European trade unionists mobilise for quality public education, for the benefit of students, and improved status for teachers and education personnel

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The Special Conference of the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), the European region of Education International, to be held from 5-6 July, in Liège, Belgium, will provide an excellent opportunity for ETUCE affiliates’ representatives to meet in person again and strengthen the bonds of solidarity between teachers and other education employees.

This mid-term conference has the purpose of taking stock of the milestones achieved so far and looks ahead in developing further the strategies set at the December 2020 Conference aiming at further strengthening social dialogue in the education sector and enhancing education systems throughout the European region.

Regional education ministers of Belgium, the Director of Policy Strategy and Evaluation in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Stefaan Hermans, Education International’s General Secretary, David Edwards, among others, will address the conference. ETUCE President, Larry Flanagan, will chair the meeting.

Key documents for adoption

The 270 delegates will debate three major documents:

  1. Resolution on the Conference’s theme: “Trade union activity and engagement in Europe: Mobilising for quality public education, for the benefit of students, and an enhancement of the status of teachers and all education personnel”.
  2. Peace resolution on Ukraine.
  3. Policy Paper: “Raising the status and improving the attractiveness of the teaching profession”.

Digitalisation and education, citizenship and inclusion, and environmental sustainability on the menu

Keynote speeches will also be delivered by:

  • Kristin Vanlommel – Professor, Research Group Learning and Innovation, University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, Belgium – on digitalisation and education.
  • Catherine Lowry-O'Neill – Lecturer, Waterford Institute of Technology, UK – on citizenship and inclusion.

These speeches will be followed by open discussions with participants.

The panel discussion on “Addressing social change in and through education with environmental sustainability” with Matteo Vespa, President of the European Students’ Union, and Ulrike Pisiotis, policy officer in the schools unit of the Commission’s DG for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, will focus on the implementation of the ETUCE Resolution “For a sustainable future of Europe: the role of education trade unions in Europe in addressing education and environment for social change” by education trade unions in their national contexts and challenges linked to it.

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