We bring together our member organisations to discuss and share experiences, good practices and ideas on responding to collective challenges. Together we are building the education unions of the future: mass participation organisations that reflect the diverse interests and identities of their members and offer educators a multitude of ways to engage and contribute.
The Organizaçao Nacional dos Professores (ONP) has plans in place to assist 873 member teachers affected by Tropical Storm ANA that hit central and northern Mozambique at the end of January. Education International’s national affiliate will use logistical and human resources assistance allocated by Education International’s Africa regional office (EIRAF)...
Mozambique: Union to provide assistance to teachers affected by natural catastrophe
Following the passage of the category 3 tropical cyclone Batsirai which hit Madagascar on 5 February, Education International has decided to provide financial support to its affiliate, the Fédération chrétienne des enseignants et employés de l’éducation de Madagascar (FEKRIMPAMA). This support will enable the Federation to provide relief and meet...
Madagascar: International solidarity to ensure education continues in the wake of a natural disaster
In a recent research paper, Carmen Ludwig and Edward Webster examined the role of global unions to contest the use and abuse of digital technology through transnational activism in two African contexts. Action included work with Education International’s Global Response against the privatisation of education.
Challenging global tech giants: the critical role of Global labour
Local stories are at the heart of new schoolbooks being published, thanks to funding provided by the Australian Education Union (AEU) to the Pan African Teachers’ Centre (PATC). African education unions will print these storybooks to help students to develop a taste for reading using local stories and contexts. In...
Africa: International solidarity allows for educators to teach using storybooks with local flavour
Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö (OAJ) proactively uses social media to inform its members about its development cooperation and solidarity work. The union has allocated part of its membership fee to this form of promotion, which has increased members’ understanding of and commitment to development cooperation and solidarity work.
Finland: Using social media to promote education union’s development cooperation and solidarity work
Education International President and Australian Education Union (AEU) Federal Secretary, Susan Hopgood, explains how her union got started in international cooperation and highlights key moments that made a difference.
AEU Australia: International cooperation effecting change
In this interview, the Swedish education union explains how it puts solidarity at the heart of the union movement - from the workplace to the global level.
Lärarförbundet Sweden: International cooperation is union solidarity in practice
The organisational development of unions is at the core of all UEN cooperation projects. The Norwegian union focuses on three key areas: social dialogue, gender equality and equity, and capacity building.
UEN Norway: Organisational development as the first step towards strong unions
The Dutch education union AOb engages in development cooperation to support and strengthen other unions, which in turn enables a better defense of the rights of members and increased access to quality education.
AOb Netherlands: Building sustainable partnerships
The Japan Teachers' Union is active in development cooperation since the 1970s, when they supported South Korea in the fight against dictatorship. The union has a fund for international cooperation to which members voluntarily contribute.
JTU Japan: Education as the fundamental right of every child
SNES-FSU France has been using its own funds for several decades to help unions - mostly French-speaking - to become stronger.
SNES-FSU France: Supporting unions who are struggling because of political or economic circumstances
The work of the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF/FCE) in International development cooperation work started back in the sixties, when two volunteer teachers travelled to Nigeria.
CTF/FCE Canada: Cooperation projects that engage members
The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) answers questions about their development cooperation work, which started in the 1970s in Nicaragua.
CSQ's cooperation strategy: The Francophonie and Latin America as key priorities
In 2019, the Finnish education union OAJ decided to allocate 0.7% of its national budget to development cooperation, supporting its cooperation programmes that span several continents.
OAJ Finland international cooperation: Using own resources to ensure autonomy
The 6th Ordinary Congress of the Syndicat des enseignants libres du Sénégal (SELS) held on 18 September in Dakar endorsed the creation of a National Youth Committee (NYC) which should contribute “to the massification of the union” and work “for the emergence of a young leadership within the structure”.
Senegal: trade union renewal on the agenda of the SELS national congress
Thanks to financial support from Education International’s Regional Office for Africa (EIRAF), the Syndicat national des enseignants des écoles maternelles du Bénin (SYNAEM-Bénin) has built a website with a feature that enables educators to join the union and pay their dues online.
Benin: New website strengthens union’s capacity and services to members
During 2020, as part of the prevention and isolation measures taken in response to Covid-19, Argentina’s national government passed a decree suspending in-person classes throughout the country. The decision was backed by an institutional framework for social and political support.
In-person schooling during the pandemic: collective bargaining vs. political profiteering
To better understand the needs of member organisations in the region and to explore opportunities, partner organisations gathered on 15 November to discuss development cooperation projects in Africa and work on a common strategy.
Development cooperation partners take stock of projects in Africa