11 september 2013 | EI | This year on October 4th, the eve of World Teachers Day, Education International will be launching a year of action, an initiative for quality education in New York, and in Paris and around the world. The purpose of the initiative is to raise awareness among governments, inter-governmental organisations, financial institutions, community leaders and the general public about the indomitable role quality education plays in the development of the individual and society. It is to also remind decision makers that education is a sine qua non to development and that it must therefore be the bedrock of any post -2015 development agenda.
The three pillars of the initiative are:
Quality teaching – ensured through the recruitment of high calibre candidates to teaching, high quality initial teacher education and continuous professional development and attractive salaries and conditions of service determined through collective bargaining and other forms of social dialogue.
Quality tools– appropriate curricula and inclusive teaching and learning materials and resources, including textbooks and ICT. A quality curriculum that is flexible and designed through an inclusive process that guarantees teachers participation is highly desirable. ICT can be a powerful tool that can support teaching and learning. However, ICT cannot and must not replace the teacher.
Quality environments – healthy, safe, secure, supportive and comfortable teaching and learning environments with appropriate facilities to support student learning and to enable teachers to teach effectively. Learning environments must cater for the needs of all learners, especially girls and children with disabilities.
A year of action
The initiative will run from World Teachers Day 2013 to World Teachers Day 2014. In order to officially launch this mobilization year, EI is organizing two main events in New York, in the UNICEF Building, and in Paris, in the UNESCO offices, on Friday 4th October, 2013. The official launch will consist of a press conference; a high level event with statements from EI leaders and partner organizations; an unveiling of EI’s campaign web portal and a Global Teachers’ Forum. EI leaders and partners at both sites will discuss the main challenges and propose solutions to ensure that the right to quality public education is realised in every corner of the globe.
Following the launch of the initiative, EI and its member organisations will continue to engage in advocacy and dialogue about quality education with partners and national governments. This includes the pressing need to invest in quality education and teacher development. EI and its members will be sharing a teachers’ perspective to the education quality and equity challenge, including the educators’ views on Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In that regard, EI is currently carrying out EFA regional and national assessments, and identifying the main education challenges confronted by countries around the globe.
In May 2014, EI will convene a Global Education Conference. The conference, which will be held in Montreal, Canada, from 26 to 30 May 2014, will provide an opportunity for EI members and organisations with similar aims to join forces for quality education for all.
The EI initiative will culminate in a Day of Action on World Teachers Day 2014. On this day EI and its member organisations around the world will call for the right to quality public education to be realised for the benefit of every child, youth and adult. We invite all partners who care about the education of our children to join forces with us in our call for quality education for all.