Luanda - The process of transforming educational systems, innovative financing practices in the African context and the role of women in the process of peace, security and development at African level marked, this Thursday, the second day of the Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace - Luanda Biennial.
The agenda for this second day also included the approach of “Challenges and opportunities for the integration of the African continent and the prospects for economic growth” and “Climate change: ethical challenges, impact, adaptation and vulnerability”.
When called to address “The process of transforming educational systems: innovative financing practices in the African context”, the minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Angola, Maria do Rosário Bragança, recognized the need for urgent transformation of the African educational system, with a view to offering greater quality and competence in the training of staff for the development of the continent.
According to the minister, for education aimed at the “Culture of Peace” to occur, there must be an urgent transformation of the education system, a process recognized by African education ministers and UNESCO.
For the minister, despite the advances seen over the last five decades in access to education, especially for girls and women, there has also been a deterioration in the quality of education, as there is no investment in teachers who are the driving force in the development of education.
On the same target, the African Union's Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mohamed Belhocine, said that on the continent, particularly below the Sahara, there are 98 million children outside the education system, a fact which could constitute a threat to society if the educational system is not changed.
Regarding the second topic, the special envoy of the president of the African Union Commission (AUC), Bineta Diop, defended the need to give greater space and attention to women in prevention and peace negotiation processes on the continent.
According to Bineta Diop, it is imperative to invest in the female gender, taking into account the capacity and role that women can develop in issues and actions of pacification and development in Africa.
For her part, the regional secretary of the Pan-African Organization of Women for Southern Africa, Angolan Luzia Inglês, spoke about the need for recognition and greater affirmation of gender, with a view to the development of the continent in several areas.
In her opinion, the inclusion of women's social and security agenda in a peace process leads to greater sustainability of its results in war prevention, as the deepest concerns linked to gender are taken into account.
The Luanda Biennial contributes to the implementation of the "Action Plan for a Culture of Peace in Africa", adopted in March 2013, in Luanda, Angola, within the scope of the African Union campaign "Act for Peace".
It is in line with Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 17 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, the seven Implementations of the African Union's Agenda 2063, "The Africa We Want", as well as the "Silencing the Guns in Africa" initiative by 2030.
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