Carolyn Medel-Añonuevo is the Deputy Director/Senior Programme Coordinator of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, a research institute of UNESCO promoting non-formal education, literacy and adult education in the perspective of lifelong learning. A sociologist coming from the Philippines, she has been working in the field of women's education for the last 25 years.

May Rihani is Senior Vice President of the Academy for Educational Development (AED), a non-profit organization active in more than 150 countries, and Director of the AED Global Learning Group. She is responsible for educational reform programmes in multiple African and Middle Eastern countries, and focuses on ensuring gender equality in AED’s educational projects and social development programmes. She has addressed girls’ education at a large number of international conferences.

Sakena Yacoobi is President and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), an Afghan women-led NGO serving 350,000 women and children each year through its educational learning centers, schools, training and clinics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ms. Yacoobi is an Ashoka Fellow, has won numerous awards for her international work in peace and human rights and serves on over 15 affiliated group panels and boards.

 

Hello and welcome to all of you,

My name is Hélène Gandois, and I was the moderator for this online discussion on gender, education and employment which took place in both English and French from 7 to 20 July 2010.

The online discussion is now closed. It is no longer possible to add new comments, but we will keep the discussion posted here for those of you who have not had time to read it all. We will also make available on this page a report summarizing the discussion.

I would like to thank all of you who participated, as well as all others who followed the discussion. You highlighted a wide range of issues and provided many interesting examples. While most of you acknowledged that progress has been made to achieve universal primary education for girls and boys alike, all agreed that the link between women's education and employment should be further studied.  

Where do we go from here? The discussion will contribute to the report and recommendations to be presented to the Commission on the Status of Women in 2011. To stay informed of preparations for the 55th session of the Commission, visit this web page or become a fan on Facebook or twitter.

All the best,
Hélène