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Photo: International Literacy Day, celebrated in Eastern Africa this year in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Kenya and

Tanzania (c) UNESCO

Message of the Director

Dear Colleagues and Partners,

My mission to Paris this week is twofold: firstly, I am attending the 1st UNESCO Partners'

Forum, where new and existing financial partners, such as Member States, multilateral

organizations, United Nations and the private sector will be present. In the framework of

the Structural Financial Dialogue, 11 Thematic Forum will be organized, addressing the United

Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, one will be on the theme "Promote

Sustainable Development, Peace and Security in Africa". This UNESCO Partners' Forum will increase

the knowledge of donors and partners about voluntary contributions to UNESCO and will encourage

existing and new partners to engage with UNESCO in their programs.

I am then attending the Meeting of the Directors and Heads of the UNESCO Field Offices, where we

will discuss ways of further cooperation to support the implementation of Agenda 2030, the

intersectoriality of programmes, strategy developments and staffing for programme delivery, as

well as we will deepen the knowledge and the practicality of "UNESCO Strategic

Transformation" and its four thematic areas: Operational Efficiency, Communication,

Strategic Partnerships and Presence Worldwide, to make the organization more agile,

effective and efficient.

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On 8 September International Literacy Day 2018 was celebrated in Eastern Africa in Ethiopia,

Madagascar, Kenya and Tanzania. In Ethiopia, a high-level meeting in the border town of

Ambo in the Oromia region of Ethiopia took place. Two-Member delegation from the Ministry of

Education also took part, to discuss progress and challenges in Literacy and Skills development.

The event was symbolic as lasting peace initiative between the two countries through Education. In

Madagascar, the National Strategy for Literacy was launched, where UNESCO provided technical

assistance for the Strategy. In Kenya, planned activities included a Literacy Walk, visiting Model

Adult Learning Centers and a Reading Tent. Finally, in Tanzania, a roundtable discussion on Adult

Education, Literacy and Skills Development took place, and their contribution to industrial

development of Tanzania. Moreover, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Report was

launched.

This year's theme, Literacy and Skills Development, reminds us that worldwide, more than 260

million children and adolescents are not enrolled in school, six out of 10 children and adolescents -

around 617 million, do not acquire the minimum skills in literacy and numeracy; 750 million young

people and adults still cannot read and write and among them, two-thirds are women.

In an ever-changing world, where the pace of technological innovation is continuously accelerating,

traditional literacy skills and numeracy skills are no longer enough; new skills, including information

and communication technology skills, are becoming increasingly necessary. Preparing young people

and adults for jobs, the majority of which have not yet been invented is a challenge. In this light,

access to lifelong learning, taking advantage of pathways between different forms of training, and

benefiting from greater opportunities for mobility, has thus become indispensable. Our aim as

UNESCO is to support the development of literacy and skills, to ultimately improve people's lives

and work, and contribute to equitable and sustainable societies.

I wish you a good and productive week ahead,

Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta

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Announcements

New UNESCO Team Member in Uganda!

Mr. Cik Moses joins UNESCO team in Uganda as an Associate

National Project officer. He holds a Master’s Degree in Education

Planning Management and Administration and also a post

graduate diploma in Project Planning and Management. He has a

passion for skilling young people (15-18 years old) and youth (18

to 35 years old). For the last 15 years, he has been involved in

Education and skills development for young people and youth at

both managerial and technical levels, witnessing the impact of the work through the change of

attitude to work for the young people and engagement in gainful self-employment for the

youth. When working with World Vision, Save the children, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands

in Uganda, ICCO cooperation, Edukans and also as a private consultant, his contributions had

tremendous impacts in the lives of young people and youth in and outside Uganda. It’s with this

passion that he comes to UNESCO Better Education for Africa's Rise (BEAR II) project. He hopes to

utilize the opportunity with UNESCO to share his skills, knowledge, experiences and also learn and

explore opportunities for advancing the objectives of the sector, as well as of UNESCO.

African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence (AUKNASE):

Continental & Regional Awards 2018 Edition

The AUKNASE programme targets young researchers, women scientists and all scientists in Africa.

The Award aims at recognizing outstanding African scientists for their achievements and discoveries

in science, technology and innovation, thus promoting scientific development in Africa and

highlighting the importance of research in Science, Technology and Innovation. Rules of

procedures, in EN and FR. Deadline for submission: 10 November 2018. Consult the website

for additional information here.

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Rising from the Depths Calls for Innovative Projects on marine cultural heritage

UNESCO partners with the Rising from the Depths Network will identify ways in which marine

cultural heritage can directly benefit coastal communities in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and

Madagascar. Despite its richness marine cultural heritage is one of the most unknown,

underappreciated and under-exploited cultural resources in East Africa. Critically, this heritage is

under threat from natural forces and climate driven coastal change as well as recent intensification

in coastal and offshore development. Calls for Project is open until 14 September 2018, to

apply with your innovative project, click here

Funded PhD Opportunity Maritime Cultural Heritage and Sustainability in East Africa

As part of the Global Challenges Research Fund/Arts and Humanities Research Council project

titled, Rising from the Depths: Utilising Marine Cultural Heritage in East Africa to help Sustainable

Social, Economic, and Cultural Benefits, Ulster University is offering a fully-funded PhD

studentship in Maritime Cultural Heritage and Sustainability in coastal eastern Africa.

This is an international studentship for suitability qualified applicants from Kenya, Tanzania,

Mozambique and Madagascar. To read more and apply, follow the link here.

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News of the Week

Young People shape Kenya's Cultural Heritage by Digitizing Local

Traditional Games

First-ever National Youth Conference held in South-Sudan

South Sudan develops an Action Plan to nominate their first World

Heritage Site

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Last week's events

Quality Gender Responsive STEM Education- Regional Training for Francophone Africa

3 to 15 September 2018

Karen, Kenya

UNESCO, with the Center for Mathematics,

Science and Technology Education in Africa

(CEMASTEA), financial support from the

Government of Japan, and in partnership with

the Institut de la Francophonie pour l'Education

et la Formation (IFEF), the International Center

for Girls' and Women's Education in Africa of the

African Union (AU/CIEFFA), the Forum for

African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and

Microsoft, organized a regional training of trainers for representatives from the Ministry of

Education and teacher trainers on gender-responsive STEM education in order to engage, inspire

and empower more girls and women to undertake STEM studies.

The training adopts a theory-to-practice approach, drawing on UNESCO’s Cracking the Code report,

the US Mission to UNESCO’s TeachHer initiative, and other resources and programme experience.

The modules explore the situation related to STEM education in Africa, gender-responsive STEM

education, gender-responsive pedagogy, gender-responsive teaching resources, and ICT

integration in STEM education. The methodologies employ a mixture of interactive pedagogy

including guided group activities, role play, group-based problem-solving and field visits, to build on

participants’ facilitation skills.

The training of trainers is currently taking place in Nairobi, Kenya (3-14 September 2018). The

regional training will take place from 22-26 October with national teams of 6 to 8 people from 12

French-speaking African countries (Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Comores, Chad, Côte

d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, and Senegal). Please

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click here for more information on UNESCO’s work to advance gender-responsive STEM education

Participants drawn from Francophone countries in Africa attended the regional training,

which aimed at encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM, including in arts and design (STEAM),

and demystifying the notion of girls' involvement in science.

Follow more on Facebook @Cemastea Kenya and official Hashtag: #GirlsCrackTheCode

Check all the Photos on Flickr: Quality Gender Responsive STEM Education, Thank you Justine &

Elodie from HQ for all the photos & support!

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Visit of the Delegates of Nanjing University to Kenya

6 September 2018

A delegation of 15 teachers and students of the Nanjing University, together with the Chinese

representatives to UN Environment, met with the Director and representatives of the five sectors of

the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa.

The delegation of the Nanjing University discussed with the UNESCO Regional Office potential areas

of China-Africa collaboration, on themes including peace education, conflict resolution, water

science, climate change, digitization of documentary achieves of radio and cultural heritage, etc.

Modalities to be explored include working with Universities in the region, through UNESCO Chairs,

and raising fund jointly.

Check all photos during the Meeting, on Flickr: Nanjing University's Visit to UNESCO

Forum for the Parliamentary Committee & Forum on Education in Uganda

UNESCO, in collaboration with the

Ministry of Education and Sports -

Teacher Instruction Education and

Training (TIET) Department, the

Uganda National Teachers’ Union

(UNATU)organized a forum for the

Parliamentary Committee and Forum on

Education to identify strategies for

empowering teachers and ensure that

the Parliament plays a more significant

role in improving the quality of the

teachers’ well-being, performance and welfare. The meeting also focused on presenting the various

country processes, systems and interventions that have been developed or underdevelopment to

improve the efficiency, motivation and management of teachers with intentions of improving

performance in schools as well as advocate for an increase in the budget allocation to support the

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education agenda. The event was held in Kampala at Imperial Royal Hotel on 4th September 2018

with 50 participants in attendance and the Parliamentarians made a commitment to address the

persistent concerns for teachers, particularly through budget allocation.

Other meetings that took place included 2 sub-regional social dialogue meetings for teachers in

Mbarara (5th September 2018) and Masaka (6th September 2018) as a precursor for the World

Teachers Day celebration to be held on 5th October 2018.

Upcoming Events

Launch of the Teacher Management Information System (TMIS) supported by the

Capacity Development for Education Programme (CapED)

18 to 20 September 2018

National Education Sports and Sector

Kampala, Uganda

UNESCO International Days

International Literacy Day

8 September

International Day of Democracy

15 September

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Missions

Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta

1st UNESCO Partners' Forum and Meeting of Directors/Heads of field offices

11 to 15 September 2018

Paris, France

Mika Odido

UNESCO/IOC Training course on Marine Spatial Planning

9 to 14 September 2018

Mombasa, Kenya

Publications SPECIAL ISSUE INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY 2018

Harnessing the Potentials of ICTs: Literacy and Numeracy

Programmes using Radio, TV, Mobile Phones, Tablets and

Computers

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Fostering a Culture of reading and writing- example of dynamic literate environments

Guidelines for designing inclusive and digital solutions and developing digital skills

Managing tomorrow's digital skills- what conclusions can we draw from International Comparative

Indicators?

Funding Skills development- The private sector contribution

A global measure of digital and ICT Literacy Skills

Birthdays

We did not forget the August born Team members!

Virginia Mumo Ntheketha

26 August

Mika Odido

31 August

Faith Mulwa

31 August

Karalyn Monteil

14 September

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Tweet of the Week from UNESCO in the Eastern Africa Region

Tweet of the Week, from @IOC-UNESCO The @UN is to start historic negotiations on a

treaty to protect the high seas. But just how endangered is our #ocean? What's the added

impact of #climatechange? Come hear from science & policy experts on 10-11 Sept @

@UNESCO. Follow @ http://en.unesco.org/ocean-climate-conference … #OceanDecade

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