challenge for the media outlets in the country. During 2010, 58 cases of violence against journalists were recorded which resulted to 4 deaths, beating up, detention and threats. The ceremony concluded by recognizing and honouring journalists who had lost their lives on duty in the past few years in Afghanistan. The media development is achieved by the blood of journalists, and it can never be compromised by anything, said the father of a journalist who lost his son few years back in the southern province of Helmand. I am so proud of my son who was sacrificed for the sake of liberty and freedom of expression in his country. 6

7 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Issue No 9 July-September 2011 Afghans Say on World Refugee Day A fghanistan has had high number of returning refugees in recent years. Since 2002, more than 5 million Afghan refugees have returned home and still around 3 million are living in refuge, mostly in neighboring countries of Iran and Pakistan. On the occasion of World Refugee Day, 20th June, some returning Afghan refugees views are highlighted below. 7 Being a refugee for more than 20 years in Pakistan has meant a lot to me in many ways. Food, shelter, health and education are said to be the basic human rights but a refugee will only think about his survival first, the rest all come next. I think these challenges have made Afghans stronger, more considerate and devoted to their country. They survived in difficult circumstances, educated their children in the most Naseer Durrani, 29 difficult situations and kept their hope alive for returning back to their homeland where their education in hand and skills learnt could be used to build a new home of happiness. I am very much hopeful that the youth returning back to Afghanistan have brought with them hope and faith that will enable this zealous nation to stand on its own feet once again in the near future. was born in Iran and resided there for about 20 I years. I grew up with the dominant culture of the host society and felt somewhat alienated from my own culture. Now, it has been more than 4 years that I have returned back to Afghanistan. I have a good job at an UN agency and at the same time I am studying Murtaza Mohammadi, 24 at one of the best universities in the country. At first it was a bit scary for me to live in Afghanistan, but very soon I got used to it. When I was leaving Iran, I thought I might feel somehow strange about the people in my country, but as soon as I was among the people I had the great feeling of sweet home. As a refugee, I was always treated differently. In spite of the hardships, all Afghans in Iran tried very hard for a better life. Life as a refugee was very much a challenging; however I really appreciate it as it opened new windows of opportunities for me and my family. Globalization has caused different kinds of cross-border interactions, including the movement of people. People migrate from one country to another in order to get new and better chances for education, improve their economic situation and obtain a better-quality life. Migration means cultural, environmental and even security challenges. During the years of war in Afghanistan, a lot of Afghans migrated to other countries and were exposed to lots of problems in adopting to new cultures and life-styles. On the other hand they could access better education than Afghanistan. Returning back to their country, they take on a more effective role in the development process of Afghanistan. My family and I left Afghanistan and went as refugee to Pakistan when I was 4 years old. I Shukria Mahzuz, 19 was brought up and schooled there in Pakistan along with my brotshers. We were the only non-pakistanis in the entire school. Sometimes my classmates teased us and wanted us to return back to Afghanistan. One day when I was in second grade, some of my classmates teased me; I was so desperate that I started crying. Since that day, I had one dream and that was to return back and live in my own country. Living as a refugee is never easy. They have to face problems everywhere at school, in markets, on buses, in parks. I am so happy that I don t live as a refugee anymore. To me, World Refugee Day means a lot; mostly it reminds me of problems, challenges and difficulties. Razia Arooje

8 July-September 2011 Issue No 9 UNESCO Kabul Newsletter Celebration of Museum Day and World Day for Cultural Diversity UNESCO Office in Kabul and the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture celebrated the International Museum Day and World Day for Cultural Diversity, Dialogue and Development, in the Afghanistan s national museum in Kabul in late May In the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Omar Sultan, thanked the international community and UNESCO for their assistance in rehabilitating the Afghanistan s national museum that was completely devastated during the civil war. With UNESCO s help, the Ministry of Information and Culture has been able to retrieve some 13,000 artifacts which were smuggled abroad during the civil war, Mr. Sultan explained. Mr. Shigeru Aoyagi, UNESCO Kabul Director, praised the progress that has been made in the culture sector and especially in support of the national museum over the past few years. He further highlighted the importance of cultural diversity for dialogue and development in the context of Afghanistan. Mr. Aoyagi read out Ms. Irina Bokova s message, emphasizing that the Recognition of cultural diversity can accelerate mutual understanding and the building of a common space around shared values. The ceremony concluded with live Afghan traditional music. MIS training for Higher Education Staff MOHE A six day training facilitated by UNESCO and the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) was held in Kabul in late April The 125 participants, Administrative Staff and Faculty Deans from Kabul universities were updated on the use and importance of information management for effective administration. By the end of the training, the MOHE MIS system was refined and enhanced based on the feedback provided by the participants. UNESCO Kabul Newsletter is published quarterly to highlight the activities of UNESCO in Afghanistan. Please share your feedbacks and comments to Mohammad Amin Sadiqi, Editor and Public Information Officer a.sadiqi@unesco.org Telephone: +93 (0) Website: