With the kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, the organizers of the “1Goal: Education for All” campaign reiterate the alarming fact that 72 million children are still deprived of access to education, despite the pledges a number of States made in Dakar, then in New York in 2000, to get all under fifteen year-olds into school by 2015. 16 billion dollars will be needed each year if these goals are to be reached.

Zinedine Zidane, Mikael Sylvestre, Christian Karembeu: a total of 150 football players and FIFA are taking part in this campaign to call on governments to adopt a 10-pronged action plan. These measures are a wake-up call to the urgent need for a new agreement to be reached between rich and developing countries: rich countries must pledge to increase their spending on education in the framework of official development assistance (ODA) and developing countries must earmark at least 20% of their budgets for education. Laure Adler, a writer, journalist and member of 1Goal’s honorary committee in France: “72 million children in the world are deprived of basic education. The choice for leaders is simple: either they provide the money for education for all, or they abandon millions of youths to their fate. We have high hopes for the education summit in South Africa which should pave the way for each child to learn to read and write before the 2014 World Cup kicks off in Brazil”.

Some countries, such as Sweden, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany or the United Kingdom, have contributed to the financial efforts required to achieve the goal of universal primary education. France makes considerable efforts to support education every year. In 2008 it continued to be the biggest international donor in the sector with a 1.8 billion dollar contribution. However, the bulk of this aid is earmarked for higher education and it must focus its efforts more on basic education in order to be more in line with its main partners.

Bernard Lama, a former football player, President of the Diambars Institute and a 1Goal ambassador: “Kids are on the street instead of being in school. We do not give them the opportunity to learn and they are going to have to fight to get a job when they grow up. It is the responsibility of each government to educate these kids, but in Africa some governments do not give enough money to schools. Africa needs to adapt in order to build a better future. High-quality education must be provided all over the world, not just in Europe and America. It is up to us to turn this goal into reality”.

Among the recommendations to rich countries:

provide an additional 16 billion dollars a year for basic education with a focus on Africa and fragile States;
ensure that aid is effectively allocated to the most essential and most relevant needs in education.

Developing countries in turn must:

pledge to mobilize sizeable domestic resources for education with a target of 20% of the State budget allocated to the education sector, including 50% for the primary cycle;
guarantee free education for families;
recruit and train teachers and provide suitable pedagogical material.

No country has ever managed to achieve continued and swift economic growth without at least a 40% literacy rate among its population. We also know today that one more year spent in school for an age cohort can be associated with a 0.37% GDP gain in the long term for any given country.

Denis Masseglia, President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee and ambassador of the 1Goal campaign adds: “Football has always brought people together and bridged differences; this World Cup provides a unique opportunity to combine a sports championship with a gathering of Heads of State, so that we can come up with the money needed to get all these children into school. Getting all children in the world into school goes way beyond a simple political vision. We all dream of seeing this World Cup leave a sustainable legacy for future generations”.

1GOAL is a campaign that aims to rally world leaders to keep their promises for 2015. It is coordinated by the Global Campaign for Education and is part a far-reaching global initiative to promote education. In France, the torch is carried by Solidarité Laïque and the campaign is supported by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Agence Française de Développement, the Diambars Institute and other institutional partners. In 2000, governments from all over the world defined the Millennium Development Goals. Two of these 8 goals concern education for all which involves allowing all children to achieve a full course of primary education by 2015. Since then, many countries have abolished school fees and 40 million more children have consequently been able to go to school.

For more information www.soutenir1but.org

Events for "1Goal" from June 8 to July 11 in South Africa (French version)