From 18-21 July, participants will join pre-EI Congress events to build action plans that protect and promote workers’ rights in education and employment, social justice and equality. Trade unions and schools can be vehicles for positive work to tackle inequalities, making human rights and education a reality for all women and men; girls and boys; Indigenous peoples, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The Congress will be opened by Deputy President Motlanthe of South Africa and addressed by Carol Bellamy, Chair of the US$1 billion Fast Track Initiative. The Congress will also hear from speakers representing UNESCO, the OECD and intergovernmental organisations with an interest in promoting education for all.
The 1,600 Congress participants will use their expertise to review recent developments in global education policy, and debate best practices to recruit, prepare and support education employees, and achieve quality education. Delegates from EI’s 400 member organisations will also be asked to adopt a comprehensive policy on the future development of education.
EI encourages open discussion among participants. Debates will review the impact of the global financial crisis on quality education, noting that change should not come at the cost of teachers’ rights and appropriate conditions of employment. The Congress will set the course of EI’s work, elect new leadership, and give two teachers international awards for their commitment to the profession and to human and trade union rights.
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