The article Global Population: From explosion to implosion? by Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of Unesco, in yesterday’s Mail&Guardian, addresses the population explosion and asks whether it might turn into an “implosion” due to the demographics of age and childbearing and their different impacts in the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. It’s important to read, and not too long or too hard (because statistics always have a slightly numbing and distancing effect, I think, as opposed to personal stories that engage one’s empathy but are therefore sometimes very draining).
The best part about it, for me, is the conclusion, which clearly shows a way forward by focusing on priorities for action. Essentially, it’s one priority — education to develop “knowledge societies” that have the expertise and knowhow to solve their problems, but within that, the first priority is basic education for women and the second the development of a culture of life-long learning for all:
Life-long education for all ought to be recognised as an essential priority as well, for this is the answer to ageing populations and rising life expectancy. As knowledge and skills become outdated more rapidly, and people face the need to keep up by retraining or changing occupation, the demand for education is increasingly going to become a life-long matter. At bottom, this is good news: the world population will become older, admittedly, but individual humans will spend more of their lives in what counts as “youth” — for they will never stop learning.
What’s great about this for me is that it’s reinforced my thoughts about where best to spend money that I’ve earmarked for charity (and probably also some that I hadn’t, as I reflect on just how important this is). Education, education, education. Particularly for women. Particularly for those women where knowledge and competence will make the greatest difference in their and their families’ lives. Educating the most disadvantaged girls and women could have a profound effect on the population balance and also enable increasingly more people to look after themselves. It’s in everyone’s interest, even that of those who still don’t care.
Tia Azulay 28Sep07
Copyright © 2007 Tia Azulay
LOL! I think your gender agenda is showing. How about setting education as a priority period, as opposed to education for females.
Jonolan, if males and females were currently equally well educated, that would be fair enough. However, as the article I refer to indicates, the major need is among females, so if I have to choose where my limited input can go, that’s where it’ll go. I’m not suggesting males should be less educated as a result, you understand, just that more women should receive at least a similar standard of education as men do.
Way better to have a gender agenda than none. An “agenda” might mean the desire to control, but it could simply be the sacred place of passion, from which you will actually achieve something. I am being forced by circumstance to look much more closely at the isssue of education and specifically for my girls.
Yay, thanks, Nic! Educate them girls good, hear?