By Biodun Awosusi
The 2012 UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report EFA-GMR highlights the urgent task to improve education coverage in under-served areas in developing countries. It calls on governments to put education to work by promoting skill acquisition.
As one of task force members that prepared the Youth Summary of the EFA-GMR (which will be launched today), I realized the urgent need to tackle the challenges of education NOW.
Here are the facts: ‘200milion young people in developing countries have not completed primary education and lacks skills for work. There is a clear gap between education and market demands. One in eight young people are unemployed while one in four young people are underemployed and paid less than they are worth!’ These statistics are disturbing and demand immediate action.
UNESCO has just launched a campaign to call on government to put education to work and mobilize young people to be a part of the solution. I enjoin you to be a part of it. Here is an opportunity for you to make a difference in your local community that has global relevance. Find out what you can do in the UNESCO message below and take your action now. It surely counts.
- Ms Lubna Sadek, Representative Editorial team youth version of GMR2012
The 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work, highlighted the urgent need to give young people the skills they need for work. Now we need your help to tell governments and policy makers what to do! You can submit texts, photos, send a tweet or vote in our poll. We will collect your voices in an online YOUth paper, which we will deliver to ministries of education worldwide at the start of the New Year.
First, take a look at the new youth version of the Global Monitoring Report which was written by a Task Force of more than 600 young people around the world. Read why it’s important governments put education to work to stop the skills crisis affecting millions of young people today.
Join our campaign!
Join our campaign to ‘Put education to Work’. Add your name and we will keep you updated about events going on in your country, campaign activities and information about the upcoming youth version of the 2012 Global Monitoring report.
- Sign up here!
- Read more about the campaign here
- Sign a petition
Submit a photo or video
We want to portray the wasted potential of young people – showing the jobs that you would do if you had the skills to do them. Join our campaign by holding up a piece of paper in front of you saying what job you would do (in large writing) if you had the right training.
- Upload your photo to Flickr, and tag it #YouthSkillsWork·
- E-mail your photo to efareport(at)unesco.org, using#YouthSkillsWork as your e-mail subject·
- Upload your video saying what country you’re from and what job you would do to YouTube, and e-mail the link to efareport(at)unesco.org, using#YouthSkillsWork as your e-mail subject
Write a blog post or poem
http://youth-skills-work.tumblr.com/ is an open space where you can make your voice heard about the need for skills. Submit your blog post today!
Make an infographic
Why not use your design skills to help tell governments the importance of investing in youth skills? Use the figures from our report to create an infographic which we can include in our YOUth campaign paper.
Take part in our Facebook polls
Do you think your government does enough to help disadvantaged young people learn relevant skills for work? YES | NO
Tweet about #YouthSkillsWork
I have joined @efareport’s campaign to show that young people need skills for work now! Join in too! #YouthSkillsWork http://bit.ly/Onb9Y6
With training, I could be a […] in [COUNTRY]. What would you be? #YouthSkillsWork http://bit.ly/Onb9Y6
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