E/CN.4/2004/21 page 16 88. Ms. Carr-Johnson said that it would be very useful for Governments to provide further support for the promotion of affirmative action by elaborating and distributing widely in each region a set of model survey indicators used for collecting the disaggregated data. She also urged more effective regional workshops on affirmative action. 89. The observer for Switzerland outlined a number of educational projects undertaken by his/her Government concerning people of African descent. These initiatives, which intended to address the root causes of racism, included an intercultural theatre exchange between Burkina Faso and Switzerland, the “Seeing the other” awareness-raising campaign, the “ubuntu” African project, an exhibition entitled “Being Black in Switzerland”, and a special edition of the “Outlook Africa” publication which covered the phenomenon of anti-Black racism in Switzerland, France and Germany and the 2001 World Conference. 90. Members of the Human Rights Education Team of OHCHR briefed participants about the work of the Office in human rights education and training. They discussed the plan of action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, 1995-2004, under which the Office included anti-discrimination issues in its information-sharing and networking and on its web site, as well as in its production of human rights training materials. They presented the ACT (Assisting Communities Together) project, which supported national and local human rights initiatives (including anti-discrimination projects and cultural events in schools). 91. The observer for Brazil commended the idea of model survey indicators recommended by Ms. Carr-Johnson. She outlined a number of affirmative action initiatives being taken by her Government, including affirmative action for admission to two State universities and pedagogical training to encourage the teaching of the history of people of African descent. 92. The observer for UNAIDS stated that as approximately 42 million people globally were affected by HIV/AIDS, access to education and knowledge was central and she outlined many strategies and approaches taken by her organization to address it. Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS was decreased by increased literacy and public education was important to address underlying stigma and discrimination. 93. Mr. Frans supported the proposal for regional model surveys and stated that it was important that students be informed about racism in the school system as that correlated with racism in the media, housing and other sectors. Mr. Martins stated that an equal society could not be built on an unequal educational system. He argued that increasing access to primary education was relatively easy compared to increasing the access of people of African descent to post-secondary or university education. Access to post-secondary education was hampered by the system of inbuilt competitive selection marked by structural inequalities. Only effective affirmative action policies for people of African descent could address such structural inequalities. 94. The Working Group held a wide-ranging discussion on the issues raised by the presentations on access to education. Many participants agreed that there was a need to understand that access to education included quality education, as well as free and universal education. Access to education also included extracurricular activities and the teaching of history and traditions of and to people of African descent.