© World Vision
Arnel Alipao, 18, promotes Disaster Risk Reduction programmes and climate change awareness.

MANILA, Philippines, 5 December 2011 – “We cannot really change the world, but we can change ourselves for the world,” said Arnel Alipao, an 18-year-old youth advocate from Mainit, Surigao del Norte, in the Philippines.

© Blanchard Baembe/August 2011Democratic Republic of Congo - Children of the Bikoro II ECD

By Taleen Vartan

NEW YORK, USA, 12 December 2011 – The earliest years of a child’s life are pivotal, both for the child’s immediate well-being and for his or her future development. Effective investments in early childhood development (ECD) have the potential to reduce disparities exacerbated by poverty, poor nutrition and limited learning opportunities.

Through UNICEF’s Back on Track programme on education in emergencies and post-crisis transition, children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are benefiting from the establishment of ECD centres, where preschool-aged children have access to high-quality, developmentally appropriate services and psychosocial support.

© UNICEF/Zimbabwe/2011/Mutseyekwa
After receiving a school grant, Ellen Mbedzi was able to return to classes at Mafeha Primary School in Bulilima, Zimbabwe.

By Tapuwa L. Mutseyekwa

The Global Partnership for Education has helped more than 19 million children go to school for the first time. A campaign to renew support for these efforts will culminate in a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November. This series of stories seeks to highlight the Partnership’s work in the lead-up to this event.

BULILIMA, Zimbabwe, 7 December 2011 – After completing the fourth grade at the top of her class, 13-year-old Ellen Mbedzi was forced to drop out of Mafeha Primary School in Bulilima, a district in south-western Zimbabwe. Her unemployed father did not see the value of spending the family’s limited resources on a girl.

© UNICEF Nepal/2011
A case study on Nepal is part of the UNICEF research project on Education and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Contexts. Other case studies include Lebanon and Sierra Leone.

By Shimali Senanayake

NEW YORK, United States, 7 December 2011 – Education can play a key part in the prevention and transformation of violent conflicts. In an effort to investigate what role UNICEF can play to realize this mission, a team of researchers presented their global findings at a brown-bag discussion on Friday, titled “Education and Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Contexts.”

UNICEF education staff share their stories

NEW YORK, 4 January 2012 – We asked UNICEF education staff around the globe to tell us about their most inspiring moment they experienced in 2011. Something that they would not forget and reminded them why they chose this profession. Here are some of their stories.

UNICEF education staff share their stories

NEW YORK, 4 January 2012 – We asked UNICEF education staff around the globe to tell us about their most inspiring moment they experienced in 2011. Something that they would not forget and reminded them why they chose this profession. Here are some of their stories.