A new photo book keeps focus on out of school children
Entitled Challenges & Reality, the volume contains a new collection of images of out of school children by photographer Maher Attar.
“The stirring photo reportage in this new book delves into many of the barriers that children face around the world in accessing a quality primary education”,
remarked H.E. Dr. Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage for the State of Qatar, who introduced the book on behalf of EAA. “Through seeing, we can better understand the importance of the work we are doing – and why there is an urgency to maintain focus on out of school children.”
The book’s launch coincides with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which set the global development agenda for the post-2015 period. Included in the goals is a pledge to achieving the global commitment to provide primary education for all. While progress was made in the latter years of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), new challenges such as the global economic crisis, conflicts, and natural disasters have all but stalled this progress. Today, 59 million children worldwide lack access to primary education; at least one-third of them live in conflict or post-conflict areas. Although the guidelines for the adoption of the ‘Framework for Action’ were agreed upon in November, the reality is that “it will take several years for the policies to take effect on the ground,” said Marcio Barbosa, CEO of EAA.
“That’s not soon enough for the millions of children living without an education right now. We must keep working for education now. We must invest in what we know already works, scaling up successful programmes to rapidly reach as many out of school children as possible. That’s the model EAC uses, and it is effective: since its founding in 2012, with the support of its partners, EAC has put commitments in place to provide primary education to six million children, including among them one million refugee children.”
The striking collection of photos showcases children attempting to pursue an education in the midst of poverty, conflict, and the aftermath of natural disasters. Challenges & Reality revisits many of the locations captured in photographer Sebastião Salgado’s and writer/poet Cristovam Buarque’s book The Cradle of Inequality.
Maher’s work documents that millions of children living in deplorable conditions are eager to gain an education. “Let these photos remind us why we must act,” said H.E. Dr. Al Kuwari, referring to what he hopes readers take away from Challenges & Reality. “Let these photos be instruments that compel change, so that this generation may be the first to realise the goal set out 15 years ago: the goal that every child will be able to fulfil his or her right to a quality education and build a better life because of it.”
EAC would like to take this opportunity to thank its partners for their support in facilitating the work to produce Challenges & Reality, namely Aide et Action, Bharti Foundation, BRAC, British Council, Care, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Gyan Shala, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Save the Children, Schools of Tomorrow, The Citizens Foundation, UNHCR, UNICEF, and UNRWA.
