Ei-iE

To take on greater leadership and decision-making roles within their unions, young teachers met recently in Dakar to boost both the recruitment and participation of young members.

Twenty young teachers under the age of 35 took part in a workshop as part of the ‘Young Teachers for Quality Education and Effective Unions,’ a first of its kind three-year project. The event, which took place at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung(FES) offices in Dakar, Senegal, from 6-8 April, aimed to create a safe and inspiring learning and teaching opportunity for young teacher unionists to work on developing and building their capacity to participate more effectively within their unions, in order to be able to put themselves forward for leadership and decision-making roles.

The workshop was facilitated by an Education International (EI) team including Marieme Sakho Dansokho (EI Executive Board member and General Secretary, SYPROS, Senegal), Amadou Keita (Secretary/ Organisation Conseil Consultatif National Des Enfants et Jeunes du Mali), Anais Dayamba (EI Africa Regional Office’s Programme Officer), Mar Candela (EI Programme Officer) and madeleine kennedy-macfoy (EI Coordinator).

Gender issues

In line with the priorities of the EI Gender Equality Action Plan, there was a minimum 50/50 ratio in terms of young female and male participants from each targeted union. In addition, gender issues were both mainstreamed throughout the workshop programme, and were also the focus of specific sessions and activities. Gender-specific indicators have also been included in the project design, to ensure the gender dimension is not marginalised or treated as external to the ‘real business’ of young people’s active participation in the targeted unions.

EI Global Response to the Privatisation and Commercialisation in and of Education

Given the importance of the ongoing EI Global Response to the Privatisation and Commercialisation in and of Education Campaign, workshop participants had the chance to learn about the campaign and discuss related issues in their own countries.

Recruitment and participation of young members: an EI priority

The recruitment and participation of young members in education trade unions was identified as a priority for further work and progress by the EI’s Organising Network during the last congress period (2011-2014). The need for EI to focus more on young members was also put forward as a recommendation by the 2nd EI World Women’s Conference held in April 2014. Last year, the 7th EI World Congress unanimously adopted a resolution on ‘young and early-stage teachers, researchers and support personnel’.

With funding from the FES for the ‘Young Teachers for QualityEducation and Effective Unions’project, EI  expects results to include positive change within the targeted member organisations in Africa, where it is hoped that participation in the proposed project will lead to young members (especially young women members) playing a more active, organised and visible role within their own unions, as well as within EI.

The project also has the potential to impact on gender and youth empowerment within the targeted unions (in Gabon, Ivory Coast, Togo and Senegal) and among EI member organisations more broadly; and on strengthening the unions, especially as far as long term sustainability is concerned. The last workshop in the project cycle, which will take place in Spring 2017, will focus on leadership skills and internal and external communications strategies.