The summit opened on 24 February, in Bangkok Thailand, offering a three-day platform for sharing of innovative approaches to provide learning opportunities for disadvantaged youth. More than 550 development workers, government officials, education practitioners and private sector representatives from 22 countries gathered on the day to share innovative strategies on how best to reach Asia’s millions of out-of-school children.
There are approximately, 17.3 million out –of-school children in Asia-Pacific, among them some of the region’s – and the world’s – most marginalized groups: girls in area where gender inequality is prevalent; children with disabilities; HIV-infected youth; those living in remote areas unserved by schools; migrants, nomadic people and racial, ethnic and linguistic minorities.
UNESCO Bangkok Director Gwang-Jo Kim said that the summit comes at a pivotal for Asia-Pacific, as the region pursues the ambitious Education 2030 goal of “inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for All”, “Ensuring that everyone has the right to a quality education is the most effective path that we can pursue to peace and sustainable developmentˮ. “In the 21st Century, education is no longer only a national issue. Increased mobility between countries means it is a transnational issue. By reaching and retaining more children in educational programmes, we are making the best possible investment we can make in our collective futuresˮ.
According to UNESCO statistic, there are around 6.69 million out-of-school children in East Asia and another 9.81 million in South and West Asia. A recent report released by UNESCO Bangkok showed that if primary school enrollment patterns in Southeast Asia do not change, the unskilled workforce that emerges will cost countries anywhere from 0.1% of their GDP in the case of Vietnam to as much 4% of GDP in Timor- Leste .
“More and more research is pointing to the fact that the current out-of-school children situation in Asia-Pacific is unsustainable. It is high time that countries in Asia stand up together to address this issue for the future prosperity and stability of all countries in the regionˮ. “UNESCO believes that innovative, flexible learning approaches are a necessity when it comes to this important mission ,ˮ
The summit is an extension of the project “Strengthening Education System for Out-of-School Childrenˮ, organized by UNESCO Bangkok with the funding and support of Educate A Child (AEC).
The project aims to assist nine Southeast Asian countries where the challenges around out-of-school; children are particularly acute: the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste.
The project aims to address their educational needs regardless of their nationality or ethnicity through flexible learning strategies. There are four areas of focus in the project: research and knowledge sharing, regional policy advocacy, regional capacity building, and promoting flexible learning strategies. The project has been expanded to include all Asian sub-regions to spur greater collaboration in flexible learning strategies for young learners.
For more information please visit: http://flexlearnstrategies.net and www.unescobkk.org
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