Pacific Sub-regional Online Training on Gender Equality in and through Education
Throughout the emergence and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020, education in most Pacific region countries has, unlike in many other places of the world, continued relatively uninterrupted by the usual school closures or severe quarantine measures commonly instituted worldwide. Nevertheless, discriminatory gender norms in education persist, hindering the achievement of gender equality in education and employment in the region.
In the Western Pacific, recent research indicates that girls commonly face greater challenges in post-school employment, education and training than do boys, even if young girls are no less advantaged at the upper secondary school level. To enhance learning opportunities for all, and to help ensure that no one is left vulnerable and the object of persistent gender biases, education resources and teacher training programmes must be developed through gender mainstreaming, and made widely available to policy-makers and educators. This will encourage equality in and through education for all genders.
With an aim to addressing current gender-equality challenges, the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok) has strengthened the Gender in Education Network in Asia-Pacific (GENIA), a network of gender focal points within Ministries of Education in Asia-Pacific, launched by UNESCO in 2003. GENIA supports Ministries of Education mainstreaming gender and advancing gender-responsiveness in education planning, policy-making and content, as well as teacher development. As of October 2021, the network has grown from 19 to 33 Member Countries, reflecting increasing interest particularly from the Pacific region.
To better support the capacities of the gender focal points as well as Ministry of Education officials from the Pacific member countries of GENIA, UNESCO Bangkok and the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States are co-organizing an online sub-regional training workshop on Gender Equality in and through Education in the Pacific.
The training aims to strengthen the GENIA network to advance the achievement of SDG 4, in particular Target 4.5, and SDG 5. It provides a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences and promoting further collaboration in the Pacific region.
Event:
Date: From 2 November to 9 December 2021 (two 90-min sessions per week)
Time: 14:00 to 15:30 GMT+13 (Samoa time)
Format: Online training via Zoom conferencing (restricted to nominated participants)
Eligible participants: National gender focal points of Ministries of Education, education policy-makers and practitioners from the Pacific States, UNESCO colleagues in Asia-Pacific
Language: English
Key documents & training materials:
Contact: For questions and further information, contact GENIA Secretariat at: genia@unesco.org
Main photo credit: ©Shutterstock/corners74
