Minister of Education Makes First Trip to the U.S. for Global Literacy Conference

For Immediate Release

Monday, September 18, 2006
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN- Minister of Education, Mr. Haneef Atmar, is visiting the United States for the first time to attend U.S. First Lady Laura Bush’s Global Literacy Conference to be held at the New York City Public Library on September 18.
 
His Excellency Haneef Atmar, the new Minister of Education for Afghanistan, has announced plans to launch a Nationwide Literacy Program to extend literacy to every province and district of the country.  The US Government is working closely with the Ministry to make this a reality.  In support of Minister Atmar’s vision of a literate nation, the United States Agency for International Development is committing $22 million to literacy linked with productive skills and health, to be provided over the next five years, specifically for the rural areas where 90% of women are illiterate. 
 
Mohammad Haneef Atmar was born in Laghman, Afghanistan, in 1968. He holds a Masters degree from University of York, UK, in Public Policy, International Relations and Post-war Reconstruction studies (1996-1997).  He completed a diploma in Information Technology and Computers from the same University.
 
From 1992 to 1994, he served as an advisor on humanitarian programs to aid agencies both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. From 1994 to 2000, he worked as Program Manager for the Norwegian Committee for Afghanistan. From 2000 until 2002, he served as Deputy Director General of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for Afghanistan.  Early in 2002, he was appointed Minister for Rural Rehabilitation and Development in the Transitional Government.  On 2nd May 2006 he was sworn in as the new Minister of Education for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
 
Haneef Atmar is the author of many books, including, “Institutional Development of Non-governmental Organizations in Developing Countries,” and, “From Rhetoric to Reality,” both published in the UK.  He has also written numerous analytical articles on humanitarian aid in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. Minister Atmar is fluent in Dari, Pashto, English and Urdu.