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Meeting addresses wide gap in girls' education

Wednesday, 6 May 1998: An international conference, beginning in Washington, DC, today, focuses on the importance of girls' education as a key to social equity and poverty reduction. Convened by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and UNICEF, the meeting on Educating Girls: A Development Imperative, is being attended by more than 500 leaders and experts from around the world.

The World Bank, the Delegation of the European Commission and the Lewis T. Preston Education Program for Girls join the three sponsors as planning partners in the effort to mobilize leaders from the public, private and non-profit sectors to advance girls' education.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is delivering the keynote address, speaking on girls' education programmes she has visited in her international travels, and urging delegates -- from government, business, the media, religious and non-profit sectors -- to work together for long-term growth in girls' education.

"If countries want to achieve economic and social development, no investment has a higher pay-off than educating girls," said J. Brian Atwood, Administrator, USAID. "Educating girls contributes to economic growth, leads to better cared-for families and to stronger democracies. Yet girls are too often the last to be reached by expanding education systems. This conference is an important step in sharing lessons learned in one of the most important challenges facing the developing world today."

Enrique Iglesias, President, of the Inter-American Development Bank, said: "The IDB, UNICEF, USAID, and other organizations are working together to drive the girls' education effort at the international level. The education of girls is a key factor to improving social equity and reducing poverty. But education is not only a means of attaining society's ends; by empowering girls to exercise all their capabilities, it is an end in itself." A key strategy for sustaining girls' education over the long term is also to strengthen and stimulate partnerships within the countries, and the conference plays a crucial role in bringing together leaders from the different sectors who can work together for girls' education.

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said: "In the final analysis, it is what happens in villages and hamlets, districts and cities that will make a difference in the lives of girls, women and their families -- and the importance of girls having access to quality education cannot be overemphasized. Education for girls is the key to the health and nutrition of populations; to overall improvements in the standard of living; to better agricultural and environmental practices; to higher Gross National Product and to greater involvement and gender balance in decision-making at all levels of society."

Young people are providing a variety of perspectives at the conference. Children's Express will moderate a discussion tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. on "The Role of Media in Social Change -- Moving Young Audiences," featuring MTV Vice President Lauren Lazin, Seventeen Staff Writer Francesca Delbanco, Pablo Zardini, Producer of "Vida Universitaria" for Radio Nacional de la Republica Argentina, and other young journalists.

Through the UNICEF Voices of Youth Web forum, girls from all over the world are sending Internet messages to the conference. The World Children's Chorus performs just before Mrs. Clinton's keynote address tomorrow.

UNICEF is to moderate an expert session featuring girls from the Model United Nations at Hylton High School and Children's Express editors. A number of young people are participating in the conference, including five girls from girls' education programs in Guatemala.

In addition to Mrs. Clinton, to be introduced tomorrow by Mr. Atwood, speakers include Ms. Bellamy, Mr Iglesias, and Hattie Babbitt, Deputy Administrator, USAID, Dr. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, First Lady of Ghana, and Keiko Sofia Fujimori, First Lady of Peru.

Sessions on the roles of various sectors in advancing girls' education will engage conference participants, many representing sectors exploring partnerships for girls for the first time. Topics include: Is government support enough? US Secretary of Education Richard Riley will moderate the session with Ministers of Education from Guatemala, Barbados, Egypt and Zambia. Can private-public partnerships work? What is the role of religion in promoting girls' education? (This plenary session takes place tomorrow, National Prayer Day). How can media help to advance girls' education? What is the role of non-governmental organizations?

Delegations to the conference come from Benin, Cambodia, Chile, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Laos, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, the United States, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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