At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, 147 world leaders agreed to a global compact known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goals were reaffirmed at the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development and at the Group of Eight Summit in Evian, France. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, publicly urged the G8 leaders to give “due priority to the issues of poverty and development, which are of overriding importance for the great majority of the world’s people.”
The eight goals are backed by an action plan with 18 quantifiable targets combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. The goals also assign clear responsibilities to rich countries to provide more aid, fairer terms of trade, and meaningful debt relief to developing countries. Goals 2 and 4 are directly related to UNESCO’s work in primary education.
Achieve universal primary education
- Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike,will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
Promote gender equality and empower women
- Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.
