The Strategic Review was requested by the Executive Board at its 169th session in April; the Director-General will present his report on the Strategic Review to the 170th session of the Executive Board next autumn.

Mr Matsuura outlined the process through which the Strategic Review is being conducted, highlighting the role of the Task Force established for this purpose chaired by the Deputy Director-General. Noting the extensive and intensive internal process of consultation and active participation during the past two months, the Director-General said that one immediate outcome of the Strategic Review is “the clear re-affirmation of the centrality and priority of EFA in the work of UNESCO.” He said that the Strategic Review is serving a very useful purpose , adding that its outcomes are not final but should be seen as “work-in-progress”. Feedback from Member States and a range of EFA partners would be taken into account in preparing and finalizing the report to the Executive Board.

The Director-General structured his presentation around the mandate bestowed upon UNESCO at Dakar, namely, the dual role of coordinating EFA partners and maintaining their collaborative momentum and, at the same time, refocusing its programme so that the outcomes and priorities of Dakar are placed at the heart of its work. He outlined the results of the Strategic Review regarding international coordination and partnerships, monitoring (especially the contributions of UIS and the EFA Global Monitoring Report), EFA planning, advocacy, policy dialogue, and programmatic work at international, regional, sub-regional and national levels. He placed particular emphasis on the need to strengthen cluster offices and national offices in key countries, especially to secure improved programme delivery within country-level development frameworks and planning processes.

Mr Matsuura said that the Strategic Review would not require any major restructuring of the Education sector but he called for stronger internal coordination and improved inter-sectoral and HQ-field collaboration.

In order to strengthen UNESCO’s concrete programmatic contributions to EFA, the Director-General identified three “key niches in which UNESCO can and should make a difference to EFA action at the country level”: a new literacy initiative; the Global Initiative to Expand Prevention Education against HIV/AIDS; and a special emphasis on teacher training in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, he said that UNESCO would be defining a clear policy for how it will contribute to the sixth Dakar goal on quality education. Moreover, he noted that “UNESCO’s overall approach to education in terms of its holistic, system-wide, integrated, lifelong and values-based character” had been clearly reaffirmed by the Education sector and the institutes. Finally, Mr Matsuura announced that UNESCO would strengthen its EFA communication strategy in two directions: to publicize the core EFA messages and to enhance the visibility of UNESCO’s own programmes and achievements relating to EFA.

Announcing that EFA will be the overall theme of the next General Conference in 2005, when there will be a Ministerial Round Table dedicated to EFA, the Director-General affirmed that “UNESCO is committed to strengthening its role so that it may help to further advance the EFA agenda in partnership with all the other EFA actors. ”

Following the Director-General’s address, several Permanent Delegations took the floor. They expressed general satisfaction with the Director-General’s presentation and looked forward to the discussion of his report on the Strategic Review at the forthcoming meeting of the Executive Board.