Teacher trade unionists focus on Francophonie and linguistic diversity
Ahead of the 7th Education International Congress in Ottawa, Canada, 70 participants from 25 countries representing 50 French-speaking unions discussed on 19 July the role of languages in education and culture, and reflected on the future of education post-2015.
"This one-day meeting is a strong symbol, as the Comité syndical francophone de l’éducation et de la formation (CSFEF - Francophone union committee for education and training) is Education International's (EI) network of Francophone unions", stated Florian Lascroux of SNES-FSU/France, President of the CSFEF. "It is a sign of our good relationship with EI."
“I am grateful to EI for having provided financial support enabling the entire Francophonie to be present in Canada,” he stated.
Mr. Lascroux added that the CSFEF, which represents over one million education workers, is sufficiently autonomous to be able to work as it sees fit, and that it was important to demonstrate that the French-speaking unions meet during the EI Congress.
The CSFEF meeting was conducted in two parts.
The morning was devoted to the Francophonie. The participants met for a seminar on the place of French in schools within a multilingual context.
The seminar was preceded by a video presentation from the Director for the French language and linguistic diversity of the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF), Imma Tor Faus, who explained the Schools and national languages in Africa Programme. Ms. Faus explained that the ILO funds learning experiments to teach reading in the local language and the gradual introduction of French.
The following discussion turned the focus to determining when the right time at which to introduce French in schools.
Trade union issues were discussed in the afternoon during a workshop on strengthening unions, trying to answer the following questions: how to find new members; how to better involve young teachers in the unions; and how to better involve women in the unions.
Two key issues were then discussed, namely the agenda for post-2015 development, the African trade unionists in particular expressing concern about funding for the latter; and resolution 1.8 for language diversity, put to vote by fifteen French-speaking unions and adopted by the EI World Congress a few days later.
This resolution provides that EI affiliates carry out actions "aimed at their governments for the purpose of preserving linguistic diversity in the education systems, as it is a way of also preserving the culture associated with it", and "make special efforts to achieve literacy and education for all – in particular for women and girls – in their native language and in the official language, when the two are different languages".
