Resources on EDUCATION
Section b
"Education is a human right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development and peace. Non-discriminatory education benefits both girls and boys and thus ultimately contributes to more equal relationships between women and men."
"Literacy of women is an important key to improving health, nutrition and education in the family and to empowering women to participate in decision-making in society.
Beijing Platform for Action.
Websites and Electronic Resources
http://www.uct.ac.za/org/agi/
The African Gender Institute (AGI), University of Cape Town, acts as a resource center for networking and advancing the work of intellectuals, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners committed to gender equality in Africa. AGI’s mission for gender justice targets the three arenas of formal education, policy and civil society, and networking/ resource sharing. On their website is available the latest projects, news, and research findings about their programmes. Interesting electronic gender and development links.
http://www.worlded.org
World Education, with field offices in 15 countries, provides training and technical assistance in nonformal education (especially in literacy, health education, refugee orientation, and small enterprise development) to the poor. You will find on this web page descriptions and links to websites about their current innovative projects being implemented throughout five continents.
http://www.ei-ie.org
Education International, representing an international federation of 296 organizations, believes that education is the key to ending poverty and beginning sustainable development. This website is a treasure trove of information on international instruments on education, global campaigns and initiatives, UN/WTO education commitments and news and networking links. An extensive calendar of events. English. Spanish. French.
http://www.ifuw.org
The International Federation of University Women (IFUW) advocates to national governments and international organizations that education better girls and women’s lives. Because IFUW’s web of international affiliations is extensive, their web page is particularly useful for finding out about other organizations with common interests, international conferences and fellowships, IFUW’s study and action programme, and the latest news in global advocacy for women and education.
http://www.home.africaonline.co.ke/fawe/
Forum for African Women Education-alists (FAWE), with 30 national chapters throughout Africa, is dedicated to promoting gender equality in education on all levels. FAWE fulfills its mission through a holistic combination of advocacy, training, networking and research---such as curricula-bias awareness and reform, gender analysis in education policies, and targeting social factors and institutional mechanisms which negatively impact girls’ achievement in schools. On this website, you can easily hop to any of the 30 websites of FAWE’s national chapters to find out about their innovative programs, newsletters, and meetings as well as related sites.
http://www.ginie.org
Ask GINIE (Global Information Networks in Education) for the latest on education news in countries of crisis worldwide? GINIE serves as an internet knowledge broker with a mission to improve the quality of education in crisis-transition nations. This unique site is a one stop shop for information on educational quality, policy, and humanitarian responses during emergency situations. An invaluable website for education links, expert reports and assessments, and national and international training programs and responses to crises. A must surf. Available in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and English
http://www.nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/gender/gender.htm
Eldis is an information gateway boasting an impressive database of 10,000 essential development documents and 100,000 carefully selected web pages about whatever your heart desires on development issues. Eldis has a ‘gender’ dimension in its research themes—covering topics such ‘gender and education,’ ‘education fees,’ and ‘distance education.’ Armed with a powerful search engine, you can swiftly navigate around Eldis to find information ranging from statistics, country profiles, periodical and book abstracts, and key websites of relevant organizations to the latest news and cutting edge developments in the field, job vacancies and documentation services.
http://www.gst.gateway.wigsat.org
The Gender, Science and Technology Gateway collaborates with the United Nations on how women can participate in science and technology for development worldwide. You will find out from the gender advisory working groups their recommendation for a global action plan and analysis on gender and formal education, gender and nonformal education/training, and gender and distance learning. E-resources, expert database, and links to relevant UN sites.
http://www.edc.org
Education Development Center, Inc. operates more than 325 projects on education and health around the world. Researchers and practitioners cooperate to implement projects that touch on multiple dimensions of education---from international development to learning technologies. Although this website/organization has a North American focus, it has a wealth of useful information for the user from the Global South. This website is a springboard to over a hundred more sites—of regional EDC centers, project websites, and international/national/grassroots organizations.
http://www2.unesco.org/wef/index.htm
The World Education Forum 2000 (WEF) in Dakar, Senegal was a watershed event displaying international commitment in achieving education for all. More than 180 countries convened to discuss their national pledges, obstacles, achievements and strategies for universal literacy. You can access from this website online coverage of this conference as well as country assessment reports in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. A must surf—not to be missed.
http://www.unesco.org/women/www. unesco.org/education
UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the primary UN agency on educational and cultural issues. Learn about the latest UN educational programmes and activities promoting the status of women from this UNESCO gender equality site. In French and in English, the education site highlights current conferences, initiatives such as e-learning, country reports and resources about all levels of formal and non-formal education globally. Useful links and statistics.
Selected Books
Many of these publications can be ordered online at http://www.womenink.org
Gender in Popular Education: Methods for Empowerment
Shirley Walters and Linzi Manicom (Eds.)
Gender in Popular Education is a collection of critical reflections on feminist adult education work in grassroots organizations, development projects, formal institutions, and community education programme. It examines methodologies that lead to women’s empowerment in a wide variety of countries.
1996. 239 pages. WE262Z. US$25.00
Gender, Education and Training
Caroline Sweetman (Ed.)
This collection of articles by development workers and researchers focuses on the role of education and training in promoting equality between women and men in all areas of development. They discuss a broad range of opportunities for learning, giving attention to both formal and informal education. A resource list includes books, journals and websites.
1997. 80 pages. WE422Y. US$12.95
Globalization, Adult Education and Training
Shirley Walters (Ed.)
This collection of critical essays from leading academics, professional practitioners and education activists from more than a dozen countries looks at the impact of globalization on adult education and training (AET), with a particular focus on women. The authors explore the effectiveness of AET strategies, workplace training, and experiential learning in diverse contexts and countries.
1998. 278 pages. WE372Z. US$25.00
Women’s Education in Developing Countries: Barriers, Benefits, and Policies
Elizabeth King and M. Anne Hill (Eds.)
Despite the overwhelming evidence that educating women and girls benefits both individuals and their societies, women in most developing countries still receive less schooling than men. With region-specific chapters, this book examines the relationship between women’s education and development and assesses the strategies that have been used to improve schooling for girls.
1998. 337 pages. WE409X. US$24.95
Many of these publications can be ordered online at http://ww.womenink.org