Following a consultancy visit to Almaty, Kazakhstan, by Lidra Remacka and David Selby in February 2002, during which UNICEF staff, higher education and NGO representatives from the five UNICEF CARK (Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan) countries attended a presentation and workshop, the decision was made to conduct an area global education initiative. To this end, a proposal for an eight-year project proposal was drawn up and agreed, and UNICEF CARK has budgeted for the period 2002-4, with the  expectation that the initiative will also figure in the following quinquennial plan of action.  Initial country workshops, leading to the formation of National Core Teams (NCTs) were held in Kyrgyszstan (July 2002), Uzbekistan (July 2002), Tajikistan (December 2002), Kazakhstan (December 2002) and Turkmenistan (December 2002) with follow-up workshops taking place between December 2002 and April 2003.  In February 2003 a three-strand (project evaluation, student assessment, effective leadership) CARK area workshop was held, with representatives from each NCT participating in each strand. Workshops for NCTs, Principal/Distruct Administrators, and Teachers are scheduled for summer 2003 prior to school year 2003/4 field tests in designated experimental schools of new grade 1 and 5 curriculum materials developed by NCTs and IIGE. For details, contact Nurper Ulkuer, Head of Child Development Section, UNICEF CARK <nulkuer@unicef.org > or Fumiyo Kagawa, IIGE Project Coordinator <fkagawa@oise.utoronto.ca>.

 For this project, IIGE is working in partnership with faculty from the College of St Mark & St John, Plymouth, England.  Faculty team members are: David Selby, Lee Bartel, Linda Cameron, Jim Christophers, Paul Grosch, Cliff Harris, Keith Jones, Steve Lloyd, Pat McGovern, David Oddie.  Graduate team members include:  Lee Benstead, Neil Boland, Teri Burgess, Sameena Eidoo, Antonino Giambrone, Fumiyo Kagawa (Graduate Co-ordinator), Heather Reid, Lidra Remacka, Jeanette Romkema, Marli Santos. 

A copy of Global Education in the Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan: An Interim Evaluation Report, by Lee Bartel, IIGE/UNICEF CARK, January 2003, 140pp, is available for consultation in the IIGE Resource Centre.