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Add to Preferred SourcesSomalia and the United Nations culture and education agency signed an agreement aimed at strengthening efforts to preserve the country’s cultural heritage and improve its educational sector.
“Culture and education are vital for the country’s future. After years of conflict, they are vital to the human dimension of recovery, of peacebuilding, of sustainability,” said the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay.
The UN official was speaking at a press encounter the capital, Mogadishu, in the wake of the signing of a memorandum of understanding on UNESCO-Somalia cooperation.
The memorandum will enable them to work together on reviving the culture sector in Somalia and enhancing the country’s education policies – the latter includes enrolling schoolchildren, with a specific focus on young girls, ensuring free and quality primary and secondary education, as well as making available open digital resources, including textbooks.
Somalia’s Federal Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Abdullahi Godah Barre, signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the Federal Government of Somalia.
“UNESCO has not been present in Somalia, but historically, Somalia and UNESCO have a long history, and since our independence, we have collaborated on many fronts. Today, time has allowed us to reignite our relationship with UNESCO. That relationship will directly contribute to our lower and higher education as well as culture, science, and technology,” he said.
After decades of conflict, Somalia has been rebuilding its educational sector. However, despite encouraging developments, there are still considerable gaps in access to quality education and learning for children and adolescents. These gaps are rooted in the country’s protracted conflict, which has reinforced vulnerabilities, including poverty and economic disadvantages, which are impacting on children’s access to early learning, basic education and skills training opportunities. Of the approximately five million school-aged children in Somalia, more than three million children are out of school. The national education retention rate of primary education stands at 64 percent.
In the area of culture, the memorandum of understanding foresees professional capacity-building and training, especially for museum administrators and archivists. UNESCO will also accompany the country in the rehabilitation of three important cultural sites: the National Theatre, Museum and Library.
Original source: UNSOM
Published on 11 February 2020