Global Action Week : Teacher unions demand immediate action and funding – EI
16 April 2010
Brussels, 16 April 2010 This year`s Global Action Week will take place from 19 to 25 April, at a key moment, exactly 10 years after the adoption of the Education for All objectives and the Millennium Development Goals. Alarming analyses show that the EFA objectives will not be achieved by the target date of 2015 at the current pace, despite progress made, particularly because of the failure of the international community to fulfil its financial commitments. This situation has been worsened by the impact of the economic, financial and social crises that have led certain donors to reduce their levels of aid. The year 2010 is therefore crucial as decisions must be taken in order to reverse the situation and accelerate the process by moving up a scale, says Education International General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen.
“Our main message is simple: Education beats poverty, he adds. Activists involved in the campaign will be putting pressure on world leaders to end poverty by providing education to the 72 million children still out of school. Let`s make 2010 the year to help everyone get an education!”
In order to maximise efforts and take the opportunities available, the Global Action Week with the theme `Financing quality public education: a right for all` will be closely linked to the campaign called `1GOAL: Education for All,` which is being organised around the Soccer World Cup which will take place in June and July in South Africa.
The 1GOAL campaign has attracted strong support from many heads of states and high profile political personalities, famous football players and celebrity ambassadors. More importantly than all these, however, is the fact that it has captured the attention and passion of thousands upon thousands of teachers, who intend to help the Global Campaign for Education to set another world record for the biggest lesson ever taught on 20 April in more than 100 countries.
Through the Global Action Week and the 1GOAL campaign, EI and its partners within the Global Campaign for Education aim to weigh on the outcomes of two major events due to take place this year: The United Nations High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, from 20-22 September 2010 in New York, United States; and the G-20 meeting in Seoul, South Korea, from 11-12 November, for which the latest Meeting of the High-Level Group on Education for All requested the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova “to ensure that education is prioritized on the political agenda.”
Media Contact:
Monique Fouilhoux, Education International Deputy General Secretary: 0032 2 224 06 43
Claude Carroué, Education International Communications Unit: 0032 2 224 06 75