E/2005/43 E/C.19/2005/9 developed by the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergency, and underlines that their recommendations should be promoted through good practices throughout the United Nations system and broadly to all Member States. 44. Furthermore, the Forum expresses its conviction that Governments should adopt special measures to achieve equitable educational outcomes for indigenous children, especially indigenous girls, and that special emphasis is required for headstart and early childhood programmes for indigenous children. 45. The Forum wishes to draw particular attention to a number of recommendations made at its first three sessions that are of particular relevance for Millennium Development Goal 2.2 46. Sport and physical education are an essential element of quality education, and promote positive values and skills which have a quick but lasting impact on young people. Sports activities and physical education generally make school more attractive and improve attendance. Access to primary education 47. The Forum recognizes that: (a) The right to education is a key instrument for achieving equitable development and respect for cultural diversity. Education is an investment in the future, a means to reduce poverty and counter discrimination; (b) Indigenous peoples have the right, including treaty rights (as relevant) to quality primary education that is sensitive to their holistic worldviews, languages, traditional knowledge and other aspects of their cultures, which contribute to human dignity, identity and intercultural dialogue; (c) Mother-tongue mediated bilingual education is indispensable for effective learning for indigenous children and for the reduction of dropout rates; (d) Any efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goal 2 are likely to fail if impartial and effective implementation of culturally sensitive educational programmes, curricula and actions addressing the needs of indigenous peoples are not undertaken; (e) Indigenous children experience particular difficulties relating to access to education of quality and sociocultural relevance at all levels. Obstacles are numerous and complex and include, among others, distance to schools, differences in lifestyles, for example, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities, discrimination, violence, extreme poverty and exclusion; (f) Education can be one of the most important tools for combating prejudice and discrimination. National curricula frequently ignore the cultures, treaties, histories and spiritual values of indigenous peoples and reinforce stereotypes; (g) In many cases, current criteria to measure the achievement of Goal 2 regarding indigenous education are absent or are based on insufficient indicators __________________ 2 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2002, Supplement No. 23 (E/2002/43), para. 26; ibid., 2003, Supplement No. 23 (E/2003/43), relevant chapters on indigenous children and youth and education, paras. 4-25, 106, 111 and 113; and ibid., 2004, Supplement No. 23 (E/2004/43), paras. 19 and 20. 9