First Lady Laura Bush joined U.S. Secretary of Education argaret Spellings and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director-General Koichiro Matsuura in calling for a renewed focus on literacy across the world during her keynote address in Gaston Hall yesterday to commence the UNESCO Conference on Education for All.

The conference brought together leaders from academia, government and nonprofit sectors to discuss the important role America’s colleges and universities can play in achieving a goal of universal education by 2015.

Bush focused on the increasing problems and effects of illiteracy throughout the world, explaining that mothers and their children are the largest groups that remain illiterate.

“Mother and child literacy is at the heart of our effort,” she said. “The value of literacy goes beyond books – it is the significant first step toward building a better life.”

Bush said that in working to broaden literacy and expand education, the smallest gains can make a difference around the world.

“The scope of the problem of illiteracy is staggering, but in working hard to overcome the problem, we must keep our minds open to new ideas,” she said. “When programs work, they ultimately become highlighted and replicated.”

Bush also spoke on what institutions of higher education such as Georgetown would gain by contributing to the effort of Education for All, a major international effort coordinated by UNESCO to make the benefits of universal primary education and life-long learning accessible around the world.

“Students will be able to make connections with colleges in other countries,” she said. “We look to schools like this one for graduates who bring help to people as well.”

Spellings, who was sworn into office on Jan. 31, also praised Georgetown for doing its part in making a difference and becoming ambassadors to the world to raise awareness for universal education.

“Education and literacy are necessities in a world of certainty but abundant with opportunity,” Spellings said. “Lives can be transformed – lifted over time from poverty chaos to dignity and independence. Education offers a ladder on which to climb and a foundation upon which to stand.”

Spellings plans for universal primary education by 2015, in addition to goals of an expansion in adult literacy, gender equality and opportunity for excluded and marginalized populations.

“We measure success by the gleam in a young girl’s eyes as she learns to spell, or by the intensity of a young boy so lost in his studies that he momentarily forgets his troubles,” she said.

Such changes, Spellings said, can lead to a more peaceful, prosperous and free world. “Like freedom, a quality education for all is worth fighting for,” she said.

The UNESCO conference was co-hosted by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, a former Japanese ambassador to France. Matsuura noted the importance of having the United States join in supporting the UNESCO mission to provide “education for all.”

“With the United States’ support, expertise, and encouragement, we can fulfill the mandates and goals before us,” Matsuura said. “U.S. colleges and universities will play an integral role in achieving these goals.”

Matsuura further outlined the details of the Education for All mission, explaining that it would have a global educational impact.

“This conference serves as an important opportunity for UNESCO – a major rendezvous focused on EFA, which is by far the highest priority of the world’s educational agenda in helping to develop countries overcome the obstacles they face,” he said.

Matsuura said that he believed the vibrant civil society of the United States can do much more to help less fortunate countries achieve their educational goals.

DeGioia said he was very proud to introduce Bush, whose visit marks the third time she has spoken to Georgetown students.

“Mrs. Bush has been challenged and inspired to a deep commitment to the possibilities of education,” he said.

DeGioia also commented on the challenges facing the world in terms of its commitment to education, noting how a large percentage of children and adults across the world remain illiterate.

“Today, we stand on the threshold of the next frontier of primary education, with global initiatives to make sure every child can attend school,” he said, calling for “higher education to a higher calling” with a responsibility to educate students about lives different from their own.

“It is our intent to ensure that we provide students with a far richer understanding of the world than ever before in history, and in so doing, responding to urgent challenges of our day,” DeGioia said.

Georgetown is the first university to host such a conference since the United States rejoined UNESCO just three years ago.

Conference participants, including representatives from UNESCO, university presidents, think tank scholars and nonprofit leaders, had the opportunity to network and brainstorm in a series of panels and breakout sessions yesterday.

The conference was sponsored in part by the Verizon Foundation.