The Equitable Education Alliance (EEA; est. 2020), co-chaired by Equitable Education Fund (Thailand) and the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Bangkok, is a community of practitioners in South-East Asia belonging to organizations, government ministries, agencies, and NGOs who advocate for a more inclusive and equitable educational system in the region, while simultaneously enhancing the performance of existing equitable education organizations at all levels.

The Alliance convenes at least two meetings annually to discuss and improve equity in education through collaborative efforts. A total of 14 countries^[1] and 17 local and international organizations^[2] have participated in these meetings, to date, mutually sharing the expertise they are applying to the promotion and fostering of equity in education systems regionally through four principal areas: 1) Legal Framework Policy Development; 2) Budgeting and Financing Mechanisms; 3) Delivery and Implementation Systems; and 4) Monitoring & Evaluation.

The 8th EEA Meeting will highlight the theme, ‘Monitoring and Evaluation Towards Sustaining Equitable Education’ as it applies to the national the local levels. The Meeting will consist of two parts, namely a public session and a closed-door, ‘EEA-member-only’ session. The 8th EEA Meeting also aims to initiate potential collaborative opportunities and identify contact points that might together act as a basis for further development of the EEA itself and to develop key EEA activities and plans for monitoring their progress throughout the remainder of 2023.

Complementing the annual EEA meetings, the Equitable Education Hub (EquityEdHub or EEH) was launched in 2022 as a knowledge-sharing hub to 1) enable learners from around the world to readily access content on several topics pertaining the EEA’s goals towards improving equity in education through collaborative efforts; and 2) to provide substantive and technical support to those in need. 

Objectives of the 8th EEA Meeting (Webinar)

Public Session:

1. Showcase the EEA tool, ‘Education Scalability Checklist’, which supports governments, funders, and education organizations to scale up effective education initiatives. In addition, showcase the measurement and impact evaluation of online training scholarships for the working-age population in Indonesia.
2. Discuss the knowledge sharing and practices to adapt innovative learning of monitoring and evaluation towards sustaining equitable education.
3. Share knowledge and practices for adapting innovative learning of monitoring and evaluation towards sustaining equitable education.

Closed-Door Session (EEA members only):

1. Introduce new EEA members
2. Report and discuss the progress of identified activities by lead organizations
3. Brainstorm and formulate key information and case studies in a co-publication workshop
4. Share additional collaboration opportunities for Q4 2023.

Participants

• Local education administrators, district directors, school principals, teachers, and partners promoting equity in education
• Potential EEA members, including government agencies, policy-makers, NGOs, academics, and like-minded organizations and countries
• EEA members, including Member States, countries and organization representatives, practitioners, technical experts, and international agencies that advocate and work towards equitable education

Dates and Venue

Thursday, 31 August 2023, online webinar, 13.30–14.45 (UTC+7)

Zoom Link: https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JG0GB_nJTI6w5rKBjsfYhA

Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the proceedings. Note: The capacity of the Zoom meeting is 500 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

The 8th Meeting will be live-streamed on the EEH Facebook page in English, and on the EEF Thailand Facebook page in Thai. This is a bilingual session with a Thai translation service provided throughout the program.

[1] Australia, Canada, China, Finland, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Republic of Panama, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Viet Nam.

[2] Australian Education Research Organization (AERO), Educate A Child (EAC), Equitable Education Fund (EEF) Thailand, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE), Pratham, Promise Neighborhoods, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), SIL International, UNESCO Bangkok, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO), UNICEF Thailand, VVOB – Education for Development, and World Bank.