Using radio to widen the path to educational opportunity in the world’s fragile states was the subject of EDC presentations at The Ninth Working Group meeting on Education for All at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, November 12-14.
Most Somali children have known nothing but war. Said Yasin, who develops educational programs in this African nation, is continually amazed and inspired by students’ unquenchable desire to learn—even under dire circumstances. On a recent visit to the United States, Yasin reflected on the radio-based instruction program that reaches 250,000 children and more than 7,000 teachers.
With support from EDC, an initiative called the Social Legacy Program is working with Armenian Disability People Organizations to develop a national coalition. Coalition members will identify one or more challenges and then will develop activities to address those challenges.
Like many technology-focused educators, EDC’s Bob Spielvogel concentrates on applying technology to improving the quality of learning and teaching, expanding online educational content, and providing access to education in the world’s remote areas.
A first-of-its-kind network in the Caribbean is uniting HIV and AIDS coordinators to use education to prevent HIV and AIDS, teach the public about how HIV is transmitted, and empower schools to be inclusive learning and working environments.
TEACH-VIP E-Learning presents a comprehensive list of topics to online learners, including injury prevention, measuring injuries and violence, and policy development and advocacy, as well as problem-specific content and self-assessments.
EDC program staff will develop systems for teacher management and professional development as well as create a rich variety of classroom resources, including Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs for Malian children in all grades.
EDC has been awarded a $30 million contract by the U.S. Agency for International Development to direct a broad education reform effort in Mali, reaching 80 percent of primary schools and over 1.5 million children over the next five years.
Armed conflict in Somalia has forced people to flee their homes and has sent many into makeshift housing and camps. Using shortwave radio to reach these people, EDC produces and broadcasts instructional segments on basic reading, math, and life skills such as health and conflict prevention.
In Ghana, many parents choose Islamic schools to ensure that their children receive a religious as well as academic education. However, many of these schools lag behind their counterparts in the secular system.
Schools are both educational environments and workplaces that employ thousands of people in the Caribbean. Educational systems can play an important role in protecting the health of those who work within them and the students who learn and play there. Policies within the education sector and workplace in the Bahamas must therefore address the HIV and AIDS epidemic. A three day workshop in the Bahamas was planned and conducted by EDC to develop a draft Education Sector Policy for HIV and AIDS.
More than 80 primary schools and communities in Egypt are taking part in this two-year environmental education initiative. Known as the Egyptian Environmental Education and Outreach Program (E3OP), the initiative engages schools and communities in exploring environmental issues and introduces experiential, active-learning methods into Egyptian classrooms.
“If anyone can bridge the gaps between Americans and Palestinians, it’s us: youth leaders.” These words, delivered by Ruwwad Youth Ambassador Suad Soboh in Boston, were a strong, fitting conclusion to a momentous trip for six Ruwwad youth.
Attacks on civilians, torture, the use of child soldiers or biological weapons—all are prohibited in war. But not everyone is familiar with the international humanitarian laws that govern armed conflict. To introduce students to the concepts and content of these rules, EDC and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) developed the Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) program.
At a community center in Bangkok, small-business owners are logging on to the Internet for the first time, using Microsoft Word, Excel spreadsheets, and other business software. These local entrepreneurs—including fruit sellers, garment makers, and artisans—are learning their technology skills courtesy of the multinational computer firm, Hewlett Packard (HP).
From dropout to vagrant to teen mother, 19-year-old Manoucheka Lizaire’s life quickly unraveled as she followed a path familiar to girls living in poverty. In Haiti alone, thousands of teens are like Manoucheka—out of school and living on the streets, in domestic servitude, or with families too poor to provide them with an education.
A lush mangrove forest with its wealth of tropical plants, animals, and sea organisms, one of the most biodiverse wetland habitats on the planet, thrives just off the coast of Colombia. For children in a local neighborhood, the mangroves are a gateway to discovering ecology—and computer software.
A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to breaking down cultural stereotypes and crossing linguistic barriers. That’s the thinking behind a new curriculum for Japanese schoolchildren that uses picture books to help Japanese students learn about the United States. The curriculum was developed by EDC and Japan’s Iwate University, with funding from the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership.
EDC staff in Thailand enlisted the help of local university students to bring greater public attention to the scope of the HIV/AIDS crisis in that country. In partnership with film students from Chulalongkorn University (Chula), project staff researched, wrote, and produced three short documentary films that report on factors contributing to the epidemic, the plight of children orphaned by it, and promising new community-based responses.
Leaders from the Ministries of Education and Communication, the international donor community, and the private sector in Yemen will gather at the Looking Forward Summit in Sana’a, Yemen, March 14th and 15th. Participants will explore how ICT applications such as multimedia CD-ROMs, digital video, radio, computers, and the Internet can introduce and sustain new opportunities for improved teaching and learning in Yemeni schools.
A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to breaking down cultural stereotypes and crossing linguistic barriers. That’s the thinking behind a new cross-cultural curriculum for Japanese schoolchildren developed jointly by EDC and Iwate University.
Shaban Ladeu has taught at Haddow Primary School in Maridi, Western Equatoria, since 2001. A teacher since 1981, Shaban is a dedicated educator; until the Government of Southern Sudan began paying teachers’ salaries this year, Shaban worked without remuneration, only occasionally receiving a small allowance culled from students’ tuition fees. The 80 students in his first grade class range in age from 6 to 12, and most began their formal education only this year.
HHD Global Programs (of EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs) is working with the American Cancer Society in the worldwide fight against cancer by developing modules for a signature international curriculum that has already reached 245 scholars from 62 countries.
When Trevor Dudley saw that the architectural plans for a new school in Kampala, Uganda, had no athletic field or recreational facilities, he decided to intervene. Bucking the prevailing opinion that sports were a distraction that had no place in the world of learning; Dudley set out to show the positive impact athletics could have on children and communities. A native of England, Dudley has lived in Africa for 25 years, 18 of them in Uganda, working as a construction consultant.