Reflexions on the effectiveness of partnerships – past and future - to promote education for all in Asia and the Pacific

This paper reflects on lessons learned and the way forward in a huge region where the EFA partnership has been active. The Asia and Pacific Technical Working Group for EFA was established to ensure a coherent approach towards... [ view full abstract ]

This paper reflects on lessons learned and the way forward in a huge region where the EFA partnership has been active. The Asia and Pacific Technical Working Group for EFA was established to ensure a coherent approach towards achieving its goals. It is co-chaired by UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (Bangkok) and UNICEF (EAPRO) and includes key civil society organisations (e.g. Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization. The TWG collaborates with three very active regional networks which support evidence-based advocacy and partnerships around ECD, gender (UNGEI) and mother tongue-based multilingual education. Key achievements include support to EFA reviews, joint advocacy (e.g., Global Action Week, regional launches of GMR, joint statements) and facilitation of the post-2015 discourse, including the first regional conference on Post 2015 (APREC August 2014), which generated the Bangkok Statement on regional education priorities. The group is evaluating its fitness for purpose for post 2015. Key questions include: should membership be broadened to include other sectors; should greater focus be given to sub-regions; how should the group react to the broadening of the equity focus to middle income and wealthier countries and shifts in the donor landscape; do we need additional thematic groups? Discussions will also include changing communication modalities and how to connect the group to new co-ordination mechanisms globally and at country level. Evidence will be drawn from key conference discussions, minutes of key meetings and an external evaluation commissioned by the group.

This paper discusses how partnerships around early childhood development (ECD) have evolved in Asia and the Pacific in tune with the enhanced policy focus on holistic ECD, compared to the narrower focus of ECE. The Asia... [ view full abstract ]

This paper discusses how partnerships around early childhood development (ECD) have evolved in Asia and the Pacific in tune with the enhanced policy focus on holistic ECD, compared to the narrower focus of ECE. The Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) aims to build partnerships across sectors and different disciplines and institutions in the region to advance the agenda on and investment in ECD.

Conceptualized by three founding partners, UNICEF, UNESCO and Plan International following deliberations of the Asia-Pacific ECD Policy Reviews in 2006 and shaped by a small, dedicated steering committee of individuals working with the government, in academic institutions and civil society organizations from the region, ARNEC has become one of the largest networks for ECD covering 47 countries with 1,700 individual members and 15 institutional members.

One great example of outcomes generated through ARNEC’s platform of partnership is the East Asia Pacific-Early Child Development Scale developed with technical leadership of the University of Hong Kong and financial support of UNICEF and the Open Society Foundations. The scales will equip stakeholders across the region with a common measurement tool that can assess the holistic developmental progress of children age 3 to 5 years. Other interesting developments include a new working group on ECD and peace-building, which aims to strengthen the regional community of practice and document good practices on ECD and Peace-building in the region. The paper draws upon these and other examples to demonstrate the power of partnerships in advancing holistic ECD in the region.

This paper discusses the achievements and challenges experienced by the East Asia and Pacific United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (EAP UNGEI) and how understandings of gender and priorities around gender in the region... [ view full abstract ]

This paper discusses the achievements and challenges experienced by the East Asia and Pacific United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (EAP UNGEI) and how understandings of gender and priorities around gender in the region have evolved over time with and through the EAP UNGEI, especially focusing on successful factors on the EAP UNGEI partnership in promoting gender equality in education in the region.

UNGEI is a multi-stakeholder partnership launched by the Secretary-General in April 2000 at the World Education Forum (WEF) in Dakar. UNGEI aims to improve the quality and availability of girls’ education in support of global gender-related goals to achieve universal primary education and to promote gender equality and empower women. UNGEI aims to enhance gender equality in education in the region through policy advocacy; sharing best practice, information and data; and building partnerships.

The EAP UNGEI is based in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a network of experts and organizations promoting the right to education and gender equality for all in the region co-chaired by UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (UNICEF EAPRO) and UNESCO Bangkok. ..

This paper will examine and identify key factors in the effectiveness of partnerships for development, illustrated by the EAP UNGEI based on a desk review of literature on partnerships and internal documents and survey of the UNGEI. The paper will also introduce emerging issues in the region and discuss how gender is likely to be addressed globally post 2015.

This symposium will generate discussions around the role of partnerships in general and at different levels – global, regional and country. It will help reflect on how the EFA movement engaged in the global agenda alongside... [ view full abstract ]

This symposium will generate discussions around the role of partnerships in general and at different levels – global, regional and country. It will help reflect on how the EFA movement engaged in the global agenda alongside other, sometimes competing mechanisms, not least the Millennium Development Goals and to reflect on efforts to avoid such dualism in the post 2015 agenda. It will also generate discussion around the implications of the expanded focus on all countries in the post 2015 compared to the binary distinction of donor and recipient countries which tended to characterise the development paradigm in since 2000, not least since some countries are now both. It will explore examples of effective South-South collaboration and how we should work collectively to address inequalities in middle income and wealthier countries. It will also discuss what the critical themes should be for development partners and governments in future with a specific focus on Asia and the Pacific and its sub-regions. Areas like migration and conflict and natural disasters are much more on the agenda than they were in 2000. We will discuss how new regional partnerships, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will play a greater role and how the existing EFA-TWG or its replacement can interact with such bodies more systematically in future and what the focus of this regional co-ordination mechanism will be in terms of capacity development, knowledge management, partnerships and evidence based advocacy.