Adventures in Advocacy: Real World Strategies for Education in Asia
Author: Fortunato, Barbara
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Advocacy,Sustainable Development,Poverty,Quality of Life,Educational Quality,Educational Strategies,Program Descriptions,Costs,Mothers,Case Studies,Educational Legislation,Educational Finance,Access to Education,International Education,Educational Development,Equal Education,Gender Differences,Foreign Policy,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Elementary Secondary Education,Adult Education,Economic Development,International Organizations,Out of School Youth

In the face of compelling challenges, the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), as well as the national education coalitions in Asia, have levelled up efforts in the past five years to advance the right of all citizens to quality education and learning opportunities throughout their lives. Their vehicle was a global programme called the Real World Strategies (RWS) that built capacities of multiple stakeholders in advocating for Education for All (EFA). Despite enormous difficulties, the national education coalitions, with the help of their partners and allies, have successfully spearheaded education advocacy campaigns, in the process garnering substantial gains and valuable lessons. Education is indeed a most important and effective tool that a person can use to fight poverty, discrimination and all forms of exclusion. It arms them not just with knowledge, but also with the ability, strength and confidence to survive, fully realize their potentials, and live a good quality of life. But in Asia and in the world, even today, millions of people continue to be deprived of their right to education. Yet there are persistent advocates, veritable heroes who tirelessly push for changes in the education landscape through vigorous campaigns aimed at making policy improvements in their countries. These campaigners push governments to make education more available to all, even the poor and marginalised. All their efforts and initiatives seek to advance education as a powerful tool for bringing about poverty eradication, sustainable development and lasting peace. In the lives of many, these campaigns are making real changes. This book is about those campaigns, and the women and men who spearheaded them. This publication begins with an overview of the education situation in Asia, including challenges faced by national educations coalitions as they struggle to advance the EFA goals in the region. This is followed by a discussion of some education advocacy campaigns waged in Asia and supported by the Real World Strategies programme, and identification of their common elements and strategies, and the issues they addressed. An analysis of the most significant gains and outcomes from these campaigns in general is offered. The next four chapters present in detail four case studies of the education advocacy campaigns in: India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and the Philippines. While these experiences were chosen to illustrate campaign gains and outcomes, the narratives also include difficulties encountered, lessons learned and remaining challenges. Appended are: (1) List of Respondents (India); (2) List of Respondents (Sri Lanka); (3) List of Respondents (Cambodia); and (4) List of Respondents (Philippines). Individual parts contain notes. (Contains 2 tables.)