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    1. 16CCEM - Cape Town Communiqué
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Ministerial Meetings

The Commonwealth Secretariat provides support for many meetings of Senior Education Ministers and Officials helping to shape global policy on Education in key areas such as HIV/AIDS and Teacher Recruitment

16CCEM16CCEM

The 16th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (16CCEM) was held from 11 to 14 December 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa. With the theme “Access to Quality Education: For the Good of All”, it brought together education ministers representing nearly a third of the world’s population.

At 16CCEM, the Commonwealth reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals. About 1,000 delegates participated in three parallel meetings: a Stakeholders Forum, Youth Forum, and, for the first time, a Commonwealth Teachers Forum.

Stakeholders Forum

Delegates drawn from civil society, academia and the private sector discussed the barriers that continue to obstruct access to quality education. They also suggested approaches to deal with them, emphasising the need for additional financial, material and human resources and the need for long-term, context-specific solutions rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

Youth Forum

Young people aged between 16 and 23 from across the Commonwealth expressed their strong belief in education as a right, not a privilege, which should be available and affordable to all. They urged ministers to increase spending on education and called on governments to address the declining image of the teaching profession.

Teachers’ Forum

The Commonwealth Teachers’ Forum focussed on the role of the teacher in delivering quality education. Issues of professional development, recruitment and retention were also discussed. Teachers proposed to ministers that quality standards in support of teacher professionalism be established, and that progress towards EFA goals be better coordinated. The Teachers’ Forum marked the emergence of the Commonwealth Teachers Grouping as an important new voice in education.

Good Practice Awards

The first round of Education Good Practice Awards was held at 16CCEM. Nine finalists from seven Commonwealth countries were selected for the awards which highlighted good practices by governments and NGOs.

Previous Meetings

  • 15CCEM Edinburgh, UK, 2003
  • 14 CCEM Halifax, Canada, 2000
  • 13 CCEM Gaborone. Botswana, 1997
  • 12 CCEM Islamabad, Pakistan, 1994
  • 11CCEM Barbados, 1990
  • 10CCEM Nairobi, Kenya, 1987
  • 9CCEM Nicosia, Cyprus, 1984
  • 8CCEM Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1980
  • 7CCEM Accra, Ghana, 1977
  • 6CCEM Kingston, Jamaica, 1974
  • 5CCEM Canberra, Australia, 1971
  • 4CCEM Lagos, Nigeria, 1968
  • 3 CCEM Ottawa, Canada, 1964
  • 2CCEM New Delhi, India, 1962
  • 1CCEM Oxford, UK, 1959

 

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