Thai Department of Non-Formal Education Chosen as Winner of 1998 ESCAP HRD Award

The Non-Formal Education Department of Thailand, part of the Thai Ministry of Education, has been selected as the winner of the 1998 ESCAP Human Resources Development Award. An independent Jury made the selection on 24 February, highlighting the important role of Government in mainstreaming non-formal adult education programmes in socio-economic development. The 1998 Award, which carries a prize of US$ 30,000, had received over 100 applications. The 1998 HRD Award has been made possible through the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands.

In its report announcing the winner, an independent jury of experts said it had selected the Non-Formal Education Department as the winner of the Award "in view of its long-term impact in increasing literacy in Thailand on a mass scale, its success in promoting non-formal education at the grass-roots level, and its effort in incorporating learner-centred changes in adult education." It also said the Jury wanted to highlight the important role of Government in mainstreaming non-formal adult education programmes in socio-economic development.

The Jury also selected the following three runners-up:

Micronesian Seminar, Federated States of Micronesia, in recognition of its programmes to address the adult education needs of the Pacific island countries/territories;
Shanghai TV University, China, in recognition of its success in adopting distance education techniques, particularly in reaching isolated groups, and expanding life-long learning; and
Proshika, Bangladesh, in recognition of its approach to education and development through community participation in the process of learning and empowerment.

The Award-winner will receive a prize of US$ 30,000 in the form of a grant in support of further work in adult education. The 1998 HRD Award has been made possible through the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands.

Nearly one out of four adults in the world is unable to read or write or do simple arithmetic. Many more people lack the basic knowledge and skills they need to be responsible parents, efficient workers and active citizens. Efforts to impart knowledge and skills are basically focussed on the younger generations, leaving a sizeable proportion of the adult population out of reach. Adult basic education refers to all forms of organized education and training that meet the basic learning needs of adults, including literacy and numeracy, as well as the general knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that they require to survive, develop their capacities, live and work in dignity, improve the quality of their lives, make informed decisions, and continue learning.

The Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning, adopted by the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education held in July 1997, stressed that adult learning is crucial to promote the effective participation of men and women in every sphere of life to meet the challenges of the future. Much useful work is currently being undertaken in the region to support this goal. The 1998 ESCAP HRD Award aimed to support this work through recognition of innovative achievement by governments, NGOs and the private sector, in promoting adult learning and adult education.

ESCAP established the ESCAP HRD Award in 1990. The Award is presented annually in recognition of exemplary work in the field of human resources development (HRD). Criteria for selection of the award winner included:

Degree of HRD commitment
Responsiveness to the needs of the target group
Innovativeness of the approach
Impact
Sustainability of the activity

Past winners of the Award are shown in the table below:

Year	Theme	Winner
1990	HRD Aspects of the Environment	Asian NGO Coaltion for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), Philippines
1992	HRD Aspects of Drug Abuse Demand Reduction	Dr. Wan Wenpeng, Yunnan Mental Hospital, Kunming, China
1994	HRD for Women in Extreme Poverty	Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Bangladesh
1995	HRD for Productive Employment of Youth	Social Work and Research Centre (Barefoot College), India
1996	People's Participation in Community Development	Sungi Development Foundation, Pakistan
1997	Empowering the Urban Poor	Human Development Centre, Thailand
1998	HRD for Adult Ecucation	Department of Non-Formal Education, Thailand

Click here for a feature on the work of the Department of Non-Formal Education.