Newsletters

Dear Friends,

April greetings from Aflatoun!

We are in full gear preparing for the Mid-Campaign Meeting in Cairo this July 5-7, 2009, where Egypt's First lady HE Mrs. Suzan Mubarak will convene Aflatoun country programmes and interested stakeholders from all sectors.

Launched in March 2008, the Campaign aims to bring the Aflatoun curriculum to 1 million children in 75 countries by the end of 2010. With your help, we are now well on the way, with over 540,000 children in 22 countries as of this month! For more information on the Mid-Campaign Meeting and how you can take part visit: www.Aflatoun.org/?meeting2009.

April Headlines

This April we celebrate Aflatoun's global partnership with UNICEF, as we move forward together to promote children's social and financial empowerment through country collaborations!

This month Aflatoun held a Non-Formal Education Workshop on April 1-3 in Amsterdam to further the contextualization of its curriculum to fit the needs of vulnerable children and non-formal education (NFE).

We also congratulate Aflatoun's Latin American partners who just concluded their first 2009 Latin American Regional Meeting April 13-15 in El Salvador. April's The Aflatoun Network Talks features a quote from an Aflatoun Stakeholder from Mongolia, showcasing how more and more friends are becoming “Aflatouned” and taking the Aflatoun concept and implementing wherever they go.

Also, we highlight our commitment to the UNCRC this month with a reminder on A Child's Right under Article 30—can you guess what it is about?

Finally, thanks to our followers on Facebook and Twitter—find out below how you can also friend and follow Aflatoun via Facebook and Twitter below.

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UNICEF and Aflatoun launch global partnership!

This month Aflatoun and UNICEF announce their global strategic partnership to support children's social and financial empowerment worldwide. UNICEF and Aflatoun are working together to incorporate the Aflatoun curriculum and approach into UNICEF's “Child-Friendly Schools,” a programme for quality rights-based education. UNICEF will also support Aflatoun's mission by sharing its network and influence through introductions to local education and other government institutions, as well as to UNICEF partners in civil society and the private sector. UNICEF is the global leader in children's development and works in 190 countries through country programmes and National Committees. A number of UNICEF country offices are already working with Aflatoun Programmes and we hope to jumpstart more collaborations as we partner for children's empowerment.

Aflatoun Develops a Non-Formal Education Curriculum!

As the Aflatoun Curriculum develops to meet the educational needs of children in vulnerable or non-formal learning contexts, we are also trying to develop products that are contextualized to fit these needs. Many Aflatoun country programmes are implementing the Aflatoun Curriculum with children of micro-finance clients, alternative schools, or even with juveniles in jail. These partner organizations came together on April 1-3 in Amsterdam to share their Non-Formal Education (NFE) experiences and take part in an NFE Workshop in Amsterdam. Participating in the workshop were 6 representatives from organizations implementing Aflatoun in various contexts: LYNX-Nigeria, Sahil (Pakistan), Jordan River Foundation (Jordan), SOS Kosovo, Fundacion Paraguaya (Paraguay), CDIA/Vincularte (Paraguay) and Plan Nederland (Holland). Participants developed the framework for the new NFE curriculum, and designed some of the activities, which are more experiential than those of the original Aflatoun books.

Also in attendance were volunteers and stakeholders from the Netherlands, namely, Stichting Leerplanontwikkeling (SLO?uro;“National Center for Curriculum Development) and Financierings Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) who gave us valuable inputs for the new NFE curriculum.

Aflatoun Partners organizations in Latin America meet!

This last week in San Salvador, El Salvador Aflatoun and Plan International-El Salvador hosted the first 2009 Regional Meeting for Latin American partners to come together and share experiences. The meeting welcomed current and new Aflatoun Partners. organizations from 10 countries: El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, Paraguay, Chile, Costa Rica and Suriname. Partner representative from various civil society and microfinance organizations discussed in detail the implementation of the Aflatoun Programme, learnt from the experiences of partner organizations already implementing and discussed all the different operational models across the region. Thanks to Plan International-El Salvador for hosting a great fun-filled and informative meeting for current and new Aflatoun Partners in the region.

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The Aflatoun Network Talks

Aflatoun is gaining fans worldwide—more and more people are listening to and learning about Child Social & Financial Education (CSFE). Often, supporters become such strong believers in Aflatoun that we say they are “Aflatouned”. As they move on to new organizations or meet new friends, they are advocating for Aflatoun all on their own. One stakeholder implemented the Aflatoun Programme in Thailand with ICS Asia, and has now moved to a new position with the UNFPA in Mongolia: “Aflatoun has a place in my heart and I will look for opportunities in Mongolia as well, so we can continue working together.”

Francine Egberts is now coordinating with XAC Bank and civil society organizations to further Aflatoun in Mongolia. Like Francine, there are many others across the globe who are Aflatouned and true believers in teaching children social and financial life skills with Aflatoun. Thank you!

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The UNCRC "It's a Child's Right"

The Aflatoun Talk section on children's rights reminds us all of one “Article” or Right quoted in child-friendly language from the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

April's child right is Article 30: Children have the right to practice their own culture, language and religion ?uro;“no matter which they choose. Children of minority groups and indigenous peoples need special protection of this right, even if they are displaced or not in their place of origin.

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A final word of Thanks to Aflatoun friends on Facebook & Twitter!

This month's words of thanks are dedicated to Aflatoun friends following the Aflatoun Movement via Facebook or Twitter accounts. By following and friending Aflatoun on these social networks you show your support and can stay up to date with the newest pictures, events and news from Aflatoun Programmes worldwide. Thanks for supporting Aflatoun via new social media and networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

If you want to friend, follow or comment on Aflatoun via Facebook go to: http://www.facebook.com/people/Aflatoun-Is-Child-Empowerment/1625383235

Via Twitter go to: http://explore.twitter.com/Aflatoun.