"Education is the foundation of all our children's success. It advances opportunity, understanding, and freedom." "All of us—as policymakers, educators, business leaders, and as parents—must work together to teach students the language of innovation."

		More Resources Photo

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt — U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today delivered the closing remarks to the 2nd Annual Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) Education Ministerial in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Secretary Spellings discussed the need for global cooperation in promoting literacy and educating all of the world's children to prepare them for the global knowledge economy. Following are her prepared remarks:

(Secretary greets in Arabic) Ladies and gentlemen, peace be upon you.

I'd like to thank Her Excellency, First Lady Mubarak and His Excellency, Dr. Youssry El Gamel for their leadership and dedication to education issues here in Egypt and the Middle East region. Thank you Minister Fursenko for your country's sponsorship on behalf of the G8. I'd also like to recognize my fellow ministers; it's an honor to be here with all of you.

(Secretary speaks in Arabic) Education is the foundation of all our children's success.

It advances opportunity, understanding, and freedom. It strengthens economies, curbs the spread of diseases, and improves the quality of life for entire populations. It gives us hope for a brighter future. It teaches us to see beyond ignorance and bigotry... and to respect and appreciate cultures that are not our own.

(Secretary speaks in Arabic) Knowledge is light.

Today more than ever, our world needs young people who have the knowledge to light our way forward.

Recent advances in technology are connecting individuals and countries around the world like never before. These connections offer entrepreneurs and businesses the chance to open new markets and serve consumers worldwide.

And they offer countries the chance to grow and dramatically improve the quality of life for their citizens.

As leaders, we find ourselves presented with the opportunity—and the challenge—of training students to not only navigate the global knowledge economy, but also help it grow. To do so, we must ensure that all of our children receive a quality education.

Unfortunately, UNESCO estimates that 771 million people worldwide are left out of the knowledge economy because they are illiterate. Two thirds are women.

And in the broader Middle East and North Africa, more than 75 million women and more than 45 million men can not read or write.

In my own country, more than 11 million adults—5 percent of our population—cannot read English. All of us share the challenge of overcoming illiteracy.

We cannot afford to lose any potential innovators—especially in regions facing high rates of unemployment. The more students we train to be entrepreneurs and creative problem solvers, the more jobs they'll create and the greater ability they'll have to improve the quality of life for others.

Here in Egypt, First Lady Mubarak has dedicated herself to the needs of this nation's children. Through the Integrated Care Society, which she founded, school children are provided with the necessary services and resources they need to learn and excel through literacy programs, health care, pre-school education, and mobile libraries. I would also like to congratulate Mrs. Mubarak on receiving the International Organization for Migration's Director General's Award for her work to improve international migration and end human trafficking. Her humanitarian efforts are improving thousands of lives.

I'm proud that my country's First Lady, Laura Bush, has also been a powerful voice for people in need as the Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade.

This September, she will host a Conference on Global Literacy in New York. The conference will showcase effective literacy programs, and provide world leaders with information on how to implement similar programs.

I hope all of you will join us for this important event that will enable more countries to benefit from the full participation of their citizens.

In addition to literacy, students need critical thinking and communication skills to succeed. Math, science, and foreign language skills are the common currency in today's economy.

Math teaches students to think analytically and to solve problems in rational, logical ways. And the language and principles are universal. After all 2+2=4 is the same throughout the world.

Science invites children to investigate our world and prepares them to fight AIDS, cure cancer, end hunger, unlock the potential of nanotechnology, and improve the lives of people around the world.

Learning new languages shows them the value of reaching out to cultures other than their own—an experience I've truly enjoyed through my own recent study of Arabic.

And as a friend of mine says, in today's economy, "you can buy in any language you want to, but you must sell in the language of your buyer."

We must ensure our education systems are keeping pace with workforce demands. This is not just an education issue; it's an economic issue, a civic issue, a social issue... and it's everybody's issue.

And as we've discussed, ICT (Information & Communications Technologies) can provide a powerful platform to help transform and strengthen education to meet the workforce needs of the 21st century.

Our higher education systems can also be a useful ally in this effort. They are keenly aware of how our students need to be equipped in the earlier grades to succeed at their institutions and beyond.

The United States certainly does not have all the answers. But my country has benefited tremendously from the business community's insight into how to reform our education system.

We've learned some valuable lessons, such as how to align our goals with employers' needs... measure student progress toward those goals... and hold ourselves accountable for reaching them.

Thanks to these principles and our landmark education reform law, the No Child Left Behind Act... our students have made more academic progress in the last 5 years than the previous 30 years combined. Yet, there is still more work to be done to reach the goal we have set for ourselves to have every child reading and doing math on grade level by 2014.

All of us—as policymakers, educators, business leaders, and as parents—must work together to teach students the language of innovation. I know it can be done.

Let's challenge ourselves to work together to put strong policies and best practices into place as we move forward.

This ministerial gives us the opportunity to go forward and make a real difference. Parents all over the world share the same dreams for their children. They want to give them a better life and the opportunity to realize their potential. We must give them that chance. It's our common calling. And together, we will answer it.

Thank you. (Secretary closes in Arabic) Thank you for your presence. And peace be upon you.

###

Top

Back to May 2006