Amman 24th April 2017, under the patronage of his excellency the minister of education Omar al Razaz , the Arab Network Civic Education-ANHRE conducted a launching ceremony of Global Action Week for Education 2017 under the Theme "Accountability for SDG4 and Citizen Participation" at Geneva hotel in Amman -Jordan, in partnership with Jordan Coalition for Education for All, the Arab Campaign for Education for All (ACEA), DVV International and the IM Swedish Development Partner, with the participation of regional members of the ANHRE network in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt, and representatives of official institutions, civil society organizations, media and education activists.
The Global Action Week is an international campaign that seeks to unify all voices on the same issue and to make obvious demands for education politicians and decision makers with the participation of the public around the world. Millions of people participate annually in 100 countries.
The opening speech was was delivered by Ms. Hanan Al-Haroub form Palestine, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2016. Ms. Al-Haroub stressed on the importance of unification of efforts in the region and to give priority to the allocation and expenditure of education resources in ways that focus on increasing equity and support the most marginalized groups and areas that suffer from conflict or suffer from the effects of the post-conflict.
Ms. Fattouh Younis, Executive Director of the Arab Network for Civil Education, mentioned that the Global Action Week 2017, launched by the Network nationally and regionally, invite citizens to participate under the title "and Up For Education- Time to Deliver". She that GAW is an opportunity to urge governments to commit to the SDG4 which guarantee the right to free, inclusive quality education. Two years after the adoption of SDGs, it is time for governments to demonstrate that they are working towards this goal and that they have developed mechanisms for implementation.
The conflict and the political problems in the Middle East and North Africa (Arab countries), whether directly or indirectly, prevented millions of children from attending school, where schools and educational infrastructure were destroyed , or serving as headquarters of the parties to the conflict or shelters for displaced persons. Added Mrs. Younes
Mr. Refaat Sabah the General Coordinator of the Arab Campaign for Education for All, said that this year GAW focuses on the accountability of governments and the international community for providing a sustainable development agenda, ensuring citizens' participation and asking governments to "keep your promises”, focusing on the SDG4, and reminding the governments and nations that the democratic governance is the cornerstone of sustainable development goals and credible road maps are needed to provide quality, inclusive and free education and lifelong learning opportunities. Therefore the Arab Campaign urges the government accountability and the donors on education budget in particular, including budgets for education in humanitarian response plans and relief programs in conflict and war-affected areas,"the time has come, "The time has come to hold governments and other actors in education accountable for achieving the fourth goal of sustainable development and to fulfill their promise of inclusive, good, public and free education for all" he added. The Arab Campaign for Education calls all governments and international actors in the region to take concrete and serious action in implementing what they have promised towards this goal now! The commitment to enable more scrutiny of education spending by making education budgets more open and transparent, enabling civil society actors and others to track budgets and monitor expenditure and performance, thereby reducing corruption and ensuring free and adequate space for civil society to monitor education spending and provide them with an appropriate seat In all decision-making processes on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda.
Mr. Khalil Abu Radwan, Present of the Jordan Education Coalition for Education said that ACEA, through the Jordan Coalition in partnership with ANHRE, calls the government this year to implement credible plans to eliminate the entire education agenda 2030 and to ensure credible and transparent mechanisms for civil society participation in the monitoring and accountability processes of the Education Agenda 2030. We also stress the importance of a humanitarian vision that emphasizes the set of universal ethical principles that should serve as the basis for integrated approach learning for all and its organization is reflected in the design of education processes that promote the acquisition of appropriate knowledge and capacity development.
On the other hand, the researcher Khzama Al-Rasheed confirmed that education is the responsibility for the whole society, while good governance in the educational sector requires multiple partnerships between government and civil society. The national education policy should be the outcome of broad national consultations and national consensus. She added that strengthening the role of civil society in the field of education more directly and explicitly can contribute to the advancement of education. These strong partnerships with community networks and with non-profit organizations can contribute to the concerns and concerns of parents about the conditions of education in Jordan.
Arab Network for Civic Education (ANHRE), is an independent non-governmental regional network in the Arab region. ANHREworks towards the enhancement of citizenship values and promotion of culture of human rights with a focus on mainstreaming gender equality, and rights of persons with disability and vulnerable groups, through coordination of efforts and capacity building.
Arab Campaign for Education for All is an independent, non-profit coalition, consisting of networks, coalitions, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, teachers' unions, associations and other sectors which are interested in education in the Arab countries. ACEA seeks to unite and mobilize the efforts of civil societies to ensure the accomplishment of the goals of Education for All.
The Jordanian Coalition for Education for All was established in 2009 by an initiative of the Arab Network for Civil Education – ANHRE, In order to remind the Government of its obligations to improve the quality of education and to ensure its openness to the challenges and to recognize, deal with and follow up on them because education is the key to rights. The Jordan Coalition also seeks to urge the government to prioritize spending on education and raise the budget for education development.