Highlights of the REAL Centre Launch Seminar

DAME BARBARA STOCKING - PRESIDENT, MURRAY EDWARDS COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
It is the launch of REAL and I think this means real business in terms of education. Its about marginalised young people particularly who are not in education and particularly REAL, the new unit will focus on South Asia and sub Saharan Africa.

PROFESSOR SIR LESZEK BORYSIEWICZ - VICE CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The REAL Centre is something that's really important within the University. It celebrates education, girls education in particular and education as a key to social transformation. Education is right at the heart of everything that we have to do, it gives hope. Remove education and where are you?, you are going absolutely nowhere.

So long as you educate girls you will reduce maternal mortality and you will reduce childhood deaths without changing the health care system at all.

I am absolutely delighted today to say that this is a real immense addition to the panoply of whats available here in Cambridge, I wish you all well and believe me for the time that remains for me within this university I'll be keeping a very close eye on the progress.

So today we're joined by an amazingly distinguished panel.
Julia Gillard from the Global Partnership for Education and Hans Brattskar from the Norwegian government.
They've shown immense leadership in promoting education for the most marginalised and girls in particular.

JULIA GILLARD - GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION
Thank you for making me feel so very welcome from the moment I reached Cambridge. A particular thank you too, to Pauline Rose, Director of the REAL Centre the very well named REAL Centre, the launch of which we're here to celebrate today and to Lucy Lake of CAMFED. Pauline and Lucy this is a proud day for the both of you and I really feel very privileged to have been invited to come and share it so thank you.

The lack of resources is compounded by a lack of research. Donors understandably look for the best use of their money to ensure it is directed to what works. In turn evidence of what works turbo charges the effectiveness of advocacy.

That's why i am so pleased to be here today to celebrate the launch of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning Centre.

The well named REAL Centre will make a real difference to the worlds understanding on what best works to educate the most marginalised and most at risk girls. Part of what has held the cause of global education back is the fragmentation and porosity of information about effective strategies for schooling and learning.

When you join together women like Pauline Rose, Ann Cotton and Lucy Lake; the energy generated is truly spectacular. As a result I am absolutely confident that the REAL Centre working with CAMFED will be generating much light to guide the global community as we work to educate every child including every girl.

Its an honor to be associated with this launch of the REAL Centre and it will be fascinating and motivating to see the research that it generates. I'm sure the REAL Centre is going to be one of real achievement.

I thank you very much. (Audience applause)

DR HANS BRATTSKAR - VICE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS NORWAY
By focusing on equity and learning the REAL Centre can play a substantial role in supplying much needed knowledge for how we can provide quality education for as many students as possible

We hear these days a lot about the need for data and for more knowledge about the needs and challenges. This is certainly called for. Still, data in itself will not be sufficient. We need to ensure that robust technology and research is applied in ways that can lead to concrete policy recommendations. By focusing on equity and learning the REAL Centre will play a critical role in strengthening the evidence base.

I wish the Centre every success thank you for your attention. (Audience Applause)

DAVID ARMSTRONG - PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS (PwC)
I have the great privilege of being the moderator for our second panel. Thanks so much to the organisers for inviting me and thanks also to Barbara and other colleagues for setting the scene so well and setting out the challenges and the opportunities that face us, so articulately.

PAULINE ROSE - DIRECTOR, REAL CENTRE
We identified six themes, six research themes we'll be focusing on but cutting across all of those research themes are issues around inequality. Equality primarily in relation
to poverty, gender and disability so those things we've already been hearing so much
about. Really at the core of this is that you cant separate these three forms of disadvantage.

We need to be more than the sum of our parts we want to bring this together make sure that the research we are doing is rigorous but also to make sure that we're doing it in partnership because as researchers we can only go so far we need to work with partners who have experience both at the global level so working a lot with the Department For International Development in various ways.

We also this morning in relation to the discussion with the first lady, we were discussing how we might work further in partnership with USAID who has strong commitments to working in conflict areas as well as in relation to girls education.

We also of course want to work in partnership with NGOs who have experience on the ground
and this is where our partnership with CAMFED comes in particular.

LUCY LAKE - CEO CAMFED
Under the Girls Education challenge we are tracking twenty one thousand young people girls and boys those who are marginalised and non marginalised in order to be bale to dig down and look at some of the links between childrens academic outcomes the soft skills and the link between those and these background variables and that's something that we'll be
digging in to with the REAL Centre.