On 22 September 2014, the EI initiative Unite for Quality Education Campaign reaches its peak in the European Region. On this special day, ETUCE is organising a Public Hearing on the Future of Quality Education, hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels, to celebrate one year of campaign activities.
The hearing is the European region’s culmination event of the EI initiative Unite for Quality Education and links to the global campaign culmination event at the United Nation General Assembly in New York in October 2014.
Preceding this event in the morning of 22 September 2014, is the final conference of the ETUCE project ‘ Development of Teacher Union Expertise in Exiting the Crisis through Quality Education’. In the first screening of the project film-documentary, participants have the opportunity to see the real impact that austerity measures and budget cuts in the education sector have on quality education in Europe as well as on teacher trade unions and society as a whole.
On that day, one year will have passed since the launch of the EI/ETUCE initiative Unite for Quality Education. Since then, member organisations have mobilised their affiliates with a view to promote the teacher union vision of quality education and to support high quality education for all as one of the fundamental pillars of a just and equitable society. Strong actions were organised by teacher trade unions throughout Europe to promote the 10 ETUCE key messages on “What is needed to improve the Quality of Education in Europe?”, adopted by the ETUCE Committee on 23-24 October 2013. Besides, ETUCE member organisations’ campaign work has tied in with the election of the European Parliament in May 2014. Thanks to teacher unions’ advocacy work, many members of the European Parliament pledged for the ETUCE 10 key messages.
On 22 September 2014, we join in the European region culmination event of the EI/ETUCE initiative Unite for Quality Education, to take stock of a year of campaign activities, to discuss about the Future of Quality Education, and to ask European decision-makers courage and long-term solutions to defend and enhance quality education. The hearing is an important occasion to share with MEPs, high-level European Commission representatives and other stakeholders in education visions on the future of quality education, challenged by a still fragile recovery from the economic crisis, and the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).