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Education for rural people in the = Caribbean

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12 May 2006, Rome =E2=80=93 = International=20 attention turns towards the Caribbean region on the eve of a = regional=20 conference on education for rural people (*) to take place in = Saint Lucia=20 on 18 and 19 May 2006.

Representatives of ministries of=20 agriculture, education and health, and international agencies, = NGOs and=20 the private sector will attend the meeting, which is part of a = global=20 partnership launched by FAO and UNESCO during the 2002 World = Summit on=20 Sustainable Development to eradicate poverty and hunger. A similar = meeting=20 for the African region took place last year in Addis Ababa.=20

=E2=80=9CParticipants will discuss a wide range of issues = including food,=20 nutrition, education, school gardens, HIV/AIDS and = gender,=E2=80=9D according to=20 Marcela Villarreal, head of FAO=E2=80=99s Gender and Population=20 Division.

=E2=80=9CEducation is essential for the rural = poor, many of whom=20 are women. It is also essential for rural children who lose their = parents=20 to AIDS. Field schools need to be developed to provide essential = skills=20 and knowledge to orphaned children. Educating the rural poor = contributes=20 to preventing the pandemic from expanding rapidly in rural = areas,=E2=80=9D Ms=20 Villarreal says.

Worldwide, 100 million children are still = being=20 denied the opportunity to go to school. Without urgent action = these=20 children will remain in poverty and at far greater risk of = HIV/AIDS=20 infection, according to education experts.

Education = challenges=20 in the Caribbean

=E2=80=9CIn the Caribbean region, the = impact of=20 poverty, HIV/AIDS and educational deficits is acutely felt in the = rural=20 context,=E2=80=9D according to an FAO paper to be presented at the = Saint Lucia=20 meeting.

The paper deplores that =E2=80=9Csignificant = percentages of the=20 population of the Caribbean States are impacted by = poverty,=E2=80=9D and=20 underlines the need to exert considerable efforts to reach the UN=20 Millennium Development Goals in the region.

In the = Caribbean, as=20 in Latin America, poverty rates are higher in rural areas than in = urban=20 areas. In Jamaica, for example, the rural poverty rate is three = times as=20 high as the urban poverty rate, while in Guyana, almost the entire = rural=20 population is poor.

=E2=80=9CThe education system in the = Caribbean evolved=20 from a colonial historical legacy which was predicated on = privilege.=20 Education served as a primary device for social selection and = class=20 stratification. With the attainment of independence and the growth = of=20 nationalism, mass education became a socio-political = priority,=E2=80=9D according=20 to the report.

The Saint Lucia conference on education for = rural=20 people will immediately follow a World Bank/CDB/OECS Caribbean = Forum on=20 Lifelong Learning to be held on 16 and 17 May. It is expected that = Ministers and education officials from 15 countries attending this = forum=20 will join the conference.

By helping to fight poverty, = hunger and=20 illiteracy, FAO and UNESCO are working hand in hand towards = achieving=20 Millennium Development goals number one, two and three: = eradication of=20 extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary = education;=20 and promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. FAO has = been=20 assigned the responsibility of leading the education for rural = people=20 initiative.

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(*) The Conference is = organized=20 by FAO, the Italian Development Cooperation office, the Government = of=20 Saint Lucia, UNESCO=E2=80=99s International Institute for = Educational Planning,=20 the World Bank, the Inter-America Institute for Cooperation in=20 Agriculture, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the = Organization of=20 Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and other partners. Its theme = is: Food=20 Security, Agricultural Competitiveness and Sustainable = Livelihoods.

Contact:
Pierre Antonios
Media Relations,=20 FAO
pierre.antonios@fao.org
(+39) 06 57053473
(+39)=20 3482523807

Contact:

3D""=20

Pierre Antonios
Media Relations, = FAO
pierre.antonios@fao.org=20
(+39) 06 570 53473
(+39) 348 25 23 807=20

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	Education for Rural People =
	The Saint Lucia Conference=20

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Education for rural people in the=20 Caribbean

From elitism to equality

12 May 2006 =E2=80=93 = International attention turns=20 towards the Caribbean region on the eve of a regional conference = on=20 education for rural people.

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