HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the Unesco special envoy on basic and higher education, gave an address on the Educate A Child programme to an elite group of some of the New York city’s best-known philanthropists who gathered at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
The Educate A Child programme is designed to tackle the plight of 61mn out-of-school children around the world and those who are denied access to quality primary education.
“These 61mn have been forgotten by the world. It is unacceptable. Educate A Child has set itself the goal of reaching 10mn of these by the end of 2015. This may sound ambitious, but I know it is possible. In just four months, we have reached out to 600,000. There is so much to do, but we cannot do it alone,” said HH Sheikha Moza.
The guests were treated to a special performance from jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis, with special guest Chick Corea. The evening was hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center and Qatar Airways who both announced their support to the Educate A Child programme at a press conference.
Educate A Child seeks to provide a quality primary education to children affected by conflict, natural disasters and restrictive cultural practices. After a series of field trips by Sheikha Moza, Educate A Child was launched in Doha last November and has already found school places for over 600,000 children.
Educate A Child has partnered with numerous NGOs and other organisations to seek outinnovate ways of providing education.
It was founded as a direct result of Sheikha Moza’s mandate as a Unesco special envoy on basic and higher education, a UN Millennium Development Goal advocate and a steering committee member of UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s Global Education First initiative.
Addressing the function, Jazz at Lincoln Center chairman, Robert Appel, said: “Jazz at Lincoln Center, Educate A Child and Qatar Airways enter this unique relationship with a shared vision to enrich the lives of as many children as possible through education.
“Building an appreciation for the arts and advancing education are central to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission. We are proud to support and help raise awareness for Educate A Child’s cause.
“Education is a core tenet of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission. Through various education initiatives, Jazz at Lincoln Center strives to foster an appreciation for jazz and underscore the importance of arts and culture in global society”.
The organisation plans to leverage its global audience and institutional assets (concerts, tours, special events, education programmes and recorded music) to raise awareness for Educate A Child’s important work.
The Educate A Child programme is working on more than 25 projects in about 17 countries. It is currently supporting a number of projects in Bangladesh, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda and Yemen.