On the occasion of the Arab Day for the Eradication of Illiteracy, The Foundation of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for Knowledge and the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States - Beirut, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program in the Arab Countries, organized a regional conference about "Illiteracy Challenge 2020 in the Arab Region" in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates, on February 24th-25th, 2020.
Mr. Ziyad Mahmoud Maiman, The Director of Adult Education and Cultural Development at the Ministry of Culture, participated in this conference, and presented the experience of the Syrian Arab Republic in the field of adult education, the initiative of university students in the education process, in addition to statistics of those who were freed from illiteracy, and the number of classes opened during the period between 2015 -2019.
Besides, he had an intervention on curriculum development in coordination with the Ministry of Education and UNESCO according to the vision that is relied upon in accordance with the ages of the learners, and another intervention on the need for private and public media to adopt the idea of supporting adult education through drama, or through a brief presentation of people who have passed Literacy stage, and they continued their education and reached the university, while highlighting their stories to be role models for others.
During the discussions, Mr. Maiman called for the need for coordination and cooperation between all parties to work on literacy in the liberated areas, and to present initiatives for joint action, like some parties and organizations that offer initiatives for adult education in Syria
The conference concluded several pivots called the "Dubai Declaration"
As part of the following up this declaration and responding to the Corona pandemic, Mr. Ziad Mahmoud Mayman participated in the virtual workshop on lifelong learning, organized by the UNESCO Regional bureau for Education in the Arab States - Beirut on June 6th, 2020
During which he talked about the Ministry of Culture's initiative in adult remote education, which was launched as part of the procedures to address the Coronavirus, which had met with good interaction. The adult education departments in the Syrian governorates provided video clips and educational audio clips, as well as health counseling and education to prevent the Corona virus, asserting on the continuation of this initiative within adult education courses, and sending it to some learners who could not reach adult education classes