UNESCO & Volvo Collaborate to Educate Pakistan

In northern Pakistan, UNESCO, Volvo Group, and the Swedish Embassy have decided to join hands to work on a unique project to benefit 40 primary schools.

A close collaboration between the UNESCO Islamabad Office and Gilgit-Baltistan's education department was undertaken as the project's executing agency.

Almost $100,000 was invested by Volvo in providing children with the much-loved children's book, Pippi Longstockings.

It was designed to enhance the learning of primary students in two districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan's mountainous northern region, by providing inspiring and motivational reading materials.

The program focused on improving students’ learning experiences and making it an effective environment for them through creating a healthy reading culture. It also provided support to students and teachers, as well as improving learning opportunities for students through teacher training and classroom strategies.

Schools were provided with a set of storybooks as well as interactive learning materials and reading materials. Active learning strategies were taught to teachers. In addition to 6,000 students and 77 teachers, 42,000 parents and community members participated in the project.

In the Gilgit-Baltistan region, only 37% of girls and 50% of boys were able to read complete sentences in Urdu, according to the annual Status of Education report.