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EI is extremely concerned about the health and wellbeing of 34 Mapuche political prisoners who have been on hunger strike for 75 consecutive days, since 12 July, and who have been joined by two young people on hunger strike since 1 September.

Nearly 40 staff and student union members have gathered in Bratislava, Slovakia, to undertake an intensive three-day training programme on advocacy and lobbying skills for the promotion of student centered learning.

EI is pleased to have been informed by its affiliate member, the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), that 5 October has been declared a national public holiday in Uganda, in honour of World Teachers’ Day.

EI is convening its First World Women’s Conference,‘On the Move for Equality’, from 20-23 January 2011, in Bangkok, Thailand. The registration process is now open and EI encourages all its members to attend the event.

EI’s 7th International Higher Education and Research Conference was held in Canada, from 10-12 September, and was attended by more than 130 participants from all corners of the globe.

More than 35 participants from Africa, Europe and the Middle East have converged in Fribourg, Switzerland, to assess developments in education across the French-speaking world.

Following the success of 7 September’s general strike, trade unions in France have called for another coordinated national strike across all sectors in opposition to the pension reform proposals being rushed through Parliament by President Sarkozy’s administration.

The non-profit organisation ‘Peace One Day’ has launched a free global education resource pack with lesson plans to help young people learn about non-violence, conflict resolution and inter-cultural cooperation in schools.

World leaders are gathering in New York this week for an historic event: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit.

EI Latin America (IEAL) Women’s Network has celebrated its fourth Southern Cone regional meeting in Argentina from 8 to 9 September.

EI has launched a global on-line petition calling on the Colombian government to release Miguel Ángel Beltrán, a university professor and trade unionist who has been imprisoned on charges that violate his basic right to academic freedom.

The latest issue of EI’s flagship magazine features a series of articles on World Teachers’ Day; the failure of recent G8 and G20 summits on education, and development from the E-9 Ministers’ Education Forum amongst others.

Unions have marked International Literacy Day with a series of global events. EI participated in the Centre for Universal Education and International Reading Association’s launch of a study into early reading which calls for urgent support of assessments and instruction.

Despite unequivocal evidence of the economic crisis resulting from unrestrained financial markets a new report from the OECD argues for spending efficiencies and pursuit of failed market mechanisms in education.

The latest issue of EI's Asia-Pacific Newsletter is now available for download on the EI website.

On 5 October, World Teachers’ Day, tens of thousands of students, parents and activists around the world will pay homage to all teachers who have been directly, or indirectly, affected by a major crisis.

Public sector unions in South Africa have been in negotiation with the government to secure a living wage and increased housing allowances for workers.

The parliament in Australia’s most populous state has voted to allow same-sex couples the same rights to adopt as heterosexuals.