AMMAN, 21st March 2010 (WAM) A five-day workshop on child-friendly schools and their role in ensuring quality education in the Middle East and North Africa concluded in Amman today, with the participation of more than 70 education experts from the region and beyond.
"This is a great opportunity to advance the development of a common understanding among UNICEF and its partners at all levels with regards to the concept of child-friendly schools and its multidimensional coverage of quality," said Dr. Malak Zaalouk, Regional Education Advisor at UNICEFs Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa. A child-friendly school operates in the best interests of the child. Educational environments must be safe, healthy and protective, endowed with qualified teachers, adequate resources and appropriate physical, emotional and social conditions for learning. Within them, childrens rights must be protected and their voices must be heard. Learning environments must be a haven for girls and boys to learn and grow, with respect for their identities and varied needs. The child-friendly school model promotes inclusiveness, gender-sensitivity, tolerance, dignity and personal empowerment. The Amman meeting focused on ways to develop this model and mainstream it in the region, identify challenges to implementing it and ways to address them, and allow participants to exchange learning experiences. The agenda covered the child-friendly school concept and underlying principles, case studies, methods of active learning, protective environments, funding and resources, quality standards, collaboration and planning, partnerships, mapping the process, ways forward and opportunities. Changu Mannathoko, Senior Education Advisor in UNICEFs headquarters in New York, praised the regional experiences in education and stressed the role governments should play to ensure quality education for all: "Each country, each community, each school has varying needs and therefore requires a range of options. The child-friendly school model provides flexibility for governments to address a variety of situations so that quality education is not compromised. Participants in this workshop showed great commitment and willingness to take this forward."The creation of the child-friendly school network has brought together partners from the government, international agencies, non-governmental and civil organizations, faith-based organizations, practitioners and communities to try and create the best learning environment for children. "Making sure that chilren in the Middle East and North Africa receive the quality education they deserve in schools that look after their best interest is a shared responsibility," Zaalouk said at the closing ceremony. Marilena Viviani, Deputy Regional Director for UNICEF in Middle East and North Africa, emphasized from her side the need to take this initiative of Child Friendly Schools to larger scales. ""The child-friendly school model is an important strategy to implement a rights-based approach to education and it is a key component to prepare a World Fit for Children.".Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.
