Worldwide
World Social Forum
From 9-12 August, Education International (EI)’s Global Response Campaign was represented at and participated in the World Social Forum in Montreal, Canada. On behalf of EI, Curtis Riep, Professor Prachi Srivastava and Dr Antonio Olmedo spoke about “The global education industry: Philanthropy, business and the changing roles of government”. EI also contributed to the American Federation of Teachers-organised panel, “Capital Strategies Focused on Education – a case study in taking on the profiteers” (Pearson), and the Centrale de syndicats du Québec-organised panel, “Response to the privatisation/commodi?cation of education and knowledge”. Angelo Gavrielatos and Mar Candela represented EI.
Council of Global Unions communicators group
On 13 September, Global Unions’ Communications Officers met in Geneva, Switzerland, to learn from each other’s experiences, share good practices and discuss future cooperation on campaigns and events. The meeting took place in a very positive atmosphere, with a unanimous welcome of the resumption of activities after a three-year hiatus. EI presented the Unite and Global Response campaigns.GUFs present were IndustriAll (hosting), ITUC, ETUC, ITF, TUAC, IFJ, UNI, PSI, BWI, and EI (represented by Andrew King and Timo Linsenmaier).
