Video: Angelina Jolie at Iraq, Education, and Children of Conflict Forum
by KD Griffin
I forgot to mention this but the forum was co-sponsored by Angie’s group Education Partnership for Children of Conflict. She founded the group with Gene Speerling last year as part of the 2007 Clinton Initiative. In this video from Tuesday’s conference, she’s talks about how transformative education can be to a child of conflict.
To read additional facts about children of conflict click below. I am eternally grateful to Angelina for her continued education on this subject.
- Only 6% of refugee students are enrolled in secondary education, and even fewer opportunities exist for internally displaced youth.
- 300,000 children serve as child soldiers in armed conflicts, 40% of them girls.
- In Darfur, in northern Sudan, only 39% of primary-aged children are enrolled in school
- Only 1.5% of the total global humanitarian contributions in 2004 went toward education
- In Liberia, after 14 years of conflict, an estimated 60% of primary school students are over-age. This can lead to increased dropout rates and it also discourages families from sending their younger children to school, especially their girls, if there are over-aged boys in school. Because children in conflict-affected countries are prevented from starting school until they are older, there is often an above-average age school population
- At least 6 million children have been seriously injured or permanently disabled by armed conflict.
- From 2005 to 2006 the number almost doubled, from 6.6 million to 12.8 million, for Internally Displaced Persons receiving protection and assistance from UNHCR .
I encourage you to go to the site to learn more about the issue and if you are able to support the cause please do so.
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