Ladies and gentlemen,

• Thank you for inviting me to this “Education for All Forum”. I am very pleased to be here. You are all our partners in our joint work to promote Education for All.
• I have a special interest in education. I have i.e.a background as Director of Childhood and Education on behalf of a County Governor in a Norwegian county. Therefore, it is very interesting for me to participate here - in an event looking at the global education agenda.
• I believe there is no better investment for development than education. It leads to better income, better health and better lives. Nothing beats it.
• First, I would like to congratulate Mr. Burnett - the editor of the “EFA Global Monitoring Report”. I am so happy that you could come to Norway and present this report.
• Secondly, I would like to thank the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO.

The Commission is currently the Secretariat for the “EFA Forum” in Norway.

It is very important that we have meeting places like this one.

It is a forum where decision-makers can meet experts from academia as well as from NGOs.

We will all gain from meetings that discuss trends and challenges.

• I believe that we should do more of this. Our political decisions will be better if we can base them on input from relevant expertise - in Norway and abroad.
• We in the new government want to open up the aid and Foreign Ministry administration. My staff is a very competent one. I have already seen proofs of that. But it will be even better if we create better networks to external expertise.
• I am impressed with the Global Monitoring Report. It was first published only three years ago. Still, I understand that it has already become widely recognised worldwide. The report is among the key analytical document on education.
• Why is the report important? It monitors the state of education worldwide. It does so in terms that makes it possible to compare the findings across countries. It points to challenges. It gives policy advice. This makes the report unique.
• The next challenge is to turn the policy advice into actual policy.
• My hope is that the global community should make better use of this report. As I said, policy decisions must be based on the best expertise. I am pleased that UNESCO will do its part to make this possible. I understand that a special working group will know look more closely into the implications of the report’s findings and recommendations.
• In this way, the report will inform the Education for All High Level Group meeting later this month. At this meeting we will discuss global measures that emerge from this report.
• But we all know that progress at the national level is what matters most. The most important policy decisions will have to take place at country level.
• We underline literacy in our own cooperation with developing countries in the field of education. Norway is particularly committed to literacy programs aimed at women.
• In our thinking, the best programmes should combine several things: Basic literacy skills with skills training; promotion of democratic participation and empowerment - helping individuals making decisions in their daily lives.
• Many of you represent NGOs and civil society. You are key to us. Most of our literacy programmes have been channelled through NGOs - both Norwegian and international ones and their partners working in the field.
• As many of you know, Norad has started a review on literacy activities supported by Norwegian NGOs. We need to obtain an overview and to gain knowledge about your experiences. I want to thank those of you that have contributed to the study - either by answering questionnaires or by taking part in the reference groups for the study.
• The role of NGOs and civil society is important. Without them, it is difficult to reach our goals. This is also pointed out by The Global Monitoring Report. In addition, the report encourages decision makers to put in place better policies.
• We will examine our own dialogue with partner countries in the South. Do we place literacy high enough on the agenda? Our overall approach to development cooperation is of course that the needs should emerge from our partner countries themselves. At the same time, we participate actively in discussions related to policy alternatives - both with our partner countries in the South as well as other bilateral donors and multilateral organizations. We will continue to consider how to strengthen the area of literacy.
• The report concludes that the EFA goal of gender parity in education by 2005 has not been reached. This is sad, but not surprising. Women constitute 64% of the illiterate population.
• We need to re-double our efforts to secure that as many girls as boys attend schools – as a step towards education for all. We will work with our partner countries. We will work with the UN. We will work with the World Bank.
• The “United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative” is an important instrument to promote gender equality in education. UNICEF is a key actor and the Secretariat of this Initiative - which also include the rest of the UN family, including UNESCO.
• As I started out by saying, I have a special interest in education. I have decided that Norway should again participate at the EFA High Level Group - after some meetings without political attendence from Norway. I will head the Norwegian delegation in Beijing later this month.
• The EFA Global Monitoring Report will be an important input to the High Level Group. I look forward to seeing some of you again in Beijing, and to continue the discussion there.
• Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.