Addressing the conference of documenting Girls Education initiative Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt, welcomed Egypt's guests from Arab countries and extended thanks to the UNICEF, the a key partner to the significant conference. She lauded the UNICEF role in supporting several initiatives targeting brighter future for children and supporting their basic rights within the framework of justice and equity.

Hereinafter the speech by Mrs. Mubarak to the conference:

The Equity is the essence of our conference today, where we review together aspects of the Egyptian initiative for girls' education. Such pioneering initiative ensures the right of the Egyptian girl to education and guarantees investing their potentials and capabilities.

The children care was, still is and will remain a national responsibility and the optimal investment to build up future. That is why we have given great heed to safeguarding children rights and providing legislative structure necessary for this end. We have been working within scientific and institutional framework and according to integrated strategies that aim at raising the offspring in general and the Egyptian girl in particular.

Over the past two decades, Egypt has witnessed unprecedented accomplishment in the field of developing educational system, and promoting the status of women, in addition to the great attention we have paid to the child care issues. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood has already given great attention to the issues of Egyptian girls and their problems. The council has exerted relentless efforts to remove all aspects of discrimination against the Egyptian girls and to stand against negative concept that prevailed for long decades.

We do believe that the right of the Egyptian girl in education is the first and foremost right that we have to ensure to each and every girl in Egypt to uproot and eradicate illiteracy. Out of this concept, we have raised several untraditional ideas and projects to provide education opportunities to girls in both urban and rural areas. Our gathering today comes just to document such initiative which the UNICEF was keen on supporting throughout its stages. The success achieved by this initiative is remarkable and worthy of being subject to exchange national experience in our Arab region and outside.

Now the Egyptian experiment has been crystallized and we have an integrated approach to implement the initiative. Such an approach raises several pivots, of which are facing negative old concepts, mustering available local resources, training elements participated in the initiative, and deepening the belief of the society in the importance and inevitability of girl education. Thus we see that such an initiative comes from inside the Egyptian society and goes in line with its peculiarities. Yet, the initiative is not confined to guaranteeing the right of the Egyptian girl in education; rather it is extending to target the empowerment of girl to meet life requirements. The initiative aims at enabling girl to face challenges, enhance her ability to compete and her capability to assimilate high technology.

It is high time to build up on what has been already achieved, as we still have great challenges to face, not only to maintain the level of educational services in schools, but to keep abreast with developments witnessed by educational concepts. We still have the great challenge which is expanding the initiative to reach all villages and hamlets allover Egypt. I am quite confident that the Egyptian society has become qualified to contribute to pursuing the initiative to cover all parts of Egypt. We have implanted hope in the hearts and minds of each and every Egyptian girl, as the right to education is no longer far-reaching dream. And today we all have to stick together and work hard to realize the dream.

The Egyptian girl will remain the hope and the end, as our experience over years has demonstrated that she deserves our efforts and with her will, response and awareness she can add to herself and to Egypt.