On 5 December, the 11th Regional Meeting on Public Education and Indigenous Peoples was held by Education International Latin America (EILA) in San José, Costa Rica.
Representatives of Indigenous Peoples affiliated to the trade unions CEA-Argentina, CTERA-Argentina, CNTE-Brazil, ANDE-Costa Rica, SEC-Costa Rica, STEG-Guatemala, COLPROSUMAH-Honduras, MPU-Panama, OTEP-Paraguay and SUTEP-Peru took part in the 11th Regional Meeting.
The day began with a welcome ceremony led by Merlyn José Hidalgo, a Bribri Indigenous teacher from Costa Rica, with the participation of the those attending the meeting.
Greetings were then extended by Gabriela Bonilla, a representative of the Education International Latin America (EILA) regional office; Yorgina Alvarado (SEC, Costa Rica), EILA Vice President; Gilda Montero (ANDE, Costa Rica), a member of the EILA Regional Committee, and Fátima Silva (CNTE-Brazil). A message from Gina Pancorbo, Education International Research, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, was also shared.
The presentations given by Gina Pancorbo and Gabriela Bonilla enabled participants to learn about the resolutions that Education International has adopted globally with regard to the education of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the fight against the climate crisis.
Bonilla explained that having these resolutions “is an opportunity for us to say, through our unions or through our education authorities: this is the position of the global education union movement. We can make use of these tools to influence decision making.”
She also recalled that we cannot talk about Indigenous education without taking into account the disputes and conflicts impacting these peoples and their education communities.
Strengthening Indigenous education and our organisations
During the meeting, participants worked in groups to discuss the state of Indigenous education policy in their countries and the working conditions of Indigenous teachers.
The main issues raised included the lack of funds to implement existing Indigenous education laws, unstable working conditions for Indigenous teachers, poor access to training, excessive workloads, and infrastructure problems.
The impact of climate change on Indigenous communities and the lack of support from authorities were also mentioned.
In light of these issues, discussions were held on the need to promote solidarity between Indigenous teachers from different unions, to adapt content and calendars to dates that are important for Indigenous Peoples, and to defend bilingual multicultural education, among other things.