HH Sheikha Moza Offers "Educate A Child” Programme at Lincoln Center Jazz in New York

New York, May 17 (QNA) - HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, the UNESCO Special Envoy on Basic and Higher Education, offered the "Educate A Child" programme to an elite of some of the New York city’s best known philanthropists who gathered at Jazz at the Lincoln Centre ,designed to address the plight of 61 million out-of-school children around the world and those who are denied access to quality primary education. In an evening attended by benefactors and celebrities, Her Highness Sheikha Moza sought to raise awareness of the 61 million children worldwide who are denied a primary school education. "These 61 million have been forgotten by the world. It is unacceptable. Educate A Child has set itself the goal of reaching 10 million of these by the end of 2015. This may sound ambitious, but I know it is possible. In just four months, we have reached out to 600,000. There is so much to do, but we cannot do it alone." said HH Sheikha Moza. The venue was Jazz at the Lincoln Centre and guests were treated to a special performance from jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis, with special guest Chick Corea. The evening was generously hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center and Qatar Airways, who had the day before, announced their support for EAC at a press conference with a multi-year programme of support. "Educate A Child" (EAC) is a programme led by Sheikha Moza that seeks to provide a quality primary education to children affected by conflict, natural disasters and restrictive cultural practices. After a series of field trips by Her Highness, EAC was launched in Doha last November and has already found school places for over 600,000 children. Today, Educate a Child (EAC), a global education programme designed to ensure every child has access to a quality education, officially announced two new worldwide partners Qatar Airways, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. In the last six months alone, the initiative has given 600,000 children the opportunity to fulfill their right to primary education, which would otherwise have been denied to them because of poverty, discrimination or conflict. "Educate A Child" has partnered with numerous NGOs and other organisations to seek out new and innovate ways of providing education. "Educate A Child" was founded as a direct result of Her Highness Sheikha Moza's mandate as a UNESCO Special Envoy on Basic and Higher Education, a United Nations Millennium Development Goal Advocate and a Steering Committee member of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Global Education First initiative. For his part, Jazz at Lincoln Center Chairman of the Board, Mr. Robert Appel said in a similar address before the evening, said: "Jazz at Lincoln Center, Educate A Child, and Qatar Airways enter this unique relationship with a shared vision to enrich the lives of as many children as possible through education. "Building an appreciation for the arts and advancing education are central to Jazz at Lincoln Center's mission. We are proud to support and help raise awareness for Educate A Child's cause, "Robert Appel added. Elaborating Appel said, "Education is a core tenet of Jazz at Lincoln Center's mission. Through various education initiatives, Jazz at Lincoln Center strives to foster an appreciation for jazz and underscore the importance of arts and culture in global society". The organisation plans to leverage its global audience and institutional assets (concerts, tours, special events, education programmes and recorded music) to raise awareness for EAC's important work. The "Educate a Child” programme is working on more than 25 projects in about 17 countries in order to support innovative programmes seeking to provide quality primary education. The programme is currently supporting a number of projects in Bangladesh, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda and Yemen. (QNA)