Interview of the month Chow Ching Ling – a passionate advocate of arts education Chow Ching Ling uses her influence as an internationally-renowned concert pianist to defend arts education and young artists. UNESCO Mozart Prize laureate and Chevalier des arts et de lettres (France), Chow Ching Ling is behind the prestigious Beijing- and Paris-based MIDO Prize and supports several charities, including a foundation in her native China that helps poor children get an arts education. Together with Mstislav Rostropovitch she launched the UNESCO Appeal for the Promotion of Arts Education and Creativity at School in 1999. More Coming Up Call for nominations: UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2010 (before 15 June) Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, has invited the Organization’s Member States to submit two nominations for the 2010 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes.   Eighth E-9 Ministerial Review Meeting Abuja Nigeria, 21- 24 June 2010 “Literacy for Development” is the theme of the Eighth E-9 Ministerial Review Meeting to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 21 to 24 June 2010. The meeting is being jointly organized by UNESCO and the Federal Government of Nigeria.   New dates for Moscow conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, 27-29 September 2010 The three-day event will be the first major global conference dedicated to the theme and will gather participants from 193 UNESCO member states and world experts to reaffirm the role of ECCE as a right for every child and as the basis for the development of nations.   Roundup UNESCO launches a new website on Gender Equality in Education There is a powerful human rights argument and a strong developmental case for achieving gender equality in education. It is an affordable investment with high returns. When girls are educated, livelihoods are improved, education is valued, and civic responsibility is enhanced.   UNESCO celebrated 2010 Global Action Week (19-25 April), UNESCO mobilized its field offices and numerous EFA partners, including members of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet), to take part in 2010 Global Action Week (19-25 April), whose theme was “Financing quality public education for all”.   Mr Qian Tang appointed Assistant Director-General for Education Mr Qian Tang of China is a specialist in secondary and technical education. He has been an educator and a diplomat as well as a technical and professional education manager at China’s Ministry for Education.   UNESCO helps to develop a special syllabus for the return to school in Haiti Children in Port-au-Prince are beginning to return to school, almost five months after the deadly earthquake on 12 January. But their normal lessons were replaced by a special syllabus developed by UNESCO and the Haitian Ministry of Education.