We bring together our member organisations to discuss and share experiences, good practices and ideas on responding to collective challenges. Together we are building the education unions of the future: mass participation organisations that reflect the diverse interests and identities of their members and offer educators a multitude of ways to engage and contribute.
In this interview, the Swedish education union explains how it puts solidarity at the heart of the union movement - from the workplace to the global level.
Lärarförbundet Sweden: International cooperation is union solidarity in practice
The organisational development of unions is at the core of all UEN cooperation projects. The Norwegian union focuses on three key areas: social dialogue, gender equality and equity, and capacity building.
UEN Norway: Organisational development as the first step towards strong unions
The Dutch education union AOb engages in development cooperation to support and strengthen other unions, which in turn enables a better defense of the rights of members and increased access to quality education.
AOb Netherlands: Building sustainable partnerships
The Japan Teachers' Union is active in development cooperation since the 1970s, when they supported South Korea in the fight against dictatorship. The union has a fund for international cooperation to which members voluntarily contribute.
JTU Japan: Education as the fundamental right of every child
SNES-FSU France has been using its own funds for several decades to help unions - mostly French-speaking - to become stronger.
SNES-FSU France: Supporting unions who are struggling because of political or economic circumstances
The work of the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF/FCE) in International development cooperation work started back in the sixties, when two volunteer teachers travelled to Nigeria.
CTF/FCE Canada: Cooperation projects that engage members
The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) answers questions about their development cooperation work, which started in the 1970s in Nicaragua.
CSQ's cooperation strategy: The Francophonie and Latin America as key priorities
In 2019, the Finnish education union OAJ decided to allocate 0.7% of its national budget to development cooperation, supporting its cooperation programmes that span several continents.
OAJ Finland international cooperation: Using own resources to ensure autonomy
The 6th Ordinary Congress of the Syndicat des enseignants libres du Sénégal (SELS) held on 18 September in Dakar endorsed the creation of a National Youth Committee (NYC) which should contribute “to the massification of the union” and work “for the emergence of a young leadership within the structure”.
Senegal: trade union renewal on the agenda of the SELS national congress
Thanks to financial support from Education International’s Regional Office for Africa (EIRAF), the Syndicat national des enseignants des écoles maternelles du Bénin (SYNAEM-Bénin) has built a website with a feature that enables educators to join the union and pay their dues online.
Benin: New website strengthens union’s capacity and services to members
During 2020, as part of the prevention and isolation measures taken in response to Covid-19, Argentina’s national government passed a decree suspending in-person classes throughout the country. The decision was backed by an institutional framework for social and political support.
In-person schooling during the pandemic: collective bargaining vs. political profiteering
To better understand the needs of member organisations in the region and to explore opportunities, partner organisations gathered on 15 November to discuss development cooperation projects in Africa and work on a common strategy.
Development cooperation partners take stock of projects in Africa
The Education International’s Development Cooperation Handbook – A guide to successful partnerships is a new tool for development cooperation, a step-by-step guide to development cooperation projects for education unions. It was introduced to member organisations during the online Asia-Pacific workshop on Development Cooperation, a meeting hosted by Education International’s Asia-Pacific...
Asia-Pacific: Education unions step up their work with new Development Cooperation Handbook
Faced with the advance of the desert and increasing floods, teacher unionists in Niger have drafted a Guide to Educational Activities on Climate Change, as well as a Manual for the Study Circles of Niger, which includes the climate issue. The Syndicat National des Enseignants du Niger (SNEN) was one...
Niger: Climate change education is a trade union priority
As the COVID-19 pandemic became global, education unions showed solidarity with a dedicated COVID Response Fund to support member organisations during school closures and where teachers were hit by the health crisis.
Solidarity in times of crisis: the EI COVID Response Fund
Inspiring young educators to improve and develop trade union work in Fiji was the aim of a dedicated training event organised by the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) in October 2020.
Fiji: Young activists ready to take up the union torch
The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) has held a series of virtual leadership training workshops for women within the organisation. The theme of this series, that could happen thanks to the financial support of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (EFTO), member of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), was: “Empowering...
Caribbean unions empower women as leaders
Education International has taken up an ambitious plan to renew its structure and adapt it to the strategic directions adopted at its last World Congress in Bangkok. Its new unit in charge of solidarity and capacity building has been set up to enhance Education International’s work in these areas, keeping...
New Capacity Building and Solidarity Unit gears up to build union power