ANHRE network was contracted by Teacher Creativity Center-TCC; one of ANHRE's members, to coordinate the regional scope of the project entitled “Arab Campaign for Education for All- ACEA project ” that was funded by Oxfam Novib, between the period from April 2010 to March 2011, in 5 countries “Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine”. In addition, ANHRE helped the national educational coalitions in Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Algeria to be established and registered in ACEA and Global Campaign for Education (GCE). Those coalitions work on formal and non-formal education by following rights-based approach and stimulating human rights and citizenship concepts.
The project aimed to put pressure on the Arab World governments to fulfill their obligations towards meeting the Education for All goals by 2015. The project succeeded into increasing awareness of people and mobilization of around 1,089,740 people of which 541,730 are female.
This project successfully built and strengthened coalitions in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, OPT, Jordan, Iraq, Sudan and Algeria. Recently, Mauritania established a coalition and will start its activities in April 2012. Media and 362 member organizations from the above countries took part in the educational decision making, setting educational issues at the forefront, and building grass roots impact on political leadership. They succeeded to put their statements and demands and approach the decision makers. In each country, coalition members worked with their community to mobilize an expansive campaign demanding the right to quality education, based on the findings of current reports on the status of education, educational needs and priorities in their country.
Effective pressure had been made in all countries on governments to improve education and fulfill the demands to quality of education, and more budget allocations to education. The project involved a huge spectrum of stakeholders like private sector, civil society, teacher unions, donors, and sponsors. Media was successfully involved in the project and helped into putting more pressure on the decision makers.
Ten coalitions, at the end of the project, were capable to sustain the effort and to work on successful advocacy and lobbying campaigns in favour of Education for All. The project helped them to build the coalition and work together to be heard and state their demands in front of decision makers. Some good achievement had been done in a policy and laws level which will be easier to continue in the coming years with strong and well equipped coalitions. The establishment of the Arab Coalition for Education for All (ACEA) at the end of the project is e a body that will maintain these initiatives and help the coalitions to work nationally, regionally and globally.
The foundation of the Arab Coalition for Education for All (ACEA) was developed through national campaigns in Egypt, OPT, Yemen, Lebanon and Morocco), and campaign follow up (in Jordan, Iraq, Sudan, and Algeria). Following up with these national coalitions and Yemen conference in 2009, the official launching of ACEA is considered the natural development of all these efforts which was in Jan.2011 followed by strategic planning and advocacy workshop for ACEA that took place in Amman during the period March 27-30 2011. The result of this workshop was the development of ACEA strategic plan for three years.
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