NEWTON, MA | November 7, 2011
EDC will cohost a symposium on education in international development, sharing the lessons learned from a decade of working with youth as part of the portfolio of USAID-funded programs known as EQUIP. The symposium, “Informing the Future: Ten Years of Experience in Global Education in Development,” will be held Tuesday, November 8, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
EQUIP, a combination of three programs that foster improved educational quality and opportunity for young people in more than 100 countries, is managed by EDC, the American Institutes for Research, FHI360, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and dozens of partners. As the implementer for EQUIP3, EDC focuses on out-of-school youth, and with a consortium of organizations, develops practices adaptable to the unique context of each country.
“The experience of EQUIP3 over nine years confirms that it’s important to provide youth with access to work and livelihood opportunities, education and training, good health, and civic engagement,” said EQUIP3 Director Erik Butler, who will be a presenter at the symposium. “Failure to do so will negate the opportunity for young people to use their energy and vitality productively, and risks leading to crime, unrest, lifelong poverty, and disease.”
The symposium will advance the conversation on donor-driven education in international development through facilitated discussions in the EQUIP program areas of basic education, policy, and youth. Participants will address how the massive program measures and improves learning, how to sustain and scale up change, and how to make education and employment a reality for the hardest to reach.
Joining Butler at the symposium will be Melanie Sany, who leads EDC’s EQUIP program in Rwanda, EQUIP3 Deputy Director Nancy Taggart, Evaluation Specialist Elena Vinogradova, Cornelia Janke, program director of several EQUIP3 projects, and Nancy Meaker Chervin, project associate for EQUIP3.
Proceedings from the sessions will be published after the symposium and available for downloading at www.equip123.net.
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), is a global nonprofit organization that addresses urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. EDC manages 350 projects in 35 countries. Visit www.edc.org.
