Programme and training seminars on policy dialogue in Africa

© UNESCO-IBE 2003

The first three seminars held in 2003 in Mali and Senegal reinforced the capacities of more than forty members of ministerial teams from twelve French-speaking countries in Africa. The seminars were organized on the basis of a common framework programme, which had been designed taking into account an inventory of the priority needs identified in international studies and the outcomes of a survey addressed to the ministries of education and conducted by the IBE.

 

In order to prepare some training modules, recognized specialists were consulted such as the European Centre of Negotiation (“Harvard’s Reasoned Negotiation”) and the Working group on the Sectoral Analysis and Programme COMED (Communication for Education and the Development) of the ADEA. From the perspective of an approach that combines action/reflection on action in order to improve action, the work of the seminars has been based on several monographs/case studies focusing on policy dialogue experiences—mainly in Africa. An overview of the current reflection on the concept of “policy dialogue”, as well as an initial assessment of the training activities in Africa, were presented in the issue n° 130 of Prospects, UNESCO’s quarterly review of comparative education, published by the IBE.

Monographs/case studies

 

Ten completed monographs/case studies have been published in March and June 2006 in Prospects (issues 137 and 138).

 

Project GIAN/RUIG

 

This project, carried out during the period October 2002–2004, tried to include an historical dimension and a comparative approach in the construction of a vision for education, particularly on the issue of the transfer of models of secondary education. Within this framework, a high-level seminar has been organized before the opening of the forty-seventh session of the ICE, on the theme: “Secondary education throughout the world scale: assessment and prospects.” The Proceedings of the seminar have been published at the end of 2005. In addition, the GIAN/RUIG project team has exploited in 2004 and 2005 some training modules within the framework of the Summer University on Human Rights and of the Right to Education (UEDH) organised by OIDEL.