Ei-iE

The 10th Education International (EI) World Congress, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 29 July to 2 August 2024:

1. Recalls the EI resolutions: on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and on Indigenous Education adopted by the 1st EI World Congress in 1995, on the rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the 2nd EI World Congress in 1998 , on education in cultural diversity adopted by the 4th EI World Congress in 2004, on cultural diversity adopted by the 5th EI World Congress in 2007, on language diversity adopted by the 7th EI World Congress in 2015, on decolonising education adopted by the 8th EI World Congress in 2019;
2. Recalls the terms of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (No.169), ILO Convention concerning Violence and Harassment (C190) and the many international instruments on the prevention of discrimination;
3. Recalls that the Constitution of Education International commits EI ‘to combat all forms of racism and of bias or discrimination in education and society due to gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, religion, political opinion, social or economic status or national or ethnic origin’;
4. Acknowledges that the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages as many Indigenous languages are on the verge of extinction, and the freedom of language is not only a prerequisite to freedom of thought and expression, but the fulfilment of the right to education;
5. Acknowledges the resilient work of EI member organisations, teachers, and education support personnel on fulfilling the right to quality education for Indigenous students in the face of challenging contexts.

The 10th World Congress recognises that:

6. The fulfilment of the human rights of Indigenous students, teachers, education support personnel, and all Indigenous Peoples, is fundamental to the full realisation of the rights of all of humanity and the protection of our planet;
7. The distinct cultures, languages of Indigenous Peoples, and natural resources and their relationships to them enrich the cultural heritage of humankind and deserve protection as vehicles of culture and identity;
8. Indigenous Peoples’ relationship to their lands, waterways, territories, and resources are at the heart of their identity, well-being, culture, and sovereignty, yet Indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, waterways, territories, and resources remain limited or unrecognised with increased militarisation, extraction, land encroachments and treaty violations;
9. There remain gaps between what international and national instruments guarantee and how States implement these rights, particularly regarding the rights of Indigenous children and youth, Indigenous women and girls, and Indigenous Peoples with disabilities;
10. Indigenous human and labour rights defenders and activists face enormous risks and reprisals for defending their lands and rights, especially in the face of the global climate crisis, ranging from criminalisation, online harassment, and surveillance to assault and killings;
11. The COVID-19 pandemic, the privatisation of education, digitalisation, food insecurity, migration, and climate change have deepened structural inequalities with disproportionate health, socioeconomic, and cultural impacts for Indigenous Peoples;
12. Discrimination and violence, are recurrent phenomena in the lives of many Indigenous women and girls, in online spaces, media, and social media, and perpetrators are often treated with impunity and laws are not enforced;
13. Initiatives led by some Governments to document and preserve historic memory and its current legacy, through instruments such as investigative committees or healing and reconciliation commissions must be grounded in truth, integrity, accountability, healing, and justice, and include meaningful participation and oversight of Indigenous Peoples in their development, work, findings, analysis, and implementation of recommendations.

The 10th World Congress further recognises that:

14. All actions taken to acknowledge and combat the legacy and continued colonisation, assimilation, exclusion, and cultural genocide impacting Indigenous Peoples, particularly in education systems, must rest on the meaningful and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and the obtainment of their free, prior, and informed consent;
15. Education unions, as the organised collective voice of the teaching profession, and in line with their social justice mandate and democratic structures, have a unique role to play in furthering the rights of and addressing wrongs against Indigenous Peoples in and through education around the world;
16. Indigenous teachers, school leaders, and education support personnel often experience higher workloads with additional cultural loads without adequate renumeration, leave allowance, research support, and compensation. In turn, they are affected by inadequate educational infrastructure, poor sanitary services, and lack of access to information technologies;
17. The global teacher shortage impacts Indigenous communities most acutely, particularly in language instruction, and teachers on temporary contracts, especially since many Indigenous Peoples face discriminatory qualifications frameworks which deny access and block career advancement to the profession;
18. Curriculum that accurately depicts Indigenous Peoples’ history, knowledge, culture, and experiences is often underfunded, met with censorship, and many systems continue to provide curriculum and resources that are culturally irrelevant, based on discriminatory stereotypes, or fail to represent the current realities of Indigenous Peoples, which negatively impacts all students;
19. Public spending and education budgets are, on average, shrinking globally, which directly impacts Indigenous Peoples who face already underfunded education budgets and programmes.

The 10th World Congress calls on member organisations to:

20. Promote education for Indigenous Peoples which is developed with their full participation, to meet the rights, aspirations and needs of their communities;
21. Reaffirm solidarity with local Indigenous human rights and land defenders and condemn any acts of intimidation, harassment, and violence targeting Indigenous Peoples and their allies;
22. Create welcoming, respectful union environments that are culturally affirming to recruit and retain Indigenous members;
23. Strengthen the voice and representation of Indigenous Peoples, particularly Indigenous youth, including internally through dedicated structures and representation in union leadership, and externally in delegations to EI conferences and events, to better meet the specific needs of Indigenous Peoples as union members;
24. Promote the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination in recognition of their cultural identity, including the right to learn, to protect and enrich their land, and to use their own language;
25. Celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August, through communications efforts nationally and in collaboration with EI; and additional national or local days of celebration or commemoration;
26. Advocate for their governments to take appropriate policy, legislative and other concrete measures to:

1. Ratify and implement the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169, ILO Convention 190, key human rights treaties, and national corresponding legislation and incorporate those instruments into national implementation plans, with the participation of, and in consultation with, Indigenous Peoples;
2. Develop and implement National Action Plans for the UN Decade of Indigenous Languages in consultation with Indigenous Peoples;
3. Provide curricula, materials, and resources that reflect Indigenous education, languages, cultures, history, knowledge systems and epistemologies in Indigenous languages and the teacher training and continuous professional development to provide quality education with decent working conditions;
4. Ensure that the national curriculum includes knowledge of the history, cultural and linguistic richness of Indigenous Peoples as a heritage of humanity, in order to promote their appreciation and the importance of their preservation;
5. Promote joint responsibility between Governments and Indigenous Peoples in the administration of educational institutions located in their territories and in the evaluation of educational policies;
6. Increase investment in public education budgets specifically for Indigenous Peoples, with full inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and their education unions in spending decisions and oversight;

27. Integrate Indigenous Peoples into all early childhood education processes, various educational processes and education advocacy and planning processes from their early stages so that they are an integral part of the general educational fabric;
28. Engage with UN mechanisms around the rights of Indigenous Peoples, such as participating in calls for inputs or country visits by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and taking measures to respond to the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations and conclusions in thematic or country reports.

The 10th World Congress mandates EI to:

29. Request the Executive Board to establish an Indigenous Peoples Advisory Body in conformity with the EI Constitution Article 14 to further democratise EI’s structure and give authentic and legitimate voice to EI’s Indigenous members. The purpose of the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Body be considered to:

1. Frame and develop a comprehensive policy and action plan for EI to better coordinate and organise advocacy efforts, research, and capacity-building activities;
2. Propose ways of developing an Indigenous Peoples network across EI member organisations to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, experiences, and maximising opportunities for collaboration;
3. Develop, through consultation with member organisations and the Indigenous Peoples they represent, a plan for the UN Decade of Languages;

30. Support solidarity action, where the need arises, and raise awareness of the systemic issues facing Indigenous Peoples through EI member organisations and broader civil society, including in violations of sovereignty and land rights;
31. Ensure that Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives and issues are represented within all programmatic and advocacy work, and within and through campaigns, including the ongoing Go Public! Fund Education and Teach for the Planet campaigns;
32. Encourage and enable Indigenous Peoples and their representatives to connect with one another regionally to share experiences, engage in dialogue and support each other to better protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including by enabling space and resources for an Indigenous Peoples caucus to meet at EI events and the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education;
33. Develop partnerships with global, national, and local Indigenous organisations to seek the best paths forward to decolonise education and knowledge systems, tackle the impact of the climate crisis on Indigenous lands and Peoples, ensure gender equality, combat Indigenous identity fraud, promote student and teacher wellbeing, and fulfil the rights of Indigenous Peoples.