Ei-iE

Former Education International’s Executive Board member Teopista Birungi Mayanja has been given by the president the Uganda’s medal of the Order of the Golden Jubilee in the education field.

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, Birungi Mayanja received from the hand of Uganda’s President H.E. Y.K Museveni the medal of the Order of the Golden Jubilee for her contribution to education nationally and globally, as a teacher, an advocate for education, founder of the very dynamic Uganda National Teachers’ Union, an education manager, a sport teacher, an athlete; and for her nomination to the International Commission on Financing Global Education, along with 20 other high-level people in September 2015.

“It was such a pleasant surprise!” said Birungi Mayanja. She got the good news just one day prior to receiving the medal, when the Ministry of Gender called to inform her, and “felt deeply honoured and acknowledged as a teacher unionist”.

She went on to note that others have also contributed and are actively contributing to education.

“The interesting fact is what my receiving this medal means for the teacher community nationally and internationally”, she stressed. “It is not so much an honour for me personally as an honour for the entire national and global teacher community, and a considerable encouragement while, as teacher and education advocates, we continue our struggle for quality education, especially for the disadvantaged, and for the teachers’ role to be firmly acknowledged and their voice to be heard.”

After the presidential ceremony, the Women’s Committee of the Ugandan Olympics Commission honoured her during a dinner.

Birungi Mayanja was also congratulated by the global teachers’ community (i.e. the National Education Association/USA, Lärarförbundet/Sweden and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation), as well as the national alumni association of the Leipzig University in Germany where she trained as a sportwoman (netball, 400 meters, and football).