Ei-iE

Key note address by Fred van Leeuwen, General Secretary of Education International, to the Education International north America/Caribbean Conference, Trinidad and Tobago, 25 February 2010

An investigation by a courageous human rights lawyer has revealed that an appeal of the death sentence against Iranian teacher trade unionist Farzad Kamangar was sidelined by one of Iran’s most feared prosecutors.

As governmnents cut public budgets to reduce their deficits post-crisis, how can we show voters where to find the resources for education in a global economy...?

The world is not on track to achieve universal primary education by 2015 ... 72 million children are still not in school ... and there is a funding gap of 16 billion USD ... read more

In early November, negotiators from the United States, Japan, the European Union, Canada and a select handful of other nations huddled together in a closed-door session in Seoul, South Korea.

At the end of last year, the Rwandan government decided to impose English as the single official language of education and government, without any public debate or consultation with teaching unions. Since 1996 all three official languages - Kinyarwandan, French and English - have been used in education. The move...

In 2006 governments worldwide committed to achieving universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support on HIV and AIDS by 2010. With current access to anti-retroviral treatment meeting only half the needs and with five new infections for every two people who start treatment, greater investment backed by...

In recent years, Finland has consistently ranked at the top of the OECD’s PISA surveys. The Trade Union of Education in Finland (OAJ) is often asked: How do you do it? What’s the secret to your success?

“When I saw the ad in our union magazine …I thought: Okay, why not?” says Rachel Heller, teacher and International Coordinator at Maartens College, and a member of EI’s Dutch affiliate AOb. “I had spent two years Malawi as a teacher before. I wanted to do it again.” “I thought:...

Fears of a return to dictatorship and political violence in Honduras are compounding the grave economic crisis facing countries across Latin America.

Southeast Asian teachers who face violations of their trade union rights now have a new line of defence and a new source of solidarity. The EI Trade Union Rights Network (TURN) is really getting off the ground since representatives from member organisations in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have...

Bringing gender equality closer to reality in the daily lives of women, including through their participation in education unions, is a key principle of EI. With the current crises in¬ food security, climate change and economic recession, this goal of gender equality demands greater effort if it is to be...

As thousands of scientists, environmentalists, journalists, policymakers and world leaders prepare for COP 15, the crucial United Nations climate change conference taking place in Copenhagen in December, teachers and trade unionists are also mobilising to help ensure that a strong new agreement is reached.

Whatever good or bad news we may hear about the crisis in the media, education is still suffering from measures taken since the onset of the global financial and economic crisis. This has an impact on teachers and education unions at all levels of education.

“We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning.” U.S. President Barack Obama, Cairo, 4 June 2009

Australian teacher and trade unionist Susan Hopgood takes on the presidency of Education International following the resignation of EI President Thulas Nxesi, who has been elected to the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa.

This was the resounding message from teachers around the world as they lobbied and marched and celebrated World Teachers’ Day, despite the global economic crisis threatening education and other key public services.