Opening remarks by prof. KADER
ASMAL, South African Minister of Education and President of the Intergovernmental
Committee of MINEDAF VII
Your Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you very warmly to this important
and momentous occasion coming so soon after the transformation of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU).
This transformation was a tremendous step forward in the process of
unifying the countries of Africa and aligning their development policies
and strategies within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD).
NEPAD itself represents a renewed expression of Africa's political will
to achieve agreed development targets, including targets for education.
This therefore is an auspicious moment for all of us devoted to the
cause of Education for Ail as it shows in very clear terms how our collective
commitments are being - and will be - met.
I would like to remind everyone that the objective of the MINEDAF Conferences,
right from the start, has been to strengthen co-operation for the development
of education in Africa, both among African countries themselves as well
as between African countries and their development partners.
Today, more than ever before, within the framework of NEPAD, Education
must contribute to the objectives of eradicating poverty in order to
promote sustainable development. The problem has always been that of
translating commitments into practical action.
One of the ways of encouraging the attainment of goals is to work within
a framework of strengthened regional and sub-regional cooperation.
This is, for instance, the thrust of the Protocol on Education and Training
adopted by member states of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC). A similar protocol also been recently adopted by the Ministers
of Education of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
These initiatives, colleagues, are in response to a single aim: the
"promotion of the concept and effectiveness of African Unit y",
and to cultivate this in the minds of young people through the curriculum,
through school textbooks and through the use of African and international
languages.
As you are aware, the Durban Conference designated the President and
the Bureau of MINEDAF VII, as an Intergovernmental Commit tee, to follow-up
on the commitments of African Ministers of Education and invited UNESCO
to continue to provide the Secretariat of the Commit tee (Durban Statement,
paragraph 12).
Suffice to say here that the first phase of the follow-up to MINEDAF
VII under South Africa's leadership started immediately after the Conference
in Durban in April 1998.
That phase laid a good foundation for the future activities of the programme
and initiated a number of innovative actions, including the Regional
Ex change Fellowships under the South African arrangements, the Ministers'
Web site and the associated MINEDAF Document Service. It also fostered
greater consultation of a wider grouping of African Ministers of Education.
The second phase was a transition to MINEDAF VIII.
This transition period was very important for assuring the consolidation
of the programme activities, continuity and sustainability of this network
of African Ministers of Education over the short and long term.
A famous German playwright and poet, writing at the end of the horrible
second world war wrote of the challenges the world faced with the defeat
of Nazism:
When the battle of the mountains is over
Then you will see
That the real battle of the plains will begin.
The establishment of NEPAD is the most comprehensive and
ambitious development programme on the continent and this represents
the battle of the mountains. As African Ministers of Education let us
therefore stand united as never before, in the combat for excellence
in the delivery of education for all. The real battle, that of the plains,
has only begun.
In concluding, I wish to congratulate the Government of Tanzania for
the excellent arrangements it has put together in hosting this conference.
Let me also commend the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura,
for his prompt actions and support in following up the Durban Conference,
his support for the Intergovernmental Commit tee, for providing a Secretariat
for MINEDAF VII and for establishing a MINEDAF Task Force to prepare
the present edition of MINEDAF.
In the same vein, I want to thank all our development partners for the
role they have continued to play in the development of education in
Africa.
I wish each one of you fruitful and creative deliberations.
I thank you.
