ANNOUNCEMENT - SAVE THE DATE “Education in the Post 2015 Development Agenda” Regional Thematic Consultation in the Asia-Pacific 28th February - 1st March 2013, Bangkok, Thailand Background In the run up to 2015, UN organizations and international, regional and national stakeholders across the globe have commenced consultations regarding the effectiveness of the Millennium Development Goals and reflections on the post-2015 development agenda as a global commitment towards human development and poverty reduction. The UN has started the processes to foster broad based, open and inclusive dialogues with all stakeholders, including civil society partners, on helping to define the post2015 agenda. One of these processes is global thematic consultations around 11 themes, one of which is education. This thematic consultation is co-led by UNESCO and UNICEF which have set up a regional Task Team to ensure that the voices of the Asia-Pacific region are included in the global process. Aim of the consultation Within the framework of the thematic consultation on education in the post-2015 agenda, UNESCO Bangkok (Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education), UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific (EAPRO), and UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) will organize a regional thematic consultation on education on 28th February - 1st March 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. As many diverse consultations and discussions are taking place, our aim is to bring together various stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific region, including government representatives, CSOs, and young people to provide a platform for discussing their ideas and opinions on education in the post-2015 agenda and to come up with a collective voice from the region. The aim of the consultation is to:
Take stock of and exchange information on regional and national processes of consultation and dialogue on education in the post-2015 agenda; Identify areas of key importance for education and learning for the future for the region; Discuss how to best articulate and position education as a critical part of the post-2015 development agenda; Formulate recommendations on the way forward.
The outcomes and recommendations from this Asia-Pacific consultation will feed into the Global Thematic Consultation on Education which is planned to take place in March 2013 in Dakar, Senegal and will also be reflected in the ESCAP Regional Post-2015 Report. Ultimately, it will feed into the global UN report on the post-2015 agenda. Organization of the consultation The consultation will be held back-to-back with the regional EFA coordinators’ meeting, which is planned to be held on 26th - 27th February 2013 in Bangkok. The consultation will be co-organized by UNESCO Bangkok, UNICEF EAPRO and UNICEF ROSA in collaboration with VSO. Participants Representatives from governments, civil society organizations and youth organizations which have been active and engaged in organizing dialogues and country level/sub-national and regional consultations on education in the post-2015 agenda are welcome to participate in this regional consultation. If you are interested in representing your government/civil society organization/youth organization to participate in this consultation, please contact Antony Tam at kh.tam@unesco.org; Malisa Santigul at m.santigul@unesco.org; Devashish Dutta at ddutta@unicef.org and Leotes Helin at lhelin@unicef.org. Invitations to the consultation will be on a first come first served basis as space is limited. Closing date for confirmation of participants: 15th January 2013.