Education international held its Development Cooperation (DC) meetings last January. Around 60 union representatives were present to discuss SDGs, use of DC resources, gender based violence and education for refugees and migrants.
About the latter, it has been reported that many for-profit organisations consider education for refugees and migrants as a financial opportunity and are looking to take advantage of displaced children. EI has invited its members to be at the front and centre to fight for the education of the world’s most vulnerable. EI is currently carrying out an international campaign against privatisation of education which states that increasing marketization in and of education represent the greatest threat to education as a public good.
Regarding the sustainable development goals (SDG), Education International and its affiliates are advocating for the full implementation of SDG 4 related to Quality education. EI invites its members to make their voice heard, to request integration of SDGs into national plans, and to demand adequate investment in education and teachers. EI release a guide to help unions to participate in the SDG process and achieve the objectives. The guide is available here.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a universal agenda for sustainable development, ending poverty and hunger, ensuring quality education and health, gender equality and decent work for all, while protecting forests and oceans, and combating climate change. It has 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets. More info is available here.
ESN strongly believes that education goal and health goal are strongly related, since education to health and health promotion improve health outcomes, and good health and wellbeing of the education communities (pupils, teachers, education personel, parents) improves the quality of education.
