Barely a third of some country's populations are literate. These include the African countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea. Worldwide, more than 70 million children have no access to education-- This is even more than all the children who are enrolled in primary schools across Europe, USA, Canada, and Australia.  Common among these children who do not have an access to education is poverty  and the dream of  being able to step into a classroom someday.  

Why 1Goal: Education for All?

This year is a landmark moment for South Africa. The FIFA World Cup will be the first ever World Cup to be held on the African continent. As the world’s eyes turn to Africa this June to witness the football players achieve their goal to win, football stars will help persuade the world leaders to achieve a single goal that is the Education for All to end poverty.

1GOAL will be asking all leaders to make Education for All a reality. Everyone can show their support to this campaign by signing up at the 1Goal website.

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) will support this campaign by once again reminding governments around the world of every child’s right to education; so that they will be given the chance to beat poverty. The week of April 19 is GCE’s annual week of action for education. This year’s Global Action Week’s theme is Financing Quality Public Education: A Right for All. GCE believes that world leaders have the power, the resources, and the knowledge to make Education for All possible.

Global Action Week 2010 will be different from past Action Weeks in that it will be the start of the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign expected to go big in the final weeks before the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This means that Action Week will complement 1GOAL: Education for All to increase popular demands for Education for All by 2015. This will require renewed and special efforts, quite different from usual mobilizations. There will be a need to increase the field of traditional supporters and find new support bases in order to achieve the objective of turning the rhetoric on education into tangible positive action, especially on financing. (Watch the ‘Education for All’ film made by Richard Curtis below. It explains more.)

What are the policy demands for the 1Goal Campaign?

Call on leaders of developing countries to:

• Invest in the future - spend 20% on education.
• Abolish the fees that prevent many children going to schools.
• Provide professional teachers for a quality education.
• Ensure children are in school, not work.

Call on leaders of developed countries to:

• Provide the fair share of funding so that every child will have a chance in life.
• Work Together - have a global approach.
• Invest in ending the shortage of teachers and books.
• Include countries in greatest need.