Deadline: May 26, 2021
Nominations are open for the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education 2021. The Prize awards US$ 50,000 annually to two laureates making outstanding efforts in favour of girls’ and women’s education.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and in a context where girls and women have been disproportionately impacted by nationwide school closures, ensuring that girls and women continue learning must be a priority. UNESCO estimates that over 11 million girls and young women may not return to school following the impact of the pandemic. This is in addition to the 128 million girls who were already out of school before the pandemic.
The Prize is more significant in these challenging times than ever before. Highlighting innovations that can help us foster an equal future is key to responding to global challenges around girls’ and women’s education.
Prize
- Two laureates receive an award of US $50,000 each.
Eligibility
- Governments of UNESCO Member States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in official partnership with UNESCO are invited to nominate up to three individuals, institutions or organizations who have made strong, innovative contributions in favour of girls’ and women’s education.
- Nominated projects must be established and running for at least two years, show potential to be replicable and scalable, and contribute to one or more of the priority areas of the Prize.
Selection Criteria
The nominations will only be considered if the project/programme:
- Has a clear focus on advancing girls’ and women’s education, and the promotion of gender equality in and through education, and contributes to one or more of the five priority areas of the Prize:
- Participation: Supporting girls to transition from primary education to lower‐secondary education and to complete full basic education
- Literacy: Supporting adolescent girls and young women to acquire literacy skills
- Environment: Supporting the creation of a gender‐responsive and safe teaching‐learning environment
- Teachers: Engaging teachers to be change agents with gender-responsive teaching attitudes and practices
- Skills: Supporting girls and women to acquire knowledge/skills for life and work
- Has already been running for at least two years; and
- Shows evidence that it may be replicable, scalable and/or provide significant learning potential for initiatives in other contexts.
Nomination
Nominations must be submitted in English or French via an online platform, accessible only to National Commissions for UNESCO/Permanent Delegations to UNESCO and NGOs in official partnership with UNESCO.
Based on the recommendations of the Jury, the Director-General of UNESCO will announce the 2021 laureates who will receive the award on 11 October 2021 as part of International Day of the Girl Child celebrations.
For more information, visit UNESCO.
