|
|
|
U.S. Participation in the UNESCO Regional Literacy ConferenceBamako, Mali
September, 2007
|
|
Members of the U.S. Delegation visited a Literacy Center located near Bamako, run by the "Support for Quality and Equity of Education" program, funded by USAID and World Education. Among those pictured are U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO Louise V. Oliver, Bill Knudsen, Chief of Staff of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Dr. Sarah Moten, Education Chief for the Africa Bureau of USAID, Joe Carney, Director of the Office of Education, USAID, Natasha DeMarcken, Education Officer in Mali, USAID, and Benita Somerfield from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
|
|
A delegation of representatives from the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Education traveled to Bamako, Mali for the UNESCO Regional Literacy Conference held from September 10 – 12, 2007. The delegation joined representatives from throughout Africa as well as senior representatives of UNESCO and other international and regional organizations at the conference, entitled “Renewing Literacy to Face African and International Challenges.” The conference was hosted by the Government of Mali in conjunction with UNESCO.
The delegation included U.S. Ambassador to Mali Terence P. McCulley, U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO Louise Oliver, Department of Education Assistant Secretary for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education Troy Justesen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Carol Thompson, USAID Director of Education Joe Carney, and USAID Director of Education for Africa Sarah Moten. U.S. First Lady Laura Bush addressed the conference by means of a video-taped speech to participants at the conference’s opening ceremony.
The Bamako Regional Literacy Conference was the third in a series of regional conferences sponsored by UNESCO to build on the work of the White House Conference on Global Literacy. The First Lady’s White House Conference on Global Literacy was held in New York on September 18, 2006 and was organized jointly by the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Education.
Within the framework of the U.N. Literacy Decade and UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE), the regional conferences address literacy challenges specific to various regions. Organizers gather regional experiences, disseminate effective practices, create cooperation among stakeholders, mobilize partners and resources, and promote literacy. A total of six regional literacy conferences will be held around the world.
|
Links of interest
To read the UNESCO Press Release on the Mali Regional Literacy Conference
To read more about the Mali Conference website
To read about the 2007 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes, awarded in a ceremony at the Mali Conference
To read more about the UNESCO Regional Conferences in Support of Global Literacy
|
|
|
|
|
|
