World Family Organization

13=20 September, = 2005
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SENEGALESE=20 PRESIDENT WINS UN CULTURAL AGENCY'S PEACE PRIZE=20

President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, co-founder = of the=20 New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), today = won the=20 United Nations cultural agency's annual peace prize, = chosen by=20 an international jury presided over by former United = States=20 Secretary of State and Nobel Peace laureate Henry = Kissinger.=20

"The prize is given to President Abdoulaye Wade = for his=20 contribution to democracy in his country and for his = mediation=20 in political crises and conflicts in Africa," Mr. = Kissinger said=20 in announcing the award of the 2005 F=E9lix = Houphou=EBt-Boigny Peace=20 Prize sponsored by the UN Educational, Scientific and = Cultural=20 Organization (UNESCO).

Born in 1926 in = Saint-Louis du=20 S=E9n=E9gal, President Wade is a lawyer by training. A = former dean=20 of the law faculty of the University of Dakar, he has = served as=20 Member of Parliament and, several times, as a Government = minister. He was elected to the presidency on March 19, = 2000.=20

The F=E9lix Houphou=EBt-Boigny Peace Prize, = created in 1989,=20 honours people, organizations and institutions which = have=20 contributed significantly to the promotion, research,=20 safeguarding or maintaining of peace, while mindful of = the=20 Charter of the United Nations and the constitution of = UNESCO.=20 The prize is named after the first president of C=F4te = d'Ivoire.=20

This is the second time that the prize goes to = Africa=20 after it was awarded to Nelson Mandela and Frederik W. = De Klerk=20 in 1991. Former laureates also include Yitzhak Rabin, = Shimon=20 Peres and Yasser Arafat (1993); and King Juan Carlos of = Spain=20 and former US President Jimmy Carter (1994).

The = date of=20 the ceremony at which the diploma, medal and 122,000 = Euro purse=20 for the 2005 prize will be awarded will be announced in = the near=20 future.

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6=20 = September, 2005
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EDUCATION IS=20 THE BEST ROAD OUT OF POVERTY FOR RURAL AFRICAN POOR, UN = SAYS=20

On the eve of an international meeting on = development=20 and education, the United Nations Food and Agriculture=20 Organization (FAO) today said that education provides = the best=20 route for the rural poor in sub-Saharan Africa to work = their way=20 out of poverty.

"Illiteracy is a correlate of = poverty=20 and hunger and is mainly a rural phenomenon which = hinders rural=20 development and food security, threatens productivity = and=20 health, and limits opportunities to improve livelihoods = =96=20 particularly for rural girls and women," FAO education = expert=20 Lavinia Gasperini said in anticipation of a ministerial = seminar=20 in Addis Ababa that opens tomorrow.

"Since the = vast=20 majority of the population in sub-Saharan Africa are = rural, and=20 since agriculture is a key sector for rural development = and=20 economic growth, more efforts are needed in educating = the rural=20 poor and helping them to apply improved technologies to = make=20 small-scale farming viable and profitable," Ms. = Gasperini added.=20

The Addis Ababa seminar will focus on the = current=20 situation of education for rural people in sub-Saharan = Africa=20 and ways and means to improve it. The elimination of = gender=20 disparities in education will present an important = topic.=20

Ms. Gasperini said the meeting would gather, for = the=20 first time, ministers of education, agriculture, = fisheries and=20 rural development from several African countries. In = addition,=20 representatives from the African Union (AU), civil = society=20 organizations and bilateral and multilateral development = bodies=20 will attend.

The meeting, which will run from = 7-9=20 September, is organized by FAO along with the UN = Educational,=20 Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the=20 Association for the Development of Education in Africa = (ADEA),=20 in partnership with Ethiopia's Ministry of Education and = with=20 the support of the Italian Development Cooperation = (DGCS) and=20 the Norwegian Trust Fund for Education in Africa (NETF). =

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31=20 = August, 2005
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SOMALIA: UN-BACKED=20 PROJECT REGISTERS 57,000 OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN IN = PUNTLAND=20

In only two months, some 57,000 out-of-school = children=20 in northeast Somalia have been registered -- by = youngsters their=20 own age -- in a United Nations-sponsored initiative to = get=20 children in the war-torn country involved in the Back to = School=20 campaign.

Conceived as part of an advocacy and = social=20 mobilization strategy to boost enrolment in the = Campaign, the=20 core aim of the initiative was to find out the number of = primary=20 school age children (6-14 years) who are out of school = in=20 Puntland. Through its findings, the UN Children=92s Fund = (UNICEF)=20 and partners will explore opportunities to provide = education to=20 the children.

The idea of child-to-child = registration=20 arose out of consultations between UNICEF and the = Puntland=20 Ministry of Education, women=92s, youth and student = associations,=20 school mentors, community education committee = mobilizers, and=20 international and national non-governmental = organizations=20 (NGOs).

The initiative in Puntland targeted = Bossaso,=20 Gardo, Galkaio, Garowe, Burtinle and Goldogob towns and = six=20 villages - Wa=92iye, Dangoraio, Hafun, Bargaal, Bursalah = and=20 Ballidhidin. So far, the registration has been taken = place in=20 Bossaso, Gardo, Garowe, Galkaio, Hafun and Dangoraio.=20

Boys comprise 57,000 out-of-school children = registered,=20 and 43.5% are girls. With nearly 450 settlements in = Puntland it=20 is estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 children = are out=20 of school.

According to UNICEF, the = child-to-child=20 initiative has highlighted several important lessons, = including=20 that students can be effective in carrying out data = collection=20 and enrolment campaigns, that data obtained gives a = realistic=20 picture. Before the campaign the perception was that=20 out-of-school children were few in urban areas, the = number of=20 boys and girls who are out of school was equally = significant and=20 emphasis should be on getting both girls and boys to = school in=20 equal measure.

UNICEF will continue to undertake = advocacy and social mobilization campaigns to sensitize = parents=20 on the importance of educating their children. Similar=20 activities will be organized in collaboration with = communities=20 in Bossaso, Garowe and Galkaio.

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