Ei-iE

Diplomats, activists and educational sector representatives gathered for the Global Campaign for Education’s (GCE) 3rd World Assembly in January to work to advance Education For All (EFA). Unions, teachers, students and parents will continue this advocacy at grassroots level during the upcoming Global Action Week in April.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is formulating a new international labour standard on HIV/AIDS. The draft document has been prepared and is available to read in seven languages on the ILO-AIDS website.

The UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education of which Education International (EI) is a member have produced four Advocacy Briefing Notes.

A three day training workshop in Dakar, Senegal from 4th – 6th February 2008 brought together national coordinators of the EFAIDS programmes in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda.

The annual EFAIDS Programme meeting for Latin America took place from 11-13 February 2008 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Activities and progress in 2007 were reviewed whilst programme objectives for 2008 were agreed.

A spokesman for EI affiliate, Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU), has welcomed the decision of the Namibian government to prioritise education in its recent budget allocations. Meanwhile, NANTU is continuing to raise awareness on HIV and AIDS through the distribution of a poster and a leaflet to inform their members...

In July 2007, Rudolph Roberts benefited from training conducted by his union, the SVGTU on HIV/AIDS prevention and Education for All. He spoke to EI about his experience.

Begoña Suarez, Confederal Secretary of the Confederación de Sindicatos de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores de la Enseñanza (STEs), now chairs the Pan-European Equality Committee as well as the its working group until the next General Assembly of the EI Pan-European region.

Talks aimed at liberalizing global trade are heading into yet another crucial phase as the prospects of successfully completing a deal before the end of the year quickly fade.

Development groups and trade unions are warning that treaties that regulate international investment are undermining democracy and human rights.

Talks between the European Union and India on a bilateral free trade agreement may not be completed by the end of year as originally planned.

Several nations are backing a new proposal for special exemptions from copyright rules under the agreements of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers in the UK, died suddenly on 5 April 2008. He was 56. The leaders and members of Education International join with teachers across the UK and indeed around the world in mourning the loss of this outstanding teacher trade unionist,...

Education International is strongly supporting the teachers of Lebanon in their strike action to back legitimate demands for a fair salary that reflects the high increase in the cost of living.

The meeting of the EI Pan-European Equality Standing Committee opened on April 1st with a record number of participants. A total of 51 representatives from 26 countries in the Pan-European region are taking part in the two-day meeting in Brussels.

"In unity is strength and in division is weakness."

French education unions are mobilizing against the government’s plan to cut 11,200 teaching jobs at the beginning of the next school year. Since early last week, secondary teachers have been on strike at various schools throughout the country.

EI's founding President Mary Hatwood Futrell says redefining schooling is not a national issue, but a global one.