Ei-iE

Resolution on international cooperation and mobilisation

published 25 July 2015 updated 31 March 2017

The 7th Education International (EI) World Congress meeting in Ottawa, Canada, from 21nd to 26th July 2015:

1. Noted that humanity is confronted to major and unprecedented problems on a global scales, including environmental (climate change, collapse of biodiversity, pollution of ecosystems and destabilization of ocean systems, land sterilisation and pollution, desertification, pollution and overexploitation of water resources, etc.), ethical (trans-humanism, etc.) and democratic problems (surveillance and influencing human societies through misuse of the Internet and Big Data, etc.).

2. Recognized that resolving such problems, the elimination of poverty and the fight against the development of obscurantist forces require urgent mobilisation of the whole of humanity, requiring trust and equality between nations with no domination of one over the other, international cooperation and the pooling of knowledge, technologies and techniques.

3. Considered that the commons, in particular education, access to knowledge and production of knowledge, play a significant role in such mobilisation.

4. The 7th Congress of Education International mandates EI's Executive Board to organize an internal campaign contributing to the mobilisation and solidarity of humanity, and aimed in particular at achieving:

a. The establishment of international scientific cooperation matching the above-mentioned challenges and goals. The cooperation must benefit from the full potential and diversity of all nations, and not be hindered or impeded by a commercial and short-term view of research. The cooperation must aim to develop less polluting energy sources, and more generally to develop increasingly environmentally-friendly technologies, businesses and behaviours. Finally, the cooperation must contribute to providing access for all human beings to fundamental social rights (quality education, decent housing, health, food, drinking water, etc.).

b. The development of research distributed equally among all nations, which respects cultural diversity and democratic principles, which involves the establishment of a major international public fund whose purpose is to contribute to funding research in medium and low income countries.

c. The protection of academic freedoms, respect for the functioning of research institutions as self-governing bodies, and the provision of financial and human resources necessary for the development of fundamental research in all fields of knowledge, and research geared towards analysing society, prospecting and designing approaches for societal change.

d. Universal access to quality education and quality studies, while respecting cultural diversity and democratic principles, which involves establishing a major international public fund whose purpose is to contribute to funding of education in medium and low income countries (schooling for all children, fewer students per class, training for teachers, teaching materials, development of higher education, etc.)

e. In order to contribute towards the achievement of these objectives and universal mobilisation and solidarity, EI will develop exchanges and partnerships with the other international trade union organizations, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and with UN organizations.