CAPACITY BUILDING
From 4-6 May, leaders from the Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union (SLTU) participated in a workshop on capacity building. Organised by the regional office in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the workshop focused on the teacher management system. Participants noted that current legislation denies teachers their right to collective bargaining and recommended that the Teaching Service Commission be made autonomous from the Ministry of Education. Emanuel Fatoma represented EI.
A GLOBAL RESPONSE
Leaders of EI affiliates in East Africa - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zanzibar - gathered from 15-16 May in Kampala, Uganda, to coordinate their response to the commercialisation and privatisation of education spreading across the continent. They shared national experiences and developed a deeper understanding of the EI Global Response to the growing commercialisation and privatisation of and in education. Angelo Gavrielatos and Richard Etonu represented EI.
LEARNING TO NEGOTIATE
From 15-20 May, the SLTU, in cooperation with the Danish Union of Teachers (DLF), organised a workshop on negotiation skills for members of the SLTU negotiation committee. At the workshop, held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, participants analysed the political environment in view of possible and effective negotiation. It was also observed that SLTU had not reviewed the Collective Agreement for almost 16 years. Emanuel Fatoma represented EI.
CREATING QUALITY EDUCATION
A workshop was held in Kampala, Uganda, from 18-19 May, to boost teachers’ efforts globally for better education. Leaders and staff of the Uganda National Teachers' Union were among the participants who explored how to strengthen human resource management practices in education. Richard Etonu, Jefferson Pessi, and Undraa Batsukh represented EI.
EDUCATION AFTER EBOLA
The second post-Ebola consortium workshop was organised by the National Teachers' Association of Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia, from 23-27 May. Trainers underwent a training of trainers (TOR) workshop using the revised manual and handbook as resource materials. A district workshop followed to apply the TOR in the Port City of Buchanan, Grand Bassa county. Emanuel Fatoma represented EI.
WOMEN UNITED
From 6-9 June, in Accra, Ghana, the EI regional office Africa (EIRAF) and the Union of Education Norway (UEN) held a planning meeting for the Unite and Africa Women in Education Network programmes. A workshop on results-based management, involving UEN representatives and the EIRAF staff, aimed to improve the EIRAF capacity to plan, implement, and report on projects.