On 5 July 2016 the Education and Solidarity Network executive committee meeting and the 2016 General Assembly took place in Paris in MGEN’s offices.
The President outlined the main points of the 2015 progress report. He presented the progress made with health promotion in schools, particularly due to the development of the F’Acteurs Santé project; integrating international networks working on school health promotion (SHE and IUHPE); work on occupational health in the education sector. He also referred to the work being done with the health mutual for education professionals in Burkina Faso.
The following comments were made at the General Assembly:
- The CIESS hopes to strengthen its collaboration with the ESN and its members in terms of health promotion in schools and with its “Escuelas Saludables” programme in Colombia. In addition, the ESN successfully created important links between the CIESS and SOLIDARITE LAIQUE in Haïti.
- SOLIDARITE LAIQUE highlighted the ESN’s contribution to the issue of school health and social protection in the PROCEDH programme in Haïti, and the similarities in terms of dynamics between PROCEDH projects and F’Acteurs Santé. In addition, the ESN successfully created important links between SOLIDARITE LAIQUE and EI, which it is hoped will be explored further.
- In terms of youth mobilisation, the teachers’ union UNSA highlighted the ESN’s contribution as a trailblazer for collective intelligence methods and collaborative work.
In terms of the financial report, we were reminded that in 2015, as in 2014, the ESN drew on reserve funds from previous years to successfully carry out pilot projects and to prepare a 2015 GA in order to be in a position to mobilise more EI member organisations. The recorded deficit is therefore the result of a desire to invest, after years of surplus.
Le President and the General Delegate presented the programme of activities for 2015-2019. Notable activities include work relating to governance and communication, perpetuation of the association’s economic model, the creation of a youth committee and a strategic committee and involvement of the research community.
The following comments were made at the General Assembly:
- SOLIDARIS highlighted that efforts made with the Burkina Faso project must continue in order to achieve concrete results.
- UNSA stressed that the question of youth engagement can be applied on two levels: within ESN member organisations and within the ESN itself. The ESN can provide young people with a space for expression and engagement, and can act as an antechamber for our union, mutualist and associative organisations.
- Increased and more free-flowing communication between the different bodies is necessary. SOLIDARITE LAIQUE and ESSENTIEL suggested that the ESN invest in digital tools to facilitate communication, remote collective work and the creation of a real community of practice.
- NASUWT highlighted that the ESN is a “facilitator”. The ESN is a “hub”, and projects should be carried out first and foremost by its members.
Thierry WEISHAUPT stressed that the ESN is a global organisation focused on cooperation, and not on competition. ESN members are attempting to construct a model based around a common goal: to improve the lives of our members.
