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Addressee: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), UNICEF
Full Text
UNESCO and UNICEF should continue to promote bilingual and cross-cultural education programs for indigenous peoples and schools for girls and women's literacy progrmas in Latin America, and should encourage and expand these experiences in other regions.
Responses
UNESCO has continued its collaboration with Ministries at country level to promote education policy reform in favor of indigenous peoples. UNESCO continues to provide technical assistance to the development of curricula and guidelines for textbooks and learning materials by producing and disseminating publications. UNESCO has undertaken projects in Northern Namibia, Nepal, the Solomon Islands, Chile, the Pacific and Vietnam in the area of culturally relevant curricula. Please see UNESCO's report to the fifth session (E/C.19/2006/6/Add.9) for more details on these projects.
UNICEF's support for bilingual and intercultural education programs in indigenous areas has been oingoing. Bolivia is participating in UNICEF's 25 by 2005 initiative, and UNICEF has made efforts to promote indigenous girls' education under the Indigenous Girls' Education Project. Intercultural education strategies, primary education modules and a national database that helps to compile and process statistical data and indicators have been established under the project. UNICEF has established a special program to strengthen basic education of indigenous girls in three ethnic groups in Paraguay. Teaching tools have been revised, and teachers trained on gender and cultural aspects in their work with indigenous communities. UNICF also carreid out a project titled "Windows on my World" aimed at building greater respect among Mexican society for indigenous culture. This project was implemented in 800 schools of Mexico city to inform students about customs, traditions and daily realities for indigenous children throughout Mexico. The project reached approximately 240,000 chilren during 2005. For further details please see UNICEF's Report to the Fifth Session (E/C.19/2006/Add.11)
UNICEF reports (2011): UNICEF’s major contribution to indigenous peoples rights has been in the area of education, with a special focus on bilingual education which dates back to the late 1970s, when it was developed in Latin America in collaboration with a variety of stakeholders, including national ministries of education, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), NGOs and indigenous peoples’ organizations. During the 1990s, UNICEF contributed to the development of a new approach to bilingual education which includes incorporation of indigenous language and culture in primary school curricula, and indigenous teachers’ training in managing both conventional and indigenous elements of the curricula, active pedagogy and child participation. This practice triggered a shift from the concept of bilingual education to the concept of intercultural/bilingual education. For further information, see document E/C.19/2011/7.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 4 (2005)
Area of Work
