Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

JACQUES DIOUF, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, FAOWhile rural people are still in the demographic majority in less-developed regions of the world, they arean often-neglected political minority. Although at the global level, the proportion of the population livingin urban areas has reached 50 per cent, in the less-developed regions, the 50 per cent level will only bereached just after 2020. These data indicate that while from an overall global demographic perspective,urban people have now equalled the rural population, in less developed regions the percentage and theabsolute number of rural people are such that this demographic group cannot be ignored. Between 2010and 2030, the rural population worldwide will remain almost constant at about 3.4 billion persons.FAO and UNESCO have consistently supported efforts aimed at providing stronger linkages betweenfood security and education. The food crisis, exacerbated by the financial and economic crisis, has givenimpetus to a renewed effort of the international community to reduce the impact of these events on poorpeople and to prevent future emergencies. The Education for Rural People (ERP) Partnership, for whichFAO is the UN lead agency, has been considered an essential part of this endeavour. The great majority ofthe so-called ‘hard-to-reach children’ are concentrated in rural areas. Giving these children wider access toeducation is one of the crucial factors for sustainable development.Jacques Diouf,Director General, FAO[ 12 ]