Worldwide
RESNET
The 12th annual EI Research Network (ResNet) met in Brussels from 11-12 May. The meeting was organised by EI’s research unit, represented by Martin Henry and Nikola Wachter, and moderated by John Bangs. The meeting closely reviewed EI’s and affiliates’ research work and programmes and discussed strategies to ensure effective coordination, capacity development, and dissemination of research at the global and national level. Topics discussed included EI’s Global Response to the increasing privatisation in and of education (presented by Angelo Gavrielatos), issues around the realisation of the migrants’ and refugees’ rights, socio-emotional skills, teacher stress and wellbeing, value-added measurement, work and professional activity, research ethics, teacher identity, inclusive practices, as well as quality terms of employment and professional standards.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The first EI Newsletter on Indigenous Peoples was released on 26 May. This bi-annual newsletter aims to inform affiliates on work to promote the rights of indigenous peoples in and through education, and includes insights from members of the recently established Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Network.
OPPOSING TiSA
As negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) continue, member organisations in TiSA countries were called on to lobby their governments and make public statements demanding an explicit carve-out of education from the TiSA on 1 June. Potential serious consequences of TiSA include the exposure of public education to greater privatisation and commercialisation and a threat to fee-free, public, and high-quality education.
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
Experts, unionists, and practitioners from the education sector in the Baltic region, as well as representatives from governments and NGOs, met in Riga, Latvia, from 7-8 June, for the EI Symposium on Human Rights and Values in Education, hosted by the Latvian teacher union, LIZDA. EI was represented at the Symposium by General Secretary (GS) Fred van Leeuwen and Deputy General Secretary (DGS) Haldis Holst. Organised primarily at the request of EI affiliates from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, the symposium facilitated a sharing of experiences on human rights education and reflection on strategies for the future. Participants from Nordic countries, Russia, and the USA also attended. The background paper of the symposium can be found here.
COUNCIL OF GLOBAL UNIONS
The General Secretaries of the Global Unions held their annual meeting on 10 June at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) head office in Geneva, Switzerland. They evaluated the International Labour Conference during which a range of trade union rights issues were addressed. The Council of Global Unions also adopted recommendations to be presented to the G20 meeting to be held in July in Beijing, China. The General Secretaries also discussed tax justice issues and the role of global unions in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). EI was represented by GS Fred van Leeuwen, DGS Charlie Lennon, and Duncan Smith.
LGBTI NEWS
The first edition of the bi-annual EI Rainbow Newsletter on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues in education and education unions was sent out on 27 June. The newsletter supports the work of the EI-LGBTI network and informs EI affiliates on work to promote LGBTI rights.
