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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 30 June 2005 – The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, in partnership with UNESCO, recently concluded a three-day national planning workshop with Ministry of Education officials as part of the global Education for All initiative.

Some 30 officials from all over Turkmenistan, including representatives from provincial schools which collaborate with UNICEF, took part in the 27-29 June discussions, which were also chaired by the Ministry of Education.

“I’m glad to see that a list of priorities has been identified by all of you here in this room. It is important to recognise the importance of working together, the UN can help in this and we are happy to work with the Ministry of Education towards a common goal,” said Ms Regina Molera, UNICEF Turkmenistan Programme Coordinator, in remarks concluding the workshop.

Educational planning for sustainable development, curriculum development and teaching material and training needs were the priorities of discussion during the three days and were highlighted in the final workshop document as areas of future collaboration.

“I hope we will develop and extend cooperation between the Ministry of Education and other related institutions in Turkmenistan, we have to work with you and develop action plans. We are also very pleased with the cooperation we have developed with UNICEF,” said Mr G.Reza Samarbakhsh, visiting UNESCO Education Programme Officer.

This latest initiative followed on from the first Education for All roundtable which was held in Ashgabat in February and also involved Turkmen education and other ministry officials, as well as representatives from UNICEF and UNESCO.

The June 27-29 workshop took place with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is another constructive outcome of the joint collaboration between the Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF remains committed to working with the Government to help it fulfil its national priorities and international obligations covering children’s rights.