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Issue 45 2 October to 6 October 2017

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Message of the Director

Dear Colleagues and Partners,

This week on 5 October we celebrated World Teachers' Day, with the theme ‘Teaching

Freedom, Empowering Teachers’. The event was celebrated in Rwanda, Uganda and

United Republic of Tanzania, and commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the

1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the status of Teachers, which celebrated

its 50th anniversary during last year edition. The 1966 Recommendation constitutes the

main reference framework for addressing teachers' rights and responsibilities on a global

scale. This year World Teachers' Day also commemorates the 20th anniversary of the 1997

UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching

Personnel. Like teachers at pre-primary, primary and secondary levels, teaching in higher

education, is a profession requiring expert knowledge specialized skills, and pedagogical

competence. The UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa is also working in

empowering professionals in higher education institutions in using technology and making

use of Open and Distance Learning to enhance pedagogy in Djibouti, Rwanda and Uganda.

UNESCO continues to contribute to "Deliver as One" in countries of the Eastern African

region. In support of one programme in Kenya, the Regional Office participated in the

Think Tank Workshop for formulating a new UNDAF for 2018 to 2022 in Naivasha,

Kenya from 2 to 6 October 2017. During the workshop priorities have been formulated for

UN interventions during the next 5 years. These priorities are clustered along the Political,

Economic and Social Pillars of the Vision 2030 of Kenya. UNESCO will also mobilize its

partner institutions to attend the consultations on the draft theory of change for the Kenyan

2018-2022 UNDAF on 11 October 2017. In support of the one leader, the new United

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Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Eritrea visited UNESCO Regional Office for

Eastern Africa to discuss UNESCO ongoing interventions in the country and possibilities

for future collaboration in partnership with other UN Agencies. In support of

communicating as one, the office also participated in UN Information meetings for

Somalia. UNESCO is fully part of the process of working together at the country level and

strengthening the Resident Coordinator System.

As per our UNESCO Nairobi Social Staff Club, I wish to congratulate the committee for

the kick off celebrations, birthdays, music and nice time together to strengthen our bonds

and work better together, in a happy and harmonious environment.

I am also looking forward to the Regional Senior Management Meeting that will take place

on 13 October 2017 to discuss our upcoming retreat for the region. We will also discuss

the effective positioning of UNESCO at the country level as well as preparations for the

General Conference.

I wish you a fruitful week ahead!

Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta

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In the photo (from left to right): UNESCO Focal Point for Eritrea, UN

Resident Coordinator of Eritrea and Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern

Africa 4 October 2017

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Announcements

Call for nominations- King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of

ICTs in Education

UNESCO is currently accepting applications for the 2017 edition of the

UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in

Education. The theme for the 2017 Edition of the Prize is the use of ICTs to

increase access to quality education. The deadline for nomination is 20 October

2017. The online submission form should be submitted, in English or French, via

the following link, here (new users can register to the platform

via www.unesco.org/ict-ed-prize/register.

UNESCO Executive Board

The 58 members of UNESCO’s Executive Board will hold their 202nd session

from 4 to 18 October, presided by H.E. Michael Worbs (Germany), Chairperson

of the Executive Board, at UNESCO’s Headquarters.

UNESCO Social Club kicks

off in Nairobi

The UNESCO Staff Club

committee organized the first

Staff Club birthdays celebration

on 6 October, 2017 in Nairobi,

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Kenya. Besides birthday celebrations the club congratulated new parents and

appreciated separating colleagues. This was also the official launch of the Staff

Social Club.

NEW UNESCO Team Members

Cynthia Meru, UNESCO

Regional Office for Eastern

Africa

Cynthia joined the

Communication and Information

sector in Nairobi on 18

September 2017. Cynthia

graduated from Moi University,

Nairobi Kenya, with a

Bachelor's of Arts in Linguistics,

Media, Communications, she is passionate and enthusiastic to meeting the

UNESCO Regional Team and productively work together.

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Vladilena Jucov, UNESCO

Regional Office for Eastern

Africa

Vladilena Jucov has joined

UNESCO this week as a

Volunteer. She is Graduated in

Economics from Moldova

University and has worked in

the private sector in both Travel

& Housing. Recently she has been volunteering at UNKLESA, Nairobi Office.

Vladilena has been an expat for the last ten 17 years and moved in a different

countries & cities such as Cyprus, New York and currently in Nairobi. She looks

forward to meeting the UNESCO Regional Team and to productively work

together all colleagues to increase UNESCO’s visibility in the region.

News of the week

School visits, open documentation centers and youth debate to mark the

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International Day for Universal Access to Information in Madagascar, in

English & French

Coding Program launched in Kenyan Secondary Schools

Events of the week

50th Anniversary of Simein Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

14 to 15 October 2017

Debark town in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Regional Senior Management Team Meeting

UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa Nairobi, Kenya

13 October 2017

Validation workshop for the National Framework on Sexuality Education in

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Uganda

10 October 2017

Kampala, Uganda

What the Press says about us

Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers, Theme of World Teachers' Day

2017, Source: Ndtv.com

100 Women: We can't teach girls of the future with books of the past, Source:

BBC

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Meetings

UN Resident coordinator of Eritrea visits UNESCO Regional Office for

Eastern Africa

On 4 October 2017, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern

Africa welcomed Ms. Susan Namondi Ngongi, the new UN Resident

Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Eritrea to the UNESCO

Regional Office for Eastern Africa. They discussed UNESCO’s actions in Eritrea

in the framework of the

Strategic Partnership

Cooperation

Framework (SPCF)

between the Government

of the State of Eritrea and

the United Nations for

2017-2021.

During their meeting, Ms.

Ngongi also met with the

Sector representatives for

Education, Science,

Culture, Communications

and Information as well

as the Intergovernmental

Oceanographic

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Commission and Gender focal point to discuss specific activities and

opportunities for collaboration in Eritrea.

Training Workshop on Reporting Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster

Relief Information in Isiolo County

2 to 4 October 2017

Under the project

Empowering Local Radios

through ICTs, the training of

community radio journalists

continues: target for this training

was Baliti FM, Isiolo County,

Kenya and the community radio

journalists from Baliti FM, who

were trained on reporting on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief

information in Isiolo County.

Better Education for Africa's

Rise, BEAR II project

Madagascar

On 26 to 27 September 2017,

UNESCO experts and 55

representatives from

ministries, TVET authorities, TVET institutions, Vocational Training centres and

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enterprises gathered together in Hotel Colbert in Antananarivo, Madagascar to

agree on the strategic activities on how to achieve the relevance, quality and

improved perception of TVET. Based on a scoping mission findings and in

consultations with the country experts, UNESCO proposed the textiles industry

to be the lead sector for the implementation of BEAR II in Madagascar. Textile

industry is a part of Madagascar’s five strategic sectors, but as the only one, has

not have yet been supported by any international projects. With high potential for

creating formal employment the choice of the sector is expected to provide

positive impact on socio-economical development at the country level.

Better Education for Africa's Rise, BEAR II project Tanzania

The government, in

collaboration with UNESCO,

devised a new Technical and

Vocational Education and

Training (TVET) in the country.

The Better for Africa

Education's Rise validation

workshop took place from 28 to

29 September 2017 in Dar Es Salaam, stressing the importance of the relevance

of TVET to the needs of the labour market and the needs of individuals and

communities. The permanent secretary in the ministry of Education, Science and

Technology in Tanzania applauded the workshop for the UNESCO international

technical assistance and expertise. In close cooperation with the government, as

well as with employers, civil society and TVET institutions, UNESCO will

support in reshaping the TVET system by identifying needs and support for the

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development of training programmes that match them, including teachers and

managers of TVET institutions.

3rd Annual Somali Heritage week

Kenya National Theatre, 5 to 8 October 2017 Nairobi, Kenya

The Culture Programme

Specialist of the UNESCO

Regional Office for Eastern

Africa participated in the

opening ceremony of the third

annual Somali Heritage week,

on 5 October 2017. The Somali

Heritage week is an opportunity

to present and get to know the

Somali culture, opening a dialogue on intercultural diversity, showcase poetry,

cultural dances and interactive storytelling performances of Somalia.

World Teachers' Day in Uganda

Uganda Celebrated the World

Teachers' Day on 5th October in

Moroto District, North Eastern

Uganda with over 2000 teachers

in attendance. This years'

celebrations organised by

UNESCO, the national teachers'

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union (UNATU) and the Ministry of Education and sports focused on a slogan

“Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers” . The event was presided over by

His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni and the Hon. Minister of Education

and Sports and First Lady of Uganda Janet Kataaha Museveni who promised to

ensure that teachers have access to high-quality continous proffessional

development, better working conditions, a good wage, and are supported to

deliver quality teaching as prescribed by SDG4 on Education.

Capacity Development for Education Programme (CapED)

Maputo, Mozambique - 3 to 9 September 2017 & 25 to 30 September 2017

Two missions were conducted during September 2017. Based on the National

Indicators' Framework (NIF), the first mission focused on the Data Mapping

exercise. The National Technical Team (NTT) identified potential data sources

and they analyzed the indicators using the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)

data mapping template. The second mission aimed at training the NTT on the

Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) and the NTT started drafting

sections of the DQAF Report.

Capacity Development for Education Programme (CapED)

Antananarivo, Madagascar- 4 to 8 September 2017 & 2 to 6 October 2017

The first mission of the implementation phase was conducted, it focused on the

elaboration of the National Indicators' Framework (NIF) and the Data Mapping

exercise. A consensus was built on observed indicators gaps in the ESP

indicators, and on some SDG4 indicators needed to monitor. The second

missions aimed to provide training on the Data quality assessment framework

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(DQAF) to the CapED national technical team (NTT) and to present the level of

achievement to the CapED National Steering Committee. Based on draft results

of the DQAF, a number of weak areas were identified in each sub-sector of

education that will need immediate actions to strengthen the education

management information systems.

Publications

Exploring the impact of career models on teacher motivation

This literature review explores

the contribution of teacher

career models to this

motivational crisis, and asks

whether a change in their

administration could improve

the quality of teaching in

schools by motivating teachers

to improve, and increasing the

appeal of the profession. This is

in line with the suggested post-

2015 education goal that ‘By

2030, all governments ensure

that all learners are taught by

qualified, professionally-trained,

motivated and well-supported teachers’. The most common career structure in

both developed and developing countries is the single salary structure, in which

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teachers’ pay increases yearly, irrespective of teaching quality. The only other

factors taken into account in calculating pay are additional qualifications, and

promotions to administrative positions. In search for alternative structures, this

report addresses the following research questions by reviewing psychological

research on motivation, and examining the models of teacher career structure

used in different countries. Read the report here

Supporting teachers with mobile technology

This report discusses the

advancement of

international

understanding, learning

and teaching and the

potential of mobile

technology to build

teacher capacity, taking

as an example four

UNESCO designed

projects in Mexico,

Nigeria, Pakistan and

Senegal. Each project

employed a different

approach to support the

work of classroom

teachers with limited

technical knowledge and easily scalable within a given country. Read the study

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here.

UNESCO Days and Public Holidays

13 October

International Day for Disaster Reduction ( 134 EX/15; A/RES/44/236;

A/RES/64/200)

UN website(link is external)

17 October

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty ( 28 C/Resolution

2.1; A/RES/47/196)

UN website(link is external)

20 October

World Statistics Day ( A/RES/64/267)

UN website

Birthdays

Hamidou Dodo Boukary

17 October

David Onyango

20 October

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