Ei-iE

On the International Day of La Francophonie, celebrated on 20 March each year, Education International has highlighted the importance the French-speaking community attaches to quality education as basis for a sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future.

Acknowledging "the driving energy that is inherent in the french-speaking world", the Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, Abdou Diouf, in a message speaks out against the "increasingly sharp economic, health, educational, and digital inequalities", within the world’s French-speaking community.

He takes issue with the fact that civilians, particularly women, are subject to abuses in the armed conflicts that remain prevalent in French-speaking Africa, and highlights the importance and universality of human rights and peace.

Promote education and training

He argues that La Francophonie above all means "wanting to promote education and training, higher education and research, and developing cooperation for sustainable development within our sphere. It is about supporting a firm base in the rule of law, democracy, and human rights, both nationally and internationally".

Important work about the status of teachers

EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen said that Abdou Diouf’s message dovetails perfectly with the values ??and objectives championed by EI and its affiliates in the Comité Syndical Francophone de l’Education et de la Formation and elsewhere in the world.

"This 20 March is an opportunity for Education International to commend the ongoing work of the Comité Syndical Francophone for quality public education for all and the status of teachers in French-speaking countries," said van Leeuwen.