1GOAL Welcomes Decision to Host a Summit for Education at the 2010 World Cup

Press Release

4 March 2010

London, UK: 1GOAL: Education for All campaign today welcomed the news from President Zuma’s meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown that South Africa will host a global summit on education during the World Cup this summer. 
 
Adrian Lovett, Chair of the 1GOAL campaign committee, said:
“Today’s announcement that there will be an education summit gives real political momentum to the campaign to ensure all children go to school.  The world’s greatest game could leave the world’s greatest legacy: an education for every child.  We look to world leaders, led by President Zuma, to ensure Africa's first World Cup unlocks the school gates to 72 million children that currently cannot get in.”

• It is anticipated that $16 billion a year, just under 0.2 percent of what is being spent on bailing out the global banks, is required to make this reality happen and at the moment only $4 billion is spent on global education.
• The 1GOAL campaign is for the first time looking to secure change for millions of people using a sporting event as a backdrop for social change. It is backed by FIFA and footballing heroes such as Zinedine Zidane, Sir Bobby Charlton and Marcel Desailly.
• Since the 1998 World Cup in France 40 million children have been put into school through new aid. 72 million children are still denied an education and campaigners want all of them to have the chance to go to school before the next World Cup in 2014.

Aaron Mokoena, South Africa’s Captain and 1GOAL Ambassador who met with President Zuma said:
“I am delighted that the Government of South Africa has decided to host a summit for education for all children. Under President Zuma’s leadership South Africa has made huge strides in getting all of its children into school and the challenge is for this to spread across the continent. Now is the time for the international community to act and establish a legacy from this year’s World Cup that will benefit millions of children.”
 
***ENDS***

Notes to editors:
 
About 1GOAL: Education for all
In 2000, 164 world governments came together to create the UN Millennium Development Goals. 2 of the 8 goals involve ending poverty through providing education for all:

• To ensure that all boys and girls complete primary schooling by 2015.
• To ensure that girls have the opportunity for education at all levels by 2015.

They promised to make sure there was enough money and that the policies were in place to make it a reality. Since then many countries have abolished school fees, spending was increased by $4 billion and an extra 40 million children are now going to school.
 
1GOAL is an initiative to mobilise support to hold world leaders to these promises for 2015. 1GOAL is run by the Global Campaign for Education and is part of a large global education initiative: the Class of 2015.
 
The campaign, launches on April 20th 2010 and will run up until the World Cup final on July 11th will engage and mobilise the World Cup audience through films, digital & print channels globally, involving some of the biggest Broadcasters, Sponsors, Players, Teams And Nations In The World.
 
Individual supporters who have signed up for 1GOAL, include:  Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah Of Jordan; Co-Founder And Global Co-Chair, Jacob Zuma, President, South Africa;  Hillary Clinton US; Secretary Of State; Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero; President, Spain; Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, UK; Ban Ki-Moon; Secretary-General, United Nations; Kevin Rudd; Prime Minister, Australia; Sepp Blatter; President, FIFA; Bono;  Eusébio, Portugal; Gary Lineker, England; Josep Guardiola, Barcelona; (Manager); Marcel Desailly, France; Mia Hamm, USA; Michael Essien, Ghana; Rio Ferdinand, England; Robin Van Persie; Netherlands;  Robinho, Brazil; Thierry Henry, France; Tim Cahill, Australia; Tim Howard, USA; Zinedine Zidane, France, among many others.
 
Find 1GOAL here:

Website:  www.join1goal.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1GOAL
Twitter: http://twitter.com/join1goal
Videos: www.youtube.com/user/join1goal
Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/1goal
 
About the Global Campaign for Education & Class of 2015

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is the co-ordinator and founding member of the Class of 2015 and 1GOAL. GCE is a network of major non-governmental organisations (NGOs), teachers' unions and civil society in more than 120 countries, founded in 1999. Every year GCE runs a Global Action Week promoting access to education as a basic human right and campaigning for urgent action on education, with more than 10 million people taking part. www.campaignforeducation.org.
 
The Class of 2015 was launched at the UN summit in New York in September 2008. Class of 2015 launch signatories include Bono, Sir Bob Geldof, Gordon Brown, Jose Manuel Barroso, Robert Zoellick, Kevin Rudd, Queen Rania as well as the leaders of many charities and teaching trade unions. The full list can be seen at: http://www.classof2015.org FIFA joined the Class of 2015, with a pledge from Sepp Blatter for the 2010 World Cup to leave a lasting legacy of education in Africa and the rest of the world.
 
Press contacts:
 
Sam Barratt
cell: +44 7818 406050
sam@join1goal.com
 
Alex Kent
cell: +27 76 428 5390
office: +27 11 447 4111
alex@join1goal.org