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Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to be here to address this Conference for the European UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network. UNESCO is one of the Norwegian Government’s key partners in the field of education. You may know that we support two ASP projects: the Transatlantic Slave Trade Education Project and the Young People’s World Heritage Education Project.

It is a pleasure to see so many participants from different corners of not only Europe, but also other parts of the world. Each one of you represents a small, but important, part of the global educational system. Together you constitute a knowledgeable and resourceful network in the field of education. We look forward to cooperating with you and learning from your experience.

All those devoted to international development have come to understand the fundamental role of education and learning in creating and consolidating sustainable social progress. John F. Kennedy even linked learning to the fundamental issue of freedom when he said that:

"Liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain."

Norwegian development cooperation is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In the early years of Norwegian aid, education had a central role. The focus was, however, gradually shifted in favour of other urgent needs. Over the last 20 years, education has suffered. Literacy rates have dropped, in some countries significantly. School fees have been introduced, excluding many poor people and especially girls from education. The average level of education and the quality have declined in many countries. And the number of dropouts has increased. Getting young people to complete their education is a major challenge.

Recently education has, again, gained prominence on the development agenda – in Norway and internationally. The Dakar Framework for Action and the UN Millennium Goals are clear manifestations of this. In the Millennium Declaration, adopted in New York in the autumn of 2000, we agreed on a range of goals, with poverty reduction as the overarching one. This was reaffirmed last month in Johannesburg. In the field of education the main goals are to ensure education for all by 2015, and to eliminate gender disparities in education by 2005.

The Norwegian Government intends to give education a much more central role in our development cooperation. We are, as we speak, in the process of developing a specific educational strategy. The goal is to increase the share of the total Norwegian development assistance devoted to education from 8 per cent today to almost 15 per cent by 2005. The strategy will not only include the necessary quantitative measures, but also focus on the implementation, quality and relevance of education. The efforts by our partner countries with respect to developing and implementing their own national action plans for education will be important in this respect.

Our assistance is based on a rights perspective: everyone has the right to education. In spite of this right there are more than a hundred million children around the world with no education and more than 880 million adults are illiterate. This is a gross violation of human rights. It is also a grave obstacle to the eradication of poverty – our number one priority.

Without education – no economical or social development. Education is part of the basic infrastructure of all countries. It is the basis on which individuals build their lives and families. It is the main tool for building up a country, and it is the only infrastructure that cannot be destroyed by war. Human capital is key to all development.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, special adviser to the UN Secretary General on the Millennium Development Goals, visited Norway last week. His reports on the rates of implementation are sobering. We have a long way to go in terms of further commitment. Perhaps more than anything else, we have a long way to go in terms of financing. And we have a long way to go in terms of implementation. The Norwegian Government is prepared to go the distance.

The Millennium Goals were set at state level. However, it is not only at state level that cooperation is important. I believe cooperation is crucial at all levels. If we reflect on the theme of this conference, "International co-operation and solidarity through ASPnet", it should be clear to everyone that you have a role in this. In fact, networks like the ASP are becoming increasingly important. Why? Education for all is not worth much unless we secure the quality and relevance of the education offered. This is why your role is so important. Cooperation, alliances and partnerships are absolutely crucial in order to reach our goals. We need the help and work of educational institutions, networks, schools and teachers in order to ensure implementation, quality and relevance.

One of the objects of this conference is to write a draft for the ASPnet Strategy and Plan of Action for 2004-2008. I wish you success in this important work.

Finally I would like to challenge you to include in this plan how you can, at an operational level, contribute to reaching the goal of education for all by 2015.

Thank you.