News Archive

14 Million People Join Football World & African Leaders' Call for End to Education Crisis

Campaigners give Cautious Welcome to World Education Summit Declaration

1GOAL today welcomed world leaders' commitment to investing in universal educationand the call from African Heads of State to urgently prioritise investment in education at the World Education Summit today. In the first ever political summit to be created because of a sporting event, leaders responded to the campaign's call for a surge of political will to ensure every child can go to school before the next World Cup in 2014.

1GOAL President Kailash Satyarthi said: "While this World Cup Summit hasn't solved the education crisis today, it has insisted the crisis must be solved. Millions of people have shown a yellow card to world leaders demanding an end to the injustice that locks one in ten of the world's children out of school. We hope today marks the first step on the path to an education for those children."

The Summit was addressed by 1GOAL Ambassadors and Aaron Mokoena, the South African Football Captain and was hosted by President Zuma with over 100 delegates including African Heads of State from Kenya, Mozambique and Botswana attending. In addition Prime Minister Balkenende of the Netherlands, President Wulffof Germany and the UK Development Secretary Andrew Mitchellwere present, as well as FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1GOAL's co-chair.
1GOAL is calling on poor countries to increase their spending on education to 20% of their national budget and for a roadmap for all African children to be in school by 2014. This comes as education spending in Africa is being cut by as much as $4.6bn. The real challenge is to ensure that children are able to leave with a meaningful education, for example:

• In Malawi, Uganda and Chad less than 40% of children that enrol complete primary school
• In Central African Republic, Rwanda, Malawi and Mozambique there are more than 65 pupils for every teacher.
• In Togo currently only 15% of primary school teachers have received appropriate training.

1GOAL, the FIFA-backed campaign to make Education for All a legacy of the 2010 World Cup, is the biggest ever football campaign and is supported by over 200 of the biggest names in football including Pele, Zidane, Ronaldo, Essien and David Villa. Over 1 million people a week have been signing up to support their campaign from 191 countries around the world with over fourteen million people showing their support for 1GOAL.

The World Education Summit is an important first step but the major breakthrough on education funding needs to come at the UN Summit in September. 1GOAL is calling on donors to quadruple funding on education from $4 billion to $16 billion per year. Along with new money, 1GOAL is calling on donors to prioritise the poorest counties and fund the basic costs of schooling - teachers salaries, books and school buildings - rather than consultants, University scholarships and bureaucratic support which takes up as much as two-thirds of the education budgets from France, Germany and the US.

Aaron Mokoena, 1GOAL ambassador and BafanaBafana captain said: "President Zuma must be creditedfor calling this summit. Fourteen million football fans from around the world have signed up to this campaign and now world leaders need to make the dream of Education for All a reality. History shows that where the political will exists, great things can happen. South Africa now shares the delivery of this legacy with the rest of the world."

Other quotes in relation to the Summit include:
Former Brazilian player Socrates said: "Without an education children can be left with little more than hope to getthem through life and the fact that today, in 2010, millions of childrencannot go to school due to grinding poverty shames us all. We look to the Brazilian State and the next President to ensure there is a lasting legacyfrom this World Cup. In Brazil there are still approximately 5 million children of primary school age not attending school and approximately 14million illiterate adults. Brazil must continue the good work that has started in South Africa and sustain this work so that by the next WorldCup in Brazil, we have taken huge strides in getting every child intoschool."

Former German International Franz Beckenbauer said: "I have been involved in football for many years, but this year there is a real chance for the football world to make a positive mark that will last for generations. Millions of football fans have told their leaders loud and clear that they want to see them take the action that's needed to get every child into school and they must listen. This Summit kicks off a crucial few months in the 1GOAL campaign to put 72 million children into school, our leaders must not back away from this urgent challenge."

1GOAL is an initiative to mobilise support to hold world leaders to these promises for 2015 and is run by the Global Campaign for Education and is part of a large global education initiative. In 2000, 164 world governments came together to create the UN Millennium Development Goals. 2 of the 8 goals involve ending poverty through providing education for all which ensured that all boys and girls complete primary schooling by 2015. Since then many countries have abolished school fees, spending was increased by $4 billion and an extra 40 million children are now going to school.

For further information please call:
South Africa: Richard Lee on + 27 828207637 or email Richard@join1goal.org
UK:                 Sam Barratt on + 44 7818 406050 or email sam@join1goal.org
France:          MagaliMevellec on + 27 710871312 or email magali@join1goal.org

More information about 1GOAL can be found at http://www.join1goal.org/ and footage and stills of players backing the campaign can be found at www.thenewsmarket.com/join1goal