:: Opening Address	:: Morning Panel	:: Afternoon Sessions	:: Other Highlights
:: Info Fair Exhibitors

2007 CTAUN Conference Responding to Children and Youth in Crisis: Educators in Partnership with the UN Friday, 2 February 2007, 9:15am to 5:00 pm

First Afternoon Panel—Literacy

Dr. Rita King, CTAUN Advisory Council Chair and Primary NGO Representative for The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, Coordinator. Dr. King opened the afternoon panel session by referring to the Information Fair materials that attendees had been collecting during the noon recess. She pointed out that although we take for granted that all of us and our colleagues can read these materials—that literacy is just taken for granted in our lives—for many people in the world this is not so. The afternoon panel, chaired by Dr. Carolyn Makinson, would address issues of literacy. Dr. Carolyn Makinson, Moderator/Speaker for the Panel, is Executive Director, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, an independent affiliate of the International Rescue Committee. Dr. Makinson opened her remarks by pointing out that educators help children realize where their countries fit in the world, what their roles are, and how other countries perceive them. She described the Women’s Commission as an advocacy organization affiliated with the International Rescue Committee that tries to change laws and policies regarding refugees. “The Women’s Commission tries to change the system” in ways that will benefit women and children. In this afternoon’s presentation, Dr. Makinson said that she intended to focus on their work in education. She pointed out that there are currently more than 33 million refugees and displaced persons, 80 percent of them women and children. These are people who are fleeing armed conflict or persecution. Over two-thirds of the refugees are displaced for seventeen years or more. These children miss entirely their childhood opportunity to go to school. Refugees desperately want education for their children. Refugees state that they had to leave behind all their possessions. One woman from Darfur said, “The only thing we could bring with us is what we have in our heads, what we have been taught, our education.” Education is a basic human right. It also is very important for child refugees because it provides a sense of security and structure. Older children are very vulnerable to being exploited, Dr. Makinson pointed out. The boys are often conscripted as child soldiers; girls are subject to trafficking and sexual exploitation. Along with basic education, older children can be taught important safety messages regarding such matters as land mine awareness and using sexual protection. In general, only grades one and two are available even when there are schools. Only six percent of all refugee students are enrolled in secondary school. Dr. Makinson closed her remarks by raising a question: What do we do about the older children who have never had a chance to go to school? The Women’s Commission has created a Global Survey of a number of countries with large refugee populations so that institutions have empirical data to base their decisions on. Both UNICEF and Save the Children have launched large new initiatives to address the needs of refugee children. Also, the Women’s Commission is now looking at the needs of older children who have never had the chance to go to primary school to determine how their needs would be best addressed. Dr. Makinson closed by urging that teachers go to the Women’s Commission website for additional information and involve their students in learning about these issues. Judith Chin is Regional Superintendent for Instructional Learning Division 3 in New York City, which includes 144 schools in Queens with a student enrollment of approximately 139,000. There are one hundred languages spoken in New York City schools, Ms. Chin stated. She herself was a daughter of parents who were immigrants from China and began by describing her own childhood experiences. She was one of five children, and only Chinese was spoken at home. Her mother did not speak English, and her father’s command of English was rudimentary. When she started school she was terrified, and described herself as “one of those children who kicked and screamed…. Luckily I had teachers who helped me.” Ms. Chin said that there are 1.1 million students overall in New York City, and 140,000 of these are listed as English Language Learners (ELLs). Of these, 68 percent speak Spanish and 10 percent speak Chinese. There are currently three programs for non-English speaking students: English as a Second Language (ESL), transitional bilingual programs with approximately 75 percent of the instruction in the native language, and dual language programs with approximately 50 percent of instruction in each language. Mayor Bloomberg has implemented new programs for ELLs, opened an ELL teacher academy, and provides translation and interpretation services for parents. Older children are much more difficult to transition in than those who are younger. There is a tendency for the older students to gravitate toward their own, and some young people gravitate to gangs. Ms. Chin stated, however, that she is encouraged that there is more public awareness of these issues. With the strengthening of the programs, the number of ELLs in the Regents program increased from 15 percent in 2004 to 37 percent in 2005. Walter Bender, President, Software and Content for One Laptop per Child. This is the most reasonable (approximately $100 each) laptop currently available for the developing world’s children. Mr. Bender stated that written in upper case, One Laptop per Child is a non-profit association that spun out of MIT about a year ago. But one laptop per child written in lower case is a mission: to give the one billion school age children in the developing world an opportunity for learning. They have a particular strategy, and that is to give these children a laptop—not just any laptop but one designed for children learning. In underdeveloped countries, however, there are three technological differences. 1) Power is not readily available, so the computers have to be very power efficient. Their laptops can be charged off a car battery or with a crank. 2) In many places schools are held outdoors, so on these laptops the display can be used in sunlight. And 3) They have added “bunny ears” to help laptops form a wireless network. All their laptops can talk to each other. In addition, Mr. Bender remarked, “If we’re going to do this it must be inexpensive. The laptops are sold at cost.” Where the laptops are in use they are often taken home by the children. This means that parents have access to them and often use them for their own education. Finally, even in places where no teachers are available, the laptop is an expressive tool for the children. The laptop is part of their life, and that is where the real change is going to happen. Dr. Francisco J. Grijalva, Head of School, The Overlake School, Redmond, Washington. Dr. Grijalva began by telling how in late August of 2001 he challenged his school community to raise the $15,000 needed to build an elementary school in rural Cambodia under the auspices of the American Assistance for Cambodia Rural Schools Project. [Donated funds are matched by the World Bank, and the schools are built by the Cambodian government. If desired, the Cambodian school may be given the name of its sister school in the United States.] Students responded to the challenge, and within a year had raised the $15,000 needed to build a brick five-room schoolhouse in Pailin, Cambodia. A group of Overlake students, parents, and teachers traveled to Cambodia in 2003 for the school’s dedication and to greet the 350 students enrolled in the school. Another group visited in April of 2006, this group taking with them six computers and a satellite dish, and brought electricity to the school for the first time. The visiting parents from Microsoft thus connected the school to the rest of the world. The students spent five days teaching Cambodian students English, arts and crafts, music, games and sharing American culture. Kate Berry was one of the twelve students on that trip, and she was introduced by Dr. Grijalva to tell of her experiences. Kate Berry, a junior at Overlake School, is a student government officer, Chair of the Washington State Legislative Youth Advisory Council and Director of Activism for Junior State of America. She was one of twelve student participants in the pilot Global Service Project to Cambodia. “He who opens a school door closes a prison,” said Miss Berry, quoting the words of Victor Hugo. She said that these words ring true for a five-room school in Cambodia, which has the potential to shut out isolation, poverty, and the unspeakable horrors of the sex trade. “Education is the golden ticket for students like these in Cambodia.” She told of the trip she and other students took to Cambodia, preparing to help teach the students basic reading skills and computer literacy and to establish personal relationships with their sister school. While there, they established a school library and computer lab. “Imagine the joy in all of us when, for the first time, we hit the ‘send’ button and were connected to the rest of the world.” They learned about one another’s culture, sharing sports and games. The American students taught the Cambodian students songs and dances like the Macarena, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” and the Hokey Pokey, and the Cambodians shared with them traditional dances. She said that they were surprised at how happy the Cambodian children were with very little in the way of material possessions. “The Cambodian students challenged us to overlook our stereotypes, and exuded an attitude of graciousness and contentment.” Miss Berry spoke eloquently of the importance of cultural exchange in increasing global understanding for herself and other students, saying that by the end of their stay in Pailin they came to realize that, “sometimes the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about!” Miss Berry closed by quoting Victor Hugo’s words again, and added that it is not only the prison of ignorance that can be closed. “Through these same school doors,” she said, the American students were freed from insularity and reliance on material possessions. “We learned that it is not only great acts from powerful people that can create positive change. Equally important are the small acts of individuals, including us, done with great love.”

Afternoon Speaker—The Rights of the Child

Dr. Nancy Brown, Chair of the Rights of the Child Session, is the Director of the Center for Early Childhood Education, Research and Community Partnerships at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Education. Dr. Brown pointed out that while some of our children come to school in good health, well nourished, appropriately dressed and eager to learn, other children from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to succeed in school. All concerned citizens recognize the differences between rights and privileges, particularly the rights of children and youth. Children’s rights are directly related to our conference theme today. Dr. Brown invited all present to consider what they can do to promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Professor Jonathan Todres is Acting Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Law. He also teaches at the Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. He currently serves as Chair of both the Subcommittee on the Rights of the Child and the International Health Law Committee of the American Bar Association. He is co-editor of The U. N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: An Analysis of Treaty Provisions and Implications of U. S. Ratification. (Transnational Publishers, 2006). Professor Todres opened by saying that it was a great honor for him to be present at today’s conference because he would not be where he is today, and would not have the overwhelming opportunities he has had in his life, without education. He emphasized statistics also presented by earlier speakers: that at any given time 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work for a living, many full time; approximately two million children are trapped in the commercial sex industry; in 2002 alone, 150 million girls and 73 million boys experienced some form of physical or sexual violence; at any given time, roughly 300,000 children are forced to fight as soldiers in the armed conflicts around the world. More than ten million children the world over die before the age of five, largely due to preventable causes, every year. Roughly 115 million school age children are out of school, and the majority of these are girls. Although not sufficient in itself, Professor Todres stated that he believes that the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides the beginnings of an answer to all of these issues. It is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty. It is the first legally binding international instrument aimed at protecting the rights and welfare of children. The CRC encompasses a broad range of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and offers a significant protection for children around the globe. The CRC, which was adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1990, has fostered positive changes in law, policies, and attitudes toward children in numerous countries. Every country in the world has agreed to the ratification of the CRC except two—the United States and Somalia, and the latter has not been able to do so because it has not had a recognized government. So the United States stands alone as the only state in opposition. The CRC is based on four key principles: 1) non-discrimination or any sort; 2) commitment to the best interests of the child in all acts concerning children; 3) the belief in the child’s rights to life, survival, and development; 4) respect for the views of the child, keeping in mind the evolving capacities of individual children. Professor Todres said that he was not able to go into all of the provisions due to lack of time, but he would say that, although it is not perfect, it provides “extraordinary protections for children.” During the drafting of the Convention, the United States made more proposals for more provisions than any other country. However, there appear to be a number of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the Convention by some people in this country that impede our ability to ratify it. Professor Todres discussed a number of these issues and concluded that, in his view, “Nothing in this Convention rises to the level of preventing U.S. ratification.” He stated that if we were able to “cut through the rhetoric” and ratify the CRC, our country would be in a much stronger position around the world to improve the lives of children and that ratification would also empower child advocates and government officials in this country to work for positive change for children in the United States. Professor Todres closed by commenting on his feelings as he looked out from the podium over the conference room full of educators, and said that to him the view was “Inspiring... because tomorrow you can go back to your communities and talk about the CRC and what the U.S. role should be. You can talk to youth about their rights and the situations in other countries, and about working together. To me this is truly inspiring.”

Second Afternoon Panel—Security

Narin Stassis, First Vice-Chair of CTAUN and ESL teacher, Panel Coordinator. Ms. Stassis, before introducing the panel, reminded the audience that none of the policies advocated by the previous speakers could succeed if there was no security. She observed how all the speakers had stressed children’s ability to understand the conditions around them and take the leadership in dealing with them. Shamil Idriss, Acting Director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (AoC), which aims to advance an action-plan involving multi-lateral agencies, governments and civil society organizations to improve Islamic-Western relations. Mr. Idriss pointed out that children are the primary victims and participants in violence, yet they can take the initiative in conflict resolution. He told of working with Tutsi and Hutu young people in Burundi who had been on opposite sides in militias and had tried to kill each other. They discovered a bond in their common experience and in how they had been manipulated by the adults to fight. They developed a program of sports to bring them together, and wrote a book of cartoons that has been accepted by schools. These previously violent young people, whose families are often afraid to take them back, have skills of leadership in organizing peace-building programs. They also need employment to be re-integrated into society, as well as continuing support in conflict resolution. The Alliance of Civilizations engages young people in Muslim and non-Muslim societies to avoid conflicts of cross-cultural polarization. Connecting young people with each other is the most hopeful way towards achieving their security. Elina Palm, Liaison in New York for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Ms. Palm described how the purpose of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is to build local and national risk reduction strategies. The year 2005 was the year of the worst natural disasters: the Asian tsunami, the India/Pakistan earthquake, and the Katrina hurricane. The damage was over $210 billion, and the total number of people killed was in the hundreds of thousands. She pointed out that human settlements would become increasingly vulnerable as short-sighted development expands into fragile environments. The report of the 2007 meeting in Paris on Climate Change indicates that future disasters are even more likely. However, national disasters can be handled if communities learn the skills of recognizing their preliminary signs and organizing the movement of people to safer areas. Children can be the agents of awareness. Ms. Palm told of two instances when grandparents with past experience had taught children the signs of an approaching disaster, and how those children had then moved their community to safety. After a disaster, the first structure to be rebuilt is always the school, as having a school is the community’s first sign of normalcy. Disaster awareness should be part of the curriculum, and children should play their part in protecting the community. Bol Riiny, a student at Concordia College, Bronxville, New York, was one of the “Sudanese Lost Boys” noted for their survival. Mr. Riiny described fleeing from attacks to his village in Sudan when he was still a child, his living in refugee camps without adequate food, security or education, and his final arrival in the United States. Arabs from the North attacked his village in South Sudan, and the few children who survived banded together to walk to Ethiopia where there were U.N. refugee camps. Attacks by Arab soldiers during the day and wild animals at night made the journey extremely dangerous. In the camps the children were grouped by age and told to build their own houses with grass and trees. They also built a school where he learned English and Arabic, even though there were no books and too few teachers. When civil war broke out in Ethiopia the children again fled, with the same kind of dangers to their journey. Once, when they had to cross a river pursued by soldiers, those who could not swim drowned. They finally reached Kenya where there were refugee camps, but these camps also had limited resources. The children got one meal a day, but because it was difficult to sleep while you were hungry, they saved it for the night. But as the villagers around them were also poor, they would come after dark to attack them for the food. The school was a bit better, but again, there were not enough teachers. In 2002 the U.S. offered asylum, and through a Lutheran organization Mr. Riiny was eventually able to come to America where he lived with a family in Boston. He described how his biggest surprise was seeing snow for the first time! The family taught him how to live in this new country, and now he is able to complete his education at Concordia College. Mr. Riiny concluded by saying that he wants to help the Sudanese people who have suffered 20 years of war. “Two million have died in Darfur,” he said. “Where is the U.N.? Where is the U.S.?”

Closing Keynote Address — Mme. Helene-Marie Gosselin

In her opening remarks, Mme. Gosselin referred to the previous speaker, Bol Riiny, speaking about the tragic situation that affects youth in his country, Sudan. She noted that his experiences remind us that “any discussion on education also has a profound personal and human dimension every day, for students in every part of the world.” She stated that the issues the conference had addressed today brought us back to the founding of UNESCO, and that “Our founders clearly understood very well the necessity of preventing wars and contributing ‘to peace and security by promoting collaboration through education, science, and culture.” “Indeed, education is not just a fundamental human right but it is also fundamental to our personal and social development,” remarked Mme. Gosselin, and will thereby enable us to reduce poverty, racism, oppression, and war. She then outlined the six essential recommendations needed to address the core issue we face every day in meeting this challenge: 1) We need to give children the best possible start. Early childhood care and pre-primary education are needed to provide a healthy and stimulating environment so that children, especially disadvantaged children, are ready to get the most out of school. 2) We need to accelerate access to formal schooling for the 77 million children not in school—a figure probably way too low due to poverty and hunger in spite of new initiatives. 3) We need to alleviate the financial burden on the poorest by working with administrations to abolish school fees at primary level as well as facilitating budgets, teacher training, and taking many languages into account. 4) We need to give serious attention to adult literacy especially for women. 5) We need to address gender issues throughout education. 6) We need to improve educational quality worldwide. Ms. Gosselin remarked that the quality of education is a major issue, and that it is an issue in the United States and in her own country, Canada, and well as in the developing world. “We are putting the bar quite high in the Millennium Development Goals, and we will need a great deal of financial resources.” In addition, we need to address the need for teachers and administrators. Eighteen million new teachers will be needed if we are to achieve the MDGs. In-service preparation is also very important, and is a priority concern for UNESCO. Working with the World Bank and other partners, the EFA Fast Track Initiative (FTI) is a major global partnership between donor and developing countries, providing technical assistance for developing national education plans for universal primary education. “All low-income countries that demonstrate a serious commitment to achieve universal primary completion can receive support for donor financial mobilization through the EFA Fast Tract Initiative. Although the target is high and coming soon, Ms. Gosselin pointed out, it is not just money but best practices that must be tapped. Large member countries such as China and India have much expertise to offer. Financing is always critical, but so is faculty building. Rich and poor countries deal with the challenges of maintaining standards and preventing dropouts. UNESCO welcomes educational discussions between experienced and less experienced educators and is very concerned with recruiting, training and retaining well qualified teachers in the profession through better financing and conditions. Ms. Gosselin spoke of the many agents and agencies involved in the improvement of education. She highlighted the role of First Lady Laura Bush, who spoke at the opening of the General Assembly on the global crisis in education—how to pay for it and the consequences of adult illiteracy. UNESCO is also interested in further issues of education, such as sustainable development as part of the curriculum, the cultural issues concerning HIV/AIDS and condom use, and strategies to combat terrorism and education for peace and human rights. Issues of development, relevance, and multi-cultural incentives toward learning to live together in peace are central to all countries, as is teacher training for the new generations to become productive citizens. The world is learning that without education it is difficult to improve the lives of people. In conclusion, Ms. Gosselin said, the U.N. needs to work a lot more openly with civil society and with the private sector. “Many of you work day-in-and-day-out as educators within your communities…. You are precisely the type of people UNESCO must seek to work with and learn from.”

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