Global Action December 2009Tell the President, Congress, and Your Community: United States Leadership Is Needed to Create a New Global Fund for EducationDuring the presidential campaign in 2008, President Obama pledged $2 billion for a global education fund to ensure the 75 million primary school-aged children who are still out of school gain access to a quality education. At the September 2009 UN General Assembly meeting, he told the world he would come to the 2010 UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit with a plan to achieve the MDGs — which include Education for All. Next year, we will have only five years left to fulfill our promise to the poor and marginalized of the world to achieve the MDGs by 2015. But if current trends continue, 58 out of the 86 countries that have not yet achieved universal primary enrollment will fail to do so by that deadline. 2010 is the key year for action and a time of unprecedented global attention and support for Education for All:
But 2010 will only be a year of transformative action for global education if the U.S. is fully committed to achieving Education for All and takes concrete leadership steps to bring leaders together to create a new multilateral, multi-donor response to the education crisis — a new Global Fund for Education — that would increase global funding commitments, coordination, transparency, and accountability to achieve universal access to education. President Obama can signal his intentions to achieve Education for All by including $2 billion for a Global Fund for Education in fiscal year 2011 budget. Tell the president, tell Congress, tell your community: President Obama must take action and include funding for the Global Fund for Education in his next budget. Action #1. Tell the President: Call and Write on December 10On December 10 Education for All advocates from around the country will join together through the U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education to call the White House and request that President Obama to include $2 billion for the Global Fund for Education in his next budget (fiscal year 2011). Call On December 10: Call the White House switchboard at (202) 456-1414 and leave a message. Sample message: “I support education for all and President Obamas pledge to budget two billion dollars for a Global Fund for Education. I would like to seem him put this money in his next budget and take leadership on global education in 2011.” Leave your name, city, and state. Write today through December 10: Fill out a personal RESULTS-GCE petition and mail it back to RESULTS. Involve your community: Ask your friends, family and community member to join you in calling the President on December 10. Teach them to speak about this issue with our November laser talk. For more information and education facts, Visit our Education for All Take Action page. Action #2. Tell the Congress: Write to Your Representatives and SenatorsSend a letter to your representative and senators and ask them to write and speak to the president to urge him to include funding for a Global Fund for Education in his fiscal year 2011 budget. Instructions: Write a letter to your representative using the EPIC format (Engage, Problem, Inform, Call to action). Be sure to identify yourself as a constituent and to email and/or fax your letter, as traditional mail delivery to Capitol Hill can be delayed by weeks for security reasons. You can find your member of Congress and their contact information online
Action #3. Tell Your Community: Write a Letter to the EditorSend a letter to the editor of your state and local newspapers to inform your community about the need for U.S. leadership to create a Global Fund for Education. Use the sample letter below for guidance or download this GCE sample letter. Instructions: 1) Follow your papers guidelines for letters to the editor. 2) Try to respond to a recent news item. 3) Bring copies of your local paper to letter-writing meetings and/or have the letter-writing section of you papers website available during the meeting. 4) Include your address and phone number. Keep it short (150–200 words) and to-the-point using the EPIC format (see below). Amplify its impact by sending a copy of your published letter to your members of Congress.
Find Out MoreVisit the RESULTS education campaign website for more information about Education for All, including fact sheets on why education matters and about the Global Fund for Education. |