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.
Chairperson Veronica Rankin first welcomed all the participants to the meeting, an annual event which makes recommendations on equality issues to the Pan-European Regional Committee.
Charlie Lennon, EI's Chief Regional Co-ordinator for the European region and newly-appointed Deputy General Secretary, addressed the participants. "You have a challenging agenda for the meeting and I hope you all have a fruitful meeting today," he said.
Next, Martin Rømer, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), informed the representatives that equality and equity is an increasingly important topic for the European Commission, and it is very much a mainstream issue which concerns all teachers in Europe.
Jan Eastman, EI Deputy General Secretary talked about the issue of equality being brought to the forefront in EI's work through the resolutions passed in last year's 5th World Congress. She also briefed the participants on EI's participation in the recent UN Committee on the Status of Women held in February in New York, EI's equality work in 2007-2008, as well as a World Conference for Women in 2010.
For more information about the meeting, please click on the link below.