>CHIEFLINE
>April 25, 2000
>******************
>
>CCSSO (Council of Chief State School Officers) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMBACH
APPOINTED AS U.S. DELEGATE TO WORLD EDUCATION FORUM ON "EDUCATION FOR ALL"
>
>CCSSO Executive Director Gordon Ambach has been appointed to serve as a
United States delegate to the World Education Forum, held April 26 to April
28, 2000, in Dakar, Senegal.  He was appointed by U.S. Secretary of
Education Richard W. Riley, the U.S. AID Administrator, and the U.S. group
charged with preparing for the World Education Forum.
>
>Approximately 700 representatives from more than 140 countries are
participating.  The other U.S. delegates are Gene Sperling, Chairman of the
National Economic Council and Advisor to President Clinton; Thomas Fox and
Vivian Lowrey Derryck of U.S. AID, and Assistant Secretary Norma Cantu of
the U.S. Department of Education.
>
>During the forum, delegates are expected to adopt a new Framework for
Action for the development of basic education in the early years of the
21st century. The framework will outline a forceful strategy for education
for all, based on the results of the Education For All 2000 Assessment and
regional Education For All (EFA) meetings, as well as deliberations at the
World Education Forum.  Forum deliberations will focus on broad policy
issues (in plenary sessions) and key operational issues (in strategy
sessions) from the perspective of the international community. The adopted
Framework for Action will be widely disseminated in different languages to
all governments.  It also will be presented at United Nations development
conferences and special sessions of the U.N. General Assembly¯notably on
population, women, social development and children¯later this year and in
2001, as well as at the Millennium Assembly and the Millennium Summit.
>
>Executive Director Ambach will represent the Council of Chief State School
Officers and state-level education in the United States, and he also will
serve as a non-governmental organization representative. In March 1990,
Ambach served as a U.S. representative to the World Conference on Education
for All, convened in Jomtein, Thailand, to address concerns about
inadequate provisions of basic education, particularly in developing
countries.  That conference was attended by 1,500 participants from 155
countries and included representatives from 160 intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations.  During that conference, participants
adopted the "World Declaration on Education for All."  The conference in
Dakar will review progress made around the globe on concepts and
recommendations made in that statement, and will set a framework for future
progress.
>
>In preparation for U.S. participation at the Dakar conference, Ambach has
served as a member of the United States EFA 2000 Assessment Report
Oversight Commission.  That commission, with support from the Academy for
Educational Development, has produced a report about education progress in
the United States.  The report, "Education for All: A Global Commitment,"
is being made available to the International Consultative Forum on
Education for All.  CCSSO has been deeply involved in work related to the
"International Dimensions of Education" since 1985, when the topic was the
Council's major priority. The Council is engaged in several exchange
agreements with other countries and with assessments of comparisons of
educational achievement and practice across the world, such as the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study.  The Council represents the
United States in the International Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement.
>
>The World Education Forum comes at a time when the major leaders of the
nations, including those in the G8, are placing education at the top of
their agendas. A principal objective will be to assure that the concerns
for equity in education throughout the globe are a major part of policy for
both developed and developing nations.
>
>
>-30-
>
>

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