We bring together our member organisations to discuss and share experiences, good practices and ideas on responding to collective challenges. Together we are building the education unions of the future: mass participation organisations that reflect the diverse interests and identities of their members and offer educators a multitude of ways to engage and contribute.
The 6th Ordinary Congress of the Syndicat des enseignants libres du Sénégal (SELS) held on 18 September in Dakar endorsed the creation of a National Youth Committee (NYC) which should contribute “to the massification of the union” and work “for the emergence of a young leadership within the structure”.
Senegal: trade union renewal on the agenda of the SELS national congress
Thanks to financial support from Education International’s Regional Office for Africa (EIRAF), the Syndicat national des enseignants des écoles maternelles du Bénin (SYNAEM-Bénin) has built a website with a feature that enables educators to join the union and pay their dues online.
Benin: New website strengthens union’s capacity and services to members
During 2020, as part of the prevention and isolation measures taken in response to Covid-19, Argentina’s national government passed a decree suspending in-person classes throughout the country. The decision was backed by an institutional framework for social and political support.
In-person schooling during the pandemic: collective bargaining vs. political profiteering
To better understand the needs of member organisations in the region and to explore opportunities, partner organisations gathered on 15 November to discuss development cooperation projects in Africa and work on a common strategy.
Development cooperation partners take stock of projects in Africa
The Education International’s Development Cooperation Handbook – A guide to successful partnerships is a new tool for development cooperation, a step-by-step guide to development cooperation projects for education unions. It was introduced to member organisations during the online Asia-Pacific workshop on Development Cooperation, a meeting hosted by Education International’s Asia-Pacific...
Asia-Pacific: Education unions step up their work with new Development Cooperation Handbook
Faced with the advance of the desert and increasing floods, teacher unionists in Niger have drafted a Guide to Educational Activities on Climate Change, as well as a Manual for the Study Circles of Niger, which includes the climate issue. The Syndicat National des Enseignants du Niger (SNEN) was one...
Niger: Climate change education is a trade union priority
As the COVID-19 pandemic became global, education unions showed solidarity with a dedicated COVID Response Fund to support member organisations during school closures and where teachers were hit by the health crisis.
Solidarity in times of crisis: the EI COVID Response Fund
Inspiring young educators to improve and develop trade union work in Fiji was the aim of a dedicated training event organised by the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) in October 2020.
Fiji: Young activists ready to take up the union torch
The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) has held a series of virtual leadership training workshops for women within the organisation. The theme of this series, that could happen thanks to the financial support of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (EFTO), member of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), was: “Empowering...
Caribbean unions empower women as leaders
Education International has taken up an ambitious plan to renew its structure and adapt it to the strategic directions adopted at its last World Congress in Bangkok. Its new unit in charge of solidarity and capacity building has been set up to enhance Education International’s work in these areas, keeping...
New Capacity Building and Solidarity Unit gears up to build union power
World Teachers’ Day 2021 is an opportunity to mark the extraordinary achievements of education workers who have worked through the pandemic, and also to acknowledge the difficult work done by teachers that is ongoing as they support young people to face a future that has been reshaped by a global...
Education unions leading in a pandemic: the reality behind the headlines
Capacity building for young female teachers and increased female representation in union leadership are at the heart of training organised by the General Union of Palestinian Teachers (GUPT).
Palestine: Development cooperation programme builds capacity among female teachers and union members
Education International has launched an urgent action appeal for Haiti to assist trade unionists and teachers in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.
Haiti: Call for international solidarity with education colleagues after earthquake
Education International is saddened to learn about the passing on 21 August of Margareta Axell (78), former International Secretary of Lärarförbundet, Sweden.
Education union community mourns outstanding advocate for quality education and international solidarity
Education International and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES, German acronym) are working together in Cameroon on a capacity building project, “Union renewal: building strong, inclusive, democratic and effective unions in the education sector in Cameroon”. The project involving all of Education International’s national member organisations will run from 2021 until...
Cameroon: Education organisations’ joint project for democracy and union renewal
Through the use of Education International’s COVID-19 solidarity fund, its two affiliates in Mauritania have been able to conduct a series of joint school visits to meet with teachers. The initiative has helped boost the unions’ image and membership levels.
Mauritania: unions working more closely with teachers to meet their needs
I’m Julie, a deaf/blind high school teacher in the North of Scotland. Here is my experience balancing 16 months of Covid-19 as a deaf/blind teacher and unionist.
Disability and Teaching In The Time of The Covid Crisis
Rwandan education workers’ union SYPERWA organised a tour to meet teachers from private schools and help them solve the problems encountered. Thanks to Education International’s COVID-19 solidarity fund, the union has been able to map the issues for teachers affected by COVID-19, provide legal assistance to teachers suspended as a...
Rwanda: SYPERWA stands by teachers during the crisis