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EI
Monthly Monitor
Vol
6 N°4 March - April 1999
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| Thirteenth EI Executive Board meeting |
EI to launch campaigns on
Quality Public Education for All
and the Promotion of a Culture
of Peace
The implementation of the 1999-2001 Working Program was one of the highlights of the 13th Executive Board meeting on 25-27 March 1999 in Brussels (Belgium). A document providing information on the anticipated cost, organisation and planning of the activities decided upon by the Congress was adopted. A number of programs from the human rights and equality, education and information sections have now been combined and expanded with the purpose of implementing the public education campaign called for by the Second Congress and a campaign on the Culture of Peace to be organised, at UNESCO’s invitation, as EI’s contribution to the International Year for a Culture of Peace 2000.
General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen presented an extensive Progress Report of EI activities from July 1998 to March 1999 (excerpts to be found throughout this issue). Several other items on the agenda were recommendations put forward by the November 1998 and March 1999 Officers’ meetings (see Monitor Vol 6 No 2). These included financial reports; World Congress matters, with a decision on the venue of the 3rd Congress expected to be held in Chiang Mai (Thailand); future strategies (new membership areas, regional and programming issues); a membership consultation in 1999-2000 on structures, policy and practice of EI, with a conclusion at the 2001 Congress.
New members were admitted in EI:
The Board adopted urgent resolutions on the situation in Kosovo
(forwarded to member organisations), in Sierra
Leone (condemning the atrocities committed by the rebel forces and
commending our members for their courageous stand), in Turkey
(where teacher union leaders have been charged for promoting minority rights
and the use of mother tongue in education), in Colombia
(where an EI mission will be sent to address the issue of continued violence
against education personnel), and in Irak,
to ensure that the social needs (of children in particular) are given priority.
The new Status of Women Committee met on 24-25 March 1999 with an agenda comprising issues such as the increasing feminisation of the teaching profession, gender analysis, the promotion of the EI Policy Declaration on Women, international conventions and protocols, the UN Commission on the Status of Women and Beijing+5 (special session of the UN General Assembly in June 2000), etc. Recommendations of the Committee on these issues were presented to and adopted by the Executive Board.
A calendar of EI meetings for 1999-2001 was agreed, with an Officers’ meeting scheduled for 5 and 6 November 1999 and the next Executive Board from 25 to 27 January 2000 in Brussels.
| REGIONS |
Africa
EI African Regional Committee’s February 1999 meeting
The follow-up to the Third (pre-Congress) Pan-African Conference and the mid-July 1998 Workshop on Teacher Organisations and Quality Public Education (Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire) attended by some 150 delegates were some of the major items for the Regional Committee of EI in Africa held 7-9 February 1999 in Lomé, Togo. Other points on the Committee’s agenda included: the Second EI World Congress, proposed regional activities in 1999, campaigns on Education for All - Quality Public Education, a review of situations in specific countries, membership recruitment, future events on the African continent, etc. EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen addressed the meeting and took part in the work of the Committee.
In his July 1998-March 1999 Progress Report presented to the March Executive Board, the EI leader reports that the average annual growth in Africa has stood at 4.5% to 5% in recent years. However, Organisation of African Unity (OAU) statistics indicate that 70-75% of adults in Africa can neither read nor write and nearly half the children of school age have no chance of going to school. Over 40% of the African population still lives in absolute poverty. Violations of human and trade union rights are frequent in many countries. EI has 59 African affiliates in 44 out of 52 countries, but our affiliates still do not represent the majority of education personnel in a number of countries. Strategies will be determined for recruiting new member organisations and strengthening existing EI-affiliated unions.
Please note that the EI Regional Office for Africa has moved to new
premises.
Telephone: +228 21 28 41
Fax: +228 21 28 48.
However, the Post Office Box (B.P. 14058 Lomé, Togo) and
E-mail address (eiraf@bibway.com)
remain unchanged.
As with the Asia-Pacific region, the African office is now shared with Public Services International (PSI) regional staff. Help keep us abreast of time: inform the secretariat of any change applicable to our membership list, now regularly updated on EI’s Internet site.
Asia-Pacific
EI Mission to Indonesia
Following a first visit to Indonesia by the General Secretary in October 1998, EI decided to send a mission to observe the changing political and trade union situation in that South East Asia country and examine possible co-operation with PGRI, the Teachers’ Association of the Republic of Indonesia (1.3 million members). From 1 to 5 February 1999, an EI delegation comprising cooperating organisations from Sweden, Norway, Japan, the USA, Australia and EI officials held meetings in Djakarta, mostly with trade unionists. The report presented to the March Executive Board contained several recommendations aimed at strengthening teacher trade unionism in the region. The implementation of activities should start in April.
As is many Asian countries, the economic crisis prompted a squeeze on
public spending. It is estimated that 25 per cent of Indonesian children
and young people do not attend school. There has been a rise in the number
of cases of malnutrition, child labour and prostitution.
Europe
Adult Education. EI/Europe (EI/E) affiliates were invited to a Round Table on Adult Education scheduled Friday and Saturday, 16-17 April 1999, in Stockholm (Sweden) to discuss three main issues:
Higher Education and Research. Some 25 delegates took part in the EI/Europe Higher Education and Research Standing Committee meeting on 10-11 March 1999 in Brussels (Belgium). The agenda comprised the minutes of the 29-30 September 1998 meeting (see Monitor Vol 6 No 2), the issue of mobility and qualifications (Sorbonne Declaration), databases on salaries and working conditions, the EI Conference on Higher Education, a presentation on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and public education, the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel, EI/Europe strategies for 1999-2001, ETUCE activities, contacts with other institutions, etc. The Committee should meet again in November 1999.
Latin America
Development cooperation plays a vital role for Latin American teacher unions
The regional office in Latin America has submitted several project proposals
aimed at providing training for a number of affiliates. The objective is
to enable them to better defend their views regarding the educational policies
of their governments through national structures, to create national movements
in support of public education, and to contribute to a regional strategy
about governmental policies (see Chief Coordinator Napoleón Morazán’s
analysis in the December 1998 EI Magazine.) A Regional Working Plan was
on the agenda of the Development Cooperation meeting on 12 and 13 April
1999 in San Jose (Costa Rica). Members of the Regional Committee, cooperating
organisations and EI personnel were invited to this first triennial reunion.
A formal meeting of the Latin America Regional Committee was also called
by the General Secretary of EI.
North America & The Caribbean
Tidings from the Caribbean
The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) has agreed to formalise relations with EI. This decision was taken at CUT’s Executive Board meeting, held in Grenada on 11-12 December 1998. Relations between EI and CUT will now reflect a structure whereby all EI members in the Caribbean will automatically become members of CUT. The two organisations have agreed to work jointly on all activities undertaken in the region. In order to facilitate these new relations, CUT has agreed to amend its constitution at its next biennial Conference, to be held in August 1999 in Barbados.
In the July 1998 – March 1999 Progress Report, the General Secretary noted that the most critical issue in the region is an escalation in criminal activity, the majority of such activities being centered around the drug trade. Young people are particularly involved due to a lack of employment opportunities. There is a strong possibility that the economic situation in the region will worsen following the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling whereby banana exports, the main economic activity in some Caribbean countries, should no longer receive preferential treatment by the European Union.
During the current programming period (1999-2001), the North America/Caribbean
region is scheduled to hold a Round Table and a Regional Conference. A
planning committee is already at work. The previous Conferences took place
in St. Lucia (in February 1998 – see Monitor
Vol 5 No 3) and in Jamaica (in March 1995 – see Monitor Vol 2 No 4).
| EDUCATION |
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On 10 March 1999, UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor and the General Secretary of Education International, Fred van Leeuwen, signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing areas for co-operation in the field of education in 1999-2001 (see previous Monitor, p. 1). The two organisations agreed to continue co-operating - as they have done since 1994 - in educational initiatives which are carried out by teachers and which also serve to enhance the status of teachers. These include Education for All, which seeks to provide literacy to all the world's people; education for peace, human rights and tolerance; the extension of educational opportunities to girls and women; and the promotion of education that preserves and respects indigenous cultures. The organisations will also co-operate in promoting the observance of World Teachers' Day (October 5) in all countries. EI and UNESCOPRESS issued a press release giving more details on the new agreement. Meetings are being organised to determine more specific programs, activities and fields of cooperation. UNESCO is the specialised agency for education in the United Nations system, and EI is the world's largest confederation of education trade unions representing 23 million members. |
Education International Making the Difference in Higher Education and Research
The first EI biennial conference on Higher Education will take place
on October 1999. The three-day program will feature plenaries with guest
speakers and seven workshops with presentations by experts, followed by
debates on various themes such as:
World Conference on Science for the Twenty-First Century: A New Commitment
In spite of the opportunities it offers us all, science is facing difficulties of confidence and investment, as well as those of an ethical nature. These can only be solved if the scientific community, governments, business and the general public are able, through debate, to reach common ground on science with respect of the service it is to provide to society, and a new commitment to science in the years to come. UNESCO and the International Council for Science (ICSU) are providing a unique forum through the convening of a World Conference on Science to be held 26 June to 1 July 1999 in Budapest, Hungary.
The Conference will address and involve national governments and institutions,
educational and research establishments, members of the scientific community,
the industrial sector, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations
(IGOs and NGOs), as well as the media and general public (by invitation
only). Education International will participate in this forum which should
address several aspects of the world of science (science education, science
and technology, basic human needs, environment, the gender issue, democracy,
knowledge, etc) and conclude on a Declaration and a Science Agenda – Framework
for Action. More information available in English, French and Spanish on
UNESCO’s website http://www.unesco.org
in the Current Events section.
Lifelong learning and training: a bridge to the future
Providing lifelong learning and training for the world of work in the twenty-first century is the main thrust of the Second International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education organised by UNESCO in co-operation with the Government of the Republic of Korea, 26-30 April 1999. The programme of the Congress addressed some of the central issues relating to learning and training for the development of the human resources that will be required in the early years of the next century - issues that confront both developed and developing countries in an age of rapid social, economic and technological change. Lifelong learning and training: a bridge to the future has been chosen as the theme for this meeting.
About 750 delegates have been invited, including some 30 members from EI affiliates and two representatives from EI headquarters. The Seoul Congress was expected to formulate recommendations to the Director-General of UNESCO on possible strategies for use by Member States and to consider UNESCO’s long-term strategy for actions in the field of technical and vocational education. As indicated in the 1999-2001 Program adopted by the Second World Congress (item 3.9.), Education International is planning to organise in 2000 an international Round Table on vocational education and training with special emphasis on partnerships and new technologies. Preparations will begin in Seoul and a task force will be established for this meeting.
For further information on the UNESCO Congress and its follow-up: http://www.education.unesco.org
and http://www.unevoc.de/congress
A seminar on the Swedish education system for OECD member unions
Member organisations from the OECD zone will have the opportunity to
attend a first week-long ‘country seminar’ hosted by Swedish teachers’
unions Lärarförbundet and LR on 12-17 September 1999 in Stockholm
(Sweden). This EI initiative answers the wish expressed in the past by
OECD affiliates for more in-depth studies and discussions of current questions
concerning education and trade union policies, using the example of a particular
country as a starting point. In recent years, Swedish education has experienced
a period of radical and, in some cases, controversial change, moving from
a centralised to a decentralised system. As illustrated in the EI/UNESCO
1997 video Teachers Make the Difference, a long-term collective agreement
now makes it possible for schools to experiment locally with elements such
as merit-related pay, working hours and negotiations. OECD zone member
organisations have received the programme and conditions for registration
to this seminar (held in English only). The number of participants is limited
to 15 persons, on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
World Bank personnel study Human Development issues
More than a thousand persons (mostly World Bank personnel) attended
the 1999 Human Development Week organised annually by the UN agency at
the beginning of March in Washington D.C. (USA). The event comprised some
100 workshops on education, health and other human development issues as
well as opportunities for informal exchanges between World Bank staff and
participants from governmental circles and the civil society. EI Human
Rights coordinator Rosslyn Noonan was a resource on the involvement of
teacher unions for the improvement of education, while Deputy General Secretary
Élie Jouen spoke on teachers’ salaries in Africa. The World Bank
Group has about 7000 employees.
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The Second World Congress expressed the wish that “public activities, including media events, [be] organised in as many countries as possible on World Teachers’ Day, focusing on the status of the teaching profession” (see Congress Highlights p. 129). This year EI and UNESCO will again join forces to support, at the international level, the 5 October 1999 celebrations to be organised locally by member organisations. Affiliates will receive more information by the end of April, following an EI/UNESCO meeting. Keep us informed of your national plans for 1999. |
| HEALTH |
1999 World AIDS Campaign with children and young people: LISTEN, LEARN, LIVE!
“Working with people under 25 is perhaps the best hope we have today
of bringing the epidemic under control. Yet all over the world, children
and young people continue to be in the line of fire of this virus, and
we have to ask ourselves why”, said Peter Piot, Executive Director
of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, at the launch of the
new World AIDS Campaign with children and young people which took place
on 25 and 26 February 1999 in Brasilia (Brazil). “A big part of the
answer is that adults spend too much time telling young people what to
do without listening to what they need: affection, close bonds with adults,
and education about healthy sexuality. In addition, we must speak out and
loudly challenge the violence, poverty and discrimination that create huge
reservoirs of HIV risk in young lives”, added Dr Piot.
LISTEN, LEARN, LIVE! will be the theme of the 1999 campaign.
Research has shown that talking with children about HIV and sexuality must start early. UNAIDS believes that too many children and adolescents are still being deprived of AIDS information and skills because of fears by adults – including government authorities – that education will increase sexual activity, when evidence shows that the opposite is true. Experience also shows that the stigma surrounding HIV infection can be significantly reduced by educating adolescents about HIV/AIDS, and especially dispelling myths about its causes.
The UN agencies’ 1999 campaign will lobby for wide-scale implementation
of projects that have been shown to be effective. As in 1998, Education
International will work in partnership with UNAIDS. Other partners this
year are: MTV network, the International Save the Children Alliance, the
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, the World Organisation
of the Scout Movement and the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies. More information about the campaign is available
from UNAIDS regional contacts world-wide and at http://www.unaids.org
| HUMAN RIGHTS |
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In preparation for the Year 2000, proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year for the Culture of Peace, UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor launched a ‘Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence’ that is intended to unleash a global grass roots movement in favour of peace, solidarity and tolerance. Mr. Mayor emphasised the importance of peace as a “prerequisite without which there is no justice, liberty, freedom of expression or development.” Nobel Prize laureates and young ‘peace messengers’ signed the Manifesto during a ceremony (attended by EI representatives) on 4 March 1999 at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Movement seeks to obtain the personal commitment of individuals from all over the world to subscribe to, and translate into their daily actions, the values of peace, tolerance, sharing and solidarity which underpin the culture of peace. “Hand in hand we can write the future, when we will have realised the potential of mobilisation,” declared Mr. Mayor. A stylistic representation of two clasped hands will identify the campaign’s message. EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen has signed the Manifesto 2000, and through its program of activities, Education International will fully support this initiative which, among other results, hopes to collect 100 million signatures. More information to follow soon for EI affiliates. The short six-point Manifesto can already be read (in various languages) – and signed - on Internet at: http://www.unesco.org/manifesto2000 |
| TRADE UNION RIGHTS |
ICFTU’s International Day to Commemorate the Dead and Injured Workers
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 250 million
work-related accidents per year result in 384,870 fatalities. Economic
losses amount to 4 per cent of the world’s Gross National Product. For
the fourth time, trade unions have been invited to organise events for
28 April, the International Day to Commemorate the Dead and Injured Workers.
The plight of women workers - young and old - is this year’s theme; case
histories gathered by the ICFTU describe situations such as: Domestic workers
in the Middle East, Maquiladora workers in Mexico, Women in agriculture
in Colombia and Uganda, Female workers in Nike factories in Vietnam and
in Bangladesh garment sweatshops. A summary of known 1999 events, a theme
song “She has become a woman”, a press pack including articles, model letters,
photos for publications, video sequences for broadcasters and a sample
press release have been prepared by the ICFTU and sent to all its affiliated
organisations, regional offices and to ITSs. More information on: http://www.icftu.org
and from the ICFTU in Brussels at: +32 2 224 0211.
| INTERNATIONAL |
| Excerpts from the July 1998 - March 1999 Progress Report | |
| Education International and Public Services International (PSI) are jointly preparing an information kit for trade unionists on lesbian and gay issues. A survey was conducted in March to find out about the work of individual affiliates (policies, material, and resources) on lesbian and gay issues. As a follow up to the Second World Congress resolution (Highlights p. 146), more information will be collected and a report will be presented to the Congress in 2001. | The OECD Directorate for Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs has proposed cooperation with EI in monitoring a major new project on comparative educational indicators throughout OECD countries, as well as projects on teacher education and life-long learning. EI also participates in working groups such as the OECD Education Committee, with representatives from all governments, TUAC (the Trade Union Advisory Committee) and BIAC (the Business and Industry Advisory Committee). |
| EI was represented at the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women held 1-19 March 1999 in New York (USA). The participants worked on the planning of a Beijing+5 review of action taken by governments on the Platform for Action adopted by the 1995 World Conference on Women. | Through TUAC Working Groups, EI helped draft (in December 1998) an important joint statement by ICFTU and TUAC on the global economic crisis, which stresses the need for investment in education and training. This statement was presented to the G7 as well as OECD Finance Ministers, and has received widespread publicity since its release in December 1998. TUAC’s affiliates consist of over 55 national trade union centres which together represent some 70 million workers. More at http://www.tuac.org |
| A planning meeting for an EI international conference on Racism, Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia and Religious Intolerance was held in Brussels in February. The event is scheduled for November or December 2000. | The Conference of NGOs in consultative status at the United Nations held a Board meeting at UN Headquarters in New York (USA) at the end of February 1999. In a wide-ranging discussion, much concern was expressed about increasing restrictions on NGO access to the UN. The Board invited its officers to meet with General Secretary Kofi Annan in order to make a fresh start on building more constructive relations. |
| On 5 February 1999, a meeting was held in Geneva between representatives of the International Trade Secretariats and the new Director-General Elect of the ILO, Mr. Juan Somovia. In recent years, ITSs have been concerned over weakening of the ILO sectoral program (see http://www.ilo.org/sector ), which has been attacked by the employers’ organisation. Mr. Somovia indicated his interest in sectoral work linked with ILO’s strategic priorities such as standards, employment, social protection and dialogue. | There are proposals for NGOs to hold a Millenium Forum in the UN General Assembly Chamber in May 2000, prior to a summit of Heads of State and Government in November or December 2000. One of the aims could be to hold governments to the commitments they have made at the major summits of the 1990s. |
| On 20 and 21 January 1999 an ICFTU/ITS delegation, including President Mary Futrell and General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen, met with IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus and leading Executive Directors of the World Bank. The trade unionists stressed the need for strong policy guidelines in the “world financial architecture” and pointed to the crises in Asia and Russia, arguing that respect for basic trade union and other democratic rights are fundamental in helping to build a national framework for future social and economic planning. | Three regional workshops have been held in recent months to develop national projects for teacher union involvement in the work to eliminate child labour and to get children to school: New Delhi (India), Asunción (Paraguay) and Cairo (Egypt). All participating organisations have planned activities to begin in March and April 1999, with funding from ILO’s IPEC program. This campaign has been established as “a top priority” by the 1998 World Congress (see Highlights p.130-133). |
| PUBLIC@TIONS |
Oxfam mobilises public support for education to break the cycle of poverty
Education Now! Break the Cycle of Poverty is the theme of an Oxfam International
Education Campaign launched 22 March 1999 in several cities around the
world. EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen attended a NOVIB press conference
held in The Hague (The Netherlands). “The additional $8 billion per annum
over 10 years which would be required to finance universal primary education
represents just four days’ worth of global military spending.” says Oxfam
International. “What is affordable is a question of priorities, not resource
availability”. Oxfam International is a network of 11 aid agencies that
work in 120 countries throughout the developing world. For further information
on Oxfam’s education campaign: http://www.oxfam.org/educationnow
or administration@oxfaminternational.org
A book on the campaign’s theme will be available in various languages,
but not until the end of the year.
Recent OECD publications on
Education
| BITS AND BYTES |