Foreword

International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED) was established by UNESCO and the Chinese government in 1994 with a mandate to promote sustainable socio economic development in rural areas. As a Category II centre under the auspices of UNESCO, INRULED’s research and training activities concentrate on education for rural transformation.

During 2014-2015, the research programmes themed on skills development, gender equality and women leadership, teacher education as well as ICT for rural education have continued to provide high quality materials and training, with fruitful products of publications widely disseminated, coming as A Comparative Study on the Role of Universities in Transformation of Knowledge and Skills in Rural Areas, Education, Media and Sexuality Health Services for Girls and Women, Rural Women’s and Girls’ Participation and Leadership for Community Development, Developing Support Systems for Rural Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development, Approach of ICT in Education for Rural Development, etc. to share with relevant stakeholders and serve for the implementation of EFA and post 2015 development agenda.

INRULED’s capacity building activities are based on the training modules or materials developed from the researches carried out by different programme groups. Following the Africa targeted trainings organized previously, INRULED continued the 21 day Seminar on Education and Rural Development in 2014 for 28 participants from 14 developing countries. In 2015, sponsored by UNESCO and Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, INRULED and Beijing Normal University (BNU) coorganized the International Seminar on Girls’ and Women’s Education for 14 project countries in Africa and Asia under two UNESCO China Funds in Trust projects.

Since 1994, we have continuously been generating knowledge and approaches that can power the rural transformation through education and training. Yet we cannot do it alone. That requires INRULED to work closely with all stakeholders across the globe   in rural education and rural development. During this biennium, INRULED participated actively in UNESCO Bangkok’s programmes and activities and enhanced its cooperation with other Institutes and Centres within the UNESCO framework. Within China, INRULED has received strong support from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Commerce, the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all those organizations and individuals who have contributed to the development of INRULED.

The main text of the following report attests to the achievements of INRULED and the progress made towards its goal of improving education for rural transformation. As always, we are expecting to better fulfill our missions in collaboration with our partners and relevant stakeholders in the coming years.

Mr. Dong Qi

Director, UNESCO INRULED