Even though three-quarters of the earth is covered in water, most of this is not safe, drinkable water. In 2000, the world population was 6.2

UNESCO and the ILO TVET Reform Project joined the Ministry of Education for the inaugural session of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Capacity Strengthening Programme on 15 March 2011. This launched the first of a series of workshops held between 15 – 19 March as part of the activities of the Programme.

The Capacity Strengthening Programme will be conducted over the next twelve months and will consist of nine workshops and on-the-job exercises to enable policy makers to promote employable skills and generate work through wage-earning jobs or self-employment.

The celebration to commemorate 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry took place at the University of Dhaka on February 14, 2011. Officials, members of the media, students and faculty participated in the launching ceremony, followed by an enthusiastic rally of young students and chemists.

“It’s a great honor, a really great honor, to be here and to be a part of this and observe this kind of a program. It’s really encouraging,” says Waziha Farha, a chemistry student at Dhaka University, whose future aspirations include organic chemistry.

The year 2011 also celebrates the centennial of Madame Marie Curie’s receipt of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity. Madame Curie is one of the first female scientists to achieve worldwide fame, during a time in which women were discouraged from work and scholarship.

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, launches the 2011 EFA Global Monitoring Report, The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education, at