What we do
© Piyawan Wongwanitchareon, Thailand
In order for gender equality to be established, communities must understand that education is a basic human right. UNESCO Bangkok believes that advocacy is one way to mobilize communities to promote gender equality in education. Advocacy is a tool for changing policies, programs, or legislation using persuasive communication. It entails raising awareness and creating a supportive environment through the dissemination of information. The advocacy process is only complete when policy makers, concerned organizations, or communities implement the desired policy action.
UNESCO Bangkok regularly uses advocacy to promote gender equality in education. Increased advocacy forces the international community to keep its commitments to gender equality.
UNESCO Bangkok builds Member States’ capacities to develop advocacy materials, support research studies and collaborate with national, regional and global partners that work towards gender equality.
UNESCO Bangkok uses different advocacy opportunities to promote equal learning opportunities for everyone. UNESCO Bangkok promotes gender equality in education in the following ways:
- participating in gender equality in education-related international forums and conferences
- regularly communicating with partners, including the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI), governments, multilateral and intergovernmental agencies, civil society and the private sector
- participating in awareness-raising campaigns such as the annual UNGEI drawing contest
- creating and distributing e-newsletters, Gender Wire, to share information and issues about gender equality in education in Asia and the Pacific
- publishing policy and advocacy briefs, collections of resources such as GENIA Toolkit, research and reports on relevant themes
- preparing and disseminating of communication materials, including UNGEI notebooks and calendars
