access to education

Language and Minority Rights: A Dialogue Forum with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

The United Nations Charter (Article 1) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 2) affirm the right to non-discrimination based on language while the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Article 2) asserts that persons belonging to minorities have the right to “use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.”  Yet linguistic minorities throughout the world continue to experience challenges to their language rights as well as inequitable access to other civil and human rights.

In this session, current Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes will discuss the intersection of language and minority rights, including implementational challenges and possibilities. Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, colleagues from Member States, scholars, and others interested in linguistic minority rights are invited to participate in an open dialogue with the Special Rapporteur.

Register here by November 27!

About the Special Rapporteur:

Professor Fernand de Varennes, a globally recognized expert on linguistic and human rights, has served as the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues since 2017 Reporting to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur promotes the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and guides the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, among other responsibilities.

Programme:

  • 8:45 – 9:00am  Sign In
  • 9:00 – 9:05am  Introduction – Francis M. Hult, Chair, Committee on Language and Languages
  • 9:05 – 9:35am  Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
  • 9:35 – 9:55am  Open Dialogue
  • 9:55 – 10:00am  Closing Remarks – Humphrey Tonkin, Vice-Chair, Committee on Language and Languages

_________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Language and Languages is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. For more information, please email the chair at fmhult@umbc.edu. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit un-ngocrip.net. 

Parents’ Role in Fostering the Financial Literacy of Their Children

The NGO Committee on the Family invites you to join their first fall event of the year, in which attendees will hear from Susan Beacham and a New York banker about educating parents on how to raise financially responsible children.

This event will be held virtually via Zoom. Register here!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on the Family/NY is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/Vienna, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights/NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

NGO CSW67 Forum

The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place from 6 to 17 March 2023.

Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to contribute to the session.

The format of the NGO CSW67 Forum will be hybrid (both virtual and in-person). Check NGO CSW/NY’s website periodically for more information about the NGO CSW67 Forum and UN CSW67.

CSW67 Priority Theme:

Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls

CSW67 Review Theme:

Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls

For more information about the UN CSW67 session, visit UN Women’s website.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@yahoo.com. 

NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY [monthly meeting]

Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the Digital Age: Experiences from the Ground

Join NGO CSW/NY’s September Monthly Meeting for a virtual expert roundtable, co-organized by Fos Feminista, about the right to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) featuring successful interventions of CSE delivery using digital technologies in collaboration with different stakeholders, including governments in context of continued efforts at expanding and improving CSE access and outcomes.

We’ll also get updates about the NGO CSW67 Forum and the CSW67, and hear from our Advocacy & Research Group. Come prepared to provide input on the CSW67 priority theme: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

This meeting will have interpretation in English, French, and Spanish.

Register here!

View NGO CSW/NY’s full calendar here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@yahoo.com. 

Transforming Education Summit

Dear ASPBAE Members, Partners, and Asia Pacific Members of CCNGO,

Warm greetings to all! We hope this finds you well.  

We are now three weeks away from the start of the Transforming Education Summit, which will be organized at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 16, 17, and 19 September 2022. 

On 16 September: The Mobilisation Day will be organized and led by youth with the full involvement of a broad variety of stakeholders. Informed by the Summit Youth Declaration, it will serve to convey the collective recommendations of youth on transforming education to decision-makers and policymakers. Additionally, it will emphasize getting the support of the public, youth, educators, civil society, and other stakeholders to support the transformation of education across the world.

On 17 September: The Solutions Day will give partners a platform to rally support for the beginning or expansion of activities linked to the Summit’s Thematic Action Tracks. There will be presentations of coalitions for action and other multi-stakeholder initiatives that will help transform education.

On 19 September: The Leaders Day will be dedicated to the presentation of National Statements of Commitment by Heads of State and Government in the form of Leaders Roundtables. A limited number of thematic sessions will also be held to place a focus on cross-cutting priorities for transforming education. Leaders Day will also feature the presentation of the Summit Youth Declaration and the Secretary-General’s Vision Statement for Transforming Education.

Those interested in participating in the Summit proceedings (16-17 September, 19 September) – including youth and civil society – are invited to fill out the online expression of interest form available on the Summit website using this link: Civil Society Engagements in the Transforming Education Summit Registration. The deadline for registration is 31 August 2022.

National and international commitments to transform education; greater public engagement around and support for transforming education; and a Vision Statement on Transforming Education from the Secretary-General are the Summit’s primary outcomes. The Vision Statement will be formally presented as an input to intergovernmental negotiations on the future of education as part of the preparations for the proposed UN Summit of the Future. To ensure efficient follow-up at all levels, it will also be used as input for the SDG4-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee’s work.

For more information, including on the TES-related national consultations, visit the Transforming Education Knowledge Hub. You may also view the TES Information Note and the TES Concept Note and Programme.

Please also keep an eye out for more updates on ASPBAE’s social media channels. Thank you and we look forward to your active participation!

Warm regards from the ASPBAE Secretariat

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu.

[UN Observance] International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Annually on February 11, the United Nations commemorates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. To learn more about why inclusion and gender equity are important in STEM, and to stay apprised of this year’s events, visit un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

[UN Observance] International Day of Education

Every year on January 24, the United Nations commemorates International Day of Education. To stay apprised of this year’s events and how to participate, check out https://www.un.org/en/observances/education-day.

View UNESCO’s video explaining the 10 targets of SDG #4: Quality Education for All here:

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit  facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. 

Recent Posts