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The global hub for union affiliates, international teacher forums and individual teachers, now called the Global Teacher Educator Network (GLOBAL TEN), met in Brussels, Belgium, from 22-23 February. It will act as a “network of networks” and a global passport for individual teachers based on the principles of equity, democracy, quality education and social justice.
Following the adoption of a strategy to realise the education rights of migrants and refugees, EI launched on 24 February a survey to map education unions’ initiatives on this topic. Most of the responses so far have come from Europe, where EI will launch its first capacity building programmes. Affiliates are still invited to answer the EI online survey on Educators and students on the move - Realising the Rights of Migrants and Refugees.
To prepare for the 6thInternational Summit on the Teaching Profession, held in Berlin, Germany, from 3-4 March, Education International (EI) and its affiliates convened in Berlin to rally around the theme, “Teachers’ professional learning and growth: creating the conditions to achieve quality teaching for excellent learning outcomes”. This was in preparation for face-to-face dialogue with 23 governments to address the concerns of their teachers, and stress that teachers’ professional development and training is crucial throughout their careers. EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen also reiterated that education unions are leading the way by spearheading efforts to see that refugee children also receive a quality education.
In its statement to commemorate International Women’s Day, 8 March, EI proudly celebrated “the august history of women’s activism within trade unions”, and renewed its commitment to gender equality. It also called on all affiliates to renew their commitment to gender equality by taking action and “stepping it up” for gender equality.
Education International was also an active participant at the Comparative International Education Summitheld in Vancouver, Canada, from 10-16 March, and was represented by its Research Coordinator Martin Henry on the five panels and three workshops focusing on education privatisation.
In numerous workshops and panel discussions during the Global Education and Skills Forum, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 12-13 March, some 1,500 education experts debated a range of topical issues, including controversial ones, such as the need for for-profit schooling in achieving quality education for all. “Teacher unions are an impediment to the provision of quality education” was another provoking theme debated during the Forum. This annual event is also the platform for awarding the Global Teacher Prize;this year, the prize was awarded to Hanan Al Hroub, a Palestinian teacher, who was commended for her support of children traumatised by violence. Education International was represented by its General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen
The workshop, “For a Francophone coalition against commercialisation of education”, in Paris, France, on 15 March reviewed the state of privatisation and commercialisation in education in France and the Francophone world. It included a preliminary discussion about an “Appeal from Francophone civil society against commercialisation of education and education systems”, to be presented ahead of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie’s Summit in Madagascar in November 2016. Education International was represented by its Senior Coordinator Duncan Smith.
On trade and investment agreements, an EI briefing note on TiSAwas launched on 16 March.
Education International also participated at the United Nations’ Conference on Trade and Development’s expert meeting on international investment agreements reformheld in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16 March, and entitled “Taking stock of international investment agreements reform”. In a video message, The EI representative, Louise Høj Larsen, emphasised that the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism is contradictory to and limiting of governments’ obligation to regulate around quality education. It may also undermine regulations put in place to ensure high quality education.
The EI Arab Countries Cross-Regional Structure and the Union of Education Norway organised an assessment meeting, Capacity building for EI unions in countries with refugees, in Beirut, Lebanon, from 27-28 February. This meeting, attended by 13 teacher unionists from Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, held sessions detailing the current situation and challenges facing education, refugees, and national public schools. The EI representative was its Regional Coordinator, Huda Khoury.
On 4 April, Mahdi Abu Dheeb, leader of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association, was released after five years in prison for calling for a teachers’ strike in support of democratic reforms. Education International had worked with a large coalition of affiliates and civil society organisations to ensure his release.
The mission on child labour organised in Mali from 15-19 February assessed the project, “Out of Work and Into School”. This has run successfully in six villages, where, in every school, the Syndicat National de l'Education et de la Culture trains the headmaster and a few teachers to become focal points, using the EI manual to learn how to talk about child labour and engage with parents. Sixty-eight children have already returned to school, and students’ learning results have improved. Education International was represented by its consultant Samuel Grumiau.
Education International organised an urgent mission to Liberia from 22-28 February, in support of the National Teachers’ Association of Liberia (NTAL). The mission, including EI Project Coordinator for the Global Response to the Privatisation and Commercialisation in and of Education, Angelo Gavrielatos, and EI Coordinator Jefferson Berriel-Pessi, aimed to develop a response to the Liberian Government’s unprecedented decision to outsource its entire public basic and primary education system. Education International wrote to the Liberian President in support of their colleagues’ actionand initiated an urgent call for solidarity action across the entire membership.
The ITUC-Africa organised its 6th Leadership School (New Year School), in Lomé, Togo, from 22-25 February, under the theme, “Industrial development and employment in Africa: challenges and opportunities for trade unions in the face of climate change”. Participants addressed the current burning issues of climate change and job opportunities in the region. Education International was represented by the EI regional Africa (EIRAF) office’s Chief Coordinator Assibi Napoe.
The Bureau of the ITUC-Africa’s Executive Board and the Youth Committee were elected during the ITUC-Africa Trade Union Council meeting, held in Lomé, Togo, from 26-27 February.
The EIRAF office facilitated a capacity building workshop on trade union unity for 46 leaders of the four EI affiliates in Burkina Faso from 3-5 March. Education International was represented by the EIRAF Chief regional coordinator Assibi Napoe.
From 21-31 March, representatives of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), assisted by the EIRAF, were in Lomé, Togo, and in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for strategic planning workshops with the union’s national partners. The CTF provided information on its three focus areas, i.e. teachers’ action on teaching, in support of education organisations and on gender equality.
On 25 February, Education International called on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Esmail Abdi, leader of the Tehran branch of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), and to respect the fundamental rights of all Iranian teachers. Abdolreza Ghanbari and Ali Akbar Baghani, two members of the ITTA for whom EI had also launched a solidarity campaign in 2012, were released on 17 March.
The Australian Education Union’s conference held in Melbourne from 26-28 February discussed the need for extra funds to be invested in the national school system. A special session was devoted to the education of refugee children. The EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen informed participants about the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East, and called for all education unions to exert pressure on public authorities to ensure that children's rights, including the right to education, are ensured.
The EI Asia-Pacific (EIAP) regional office presented the outcomes of EI’s sub-regional workshop, “SDGs: Driving Education 2030 Agenda Forward” during the first meeting of the regional thematic working group on Education 2030 in Bangkok, Thailand, on 1 March. The meeting, co-chaired by UNESCO and UNICEF, worked on education-related issues and supporting the achievement of the education goals in Asia-Pacific. Education International was represented by the EIAP Coordinator Anand Singh.
The report of the EI/European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) mission to Turkey, undertaken from 15-18 February, will be presented to the ETUCE Committee on 10-11 April for discussion. The ETUCE issued letters to European authorities urging them to demand the immediate release of arrested Turkish teachers and academics and pay attention to the current national developments which pose a serious threat to democracy and human rights. It called on its members to take action in support Turkish teachers and academics. The mission was composed of the ETUCE President Christine Blower and the EI Senior Coordinator Nicolas Richards.
Through the publication by the ETUCE of the views of the education sector’s professionals on “A New Skills Agenda for Europe” on 17 February, teacher unions asked for the new Commission’s initiative to propose solutions on how to lift barriers to quality teaching, and how to improve the work of teachers and trainers in Europe for better skills development.
Also, the core issue of the ETUCE and the European Federation of Education Employers’ annual plenary meeting 2015 within the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education (ESSDE), on 19 February in Brussels, Belgium, was clearly the new ESSDE’s work programme 2016/17, submitted to and adopted by delegates of the plenary group. Education International was represented by the ETUCE Vice-President Andreas Keller and the ETUCE Coordinator Alexandra Rüdig.
The ETUCE Bureau meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on 22 February, prepared the upcoming spring meeting of the ETUCE Committee and the ETUCE Conference in December 2016. Major topics of discussion concerned the EI/ETUCE mission to Turkey, the EI Strategy and Action Plan on Migration and Refugees, and an update on the developments in the ESSDE.
At the first ETUCE training seminar of the “Investment in education: Strengthening the involvement of teacher trade unions in the European Semester on education and training” project, was held in Malta, from 29 February-1 March, Education International was represented by the ETUCE Vice-President Odile Cordelier, as well as the ETUCE Coordinators Paola Cammilli and Agnes Roman.
Focusing on reinforcing equal opportunities in the education sector in a fast changing world, the members of the ETUCE Standing Committee for Equality met in Brussels, Belgium, from 2-3 March, to draft and discuss a proposal of a draft resolution on “Reinforcing Equalities within Education and Teacher Unions In A Fast Changing World”.
Participants at the training seminar on gender equality and social dialogue, held in Sliema, Malta, from 9-11 March, learnt how to promote gender equality through social dialogue in the teaching profession. Representatives of ETUCE member organisations critically reflected on women’s working conditions, gender, and status in the teaching profession, as well as women and decision-making in teacher unions. Education International was represented by the ETUCE Coordinator Susan Flocken.
The first webinar of the Enhancing Quality through Innovative Policy and Practice (EQUIP) project focusing on how external quality assurance will change as a result of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area took place on 17 February. The first EQUIP workshop was organised on 14-15 March, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Education International was represented by the ETUCE Treasurer Mike Jennings.
During the Learning Analytics Community Exchange, held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 15-16 March, experts from the fields of research, education, policy-makers and public and private sector representatives identified key learning analytics tools, policies and practices and discussed the future application of these in education policies at European and national levels. Education International was represented by the ETUCE Coordinator Susan Flocken.
The UNESCO interviews of the ETUCE Coordinator Susan Flocken and the Belgian MEP Maria Arena on the promotion of gender equality in education, recorded in Brussels, Belgium, on 18 March are available here
The ETUCE further contributed to the European Commission’s public consultation on the mid-term review of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020. It called on the European Commission to pay more attention to the importance of social dialogue and to push school authorities to set up learning environments enhancing the learning process of special needs students.
Besides, many European EI affiliates organised their annual conferences end of March.
At the national conference of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) from 25-28 March in Birmingham, UK, newly elected President Kathy Wallis highlighted that teachers must be empowered to focus on meeting the needs of the pupils they teach, rather than on paperwork and bureaucracy. The NASUWT International Solidarity Award was presented to the Turkish EI affiliate, Eğitim Sen, acknowledging its fights for trade union and human rights. Education International was represented by its Deputy General Secretary Haldis Holst.
French EI member organisations, the Union nationale des syndicats autonomes-Education (UNSA-Education) and the Syndicat national des enseignements de second degré-FSU (SNES-FSU) held their national conferences in Grenoble from 28 March-1 April. Laurent Escure, General Secretary of the Union nationale des syndicats autonomes-Education (UNSA-Education), stressed that for too long governments have ignored the fact that 20 per cent of young people do not complete their school career, while only five to 10 per cent benefit from the system. The UNSA-Education will support education reforms making the school system more inclusive and efficient. The Syndicat national des enseignements de second degré-FSU delegates discussed the organisation's policy and action plans around four themes: secondary education reforms, boosting the teaching profession, social and democratic changes, and trade union challenges. Education International was represented by its General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen.
The EI Latin America office organised a meeting on education privatisation and commercialisation in Brazil from 4-5 March. This was attended by representatives from seven member organisations from four countries, and aimed to develop a strategy against the commodification of education. Education International was represented by Fátima Silva, Vice-President of the EILA Regional Committee, and Combertty Rodríguez, EILA Chief Regional Coordinator.
On 8 March,Education International renewed its online appeal calling on the authorities of Colombia to urgently review the judicial case against Dr Miguel Ángel Beltrán, authorise his immediate release, and restore his civil and academic rights.
The International meeting on education workers, held in Brazil from 9-10 March, was attended by 300 participants from EI affiliates from nine Latin American countries. They discussed schools as holistic education spaces and the roles played by officials, education professionals, and support personnel in the educational process. Education International was represented by Roberto Franklin de Leão, EI Vice-President for the Latin-American region, Hugo Yasky, President of the EILA Regional Committee, Fátima Silva, Vice-President of the EILA Regional Committee, and Combertty Rodríguez, EILA Chief Regional Coordinator.
• ETUCE Committee 11-12 April
• Critical Friends Symposium 12-14 April
• RESNET 11-12 May
• EIRI Board 13 May
• ACCRS 9th committee meeting 24-25 May
• ACCRS regional seminar on education and terrorism 26-27 May
• EIAP Committee 27-28 September
• ETUCE Committee 10-11 October
• EI Officers and ExBo 24-27 October
• Further and Higher Education Conference 14-16 November
• ACCRS 3rd regional conference 29-30 November
• ETUCE Conference 5-8 December
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