In his final official speech as President of the Union of Education Norway (UEN), Steffen Handal, also a member of Education International (EI) Executive Board, reflected on educational realities in his country and around the world: “Never has the shortage of teachers been more pressing than now! Never have more teachers said that they consider changing to another profession, even when they love their profession!”
In 2018, Norway’s Parliament established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine historic policies and activities relating to Indigenous Peoples, including attempts to assimilate them. On 1 June 2023, after five years of work, the commission presented its report
, based on interviews with more than 700 people, illustrating very clearly that the wounds are yet to be healed.
Education International member organisation Union of Education Norway is exploring new ways of structuring development cooperation (DC) projects and ensuring that the educators’ voice is heard when decisions are made concerning educational issues and the teaching profession.
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) has undertaken a series of development cooperation activities with other education unions affiliated to Education International in neighbouring countries. It has especially supported the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) in its efforts to recover from the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector.
The findings are contained in an Artuz research document titled: Beyond geographies of inequality: Public Education Financing in Post-COVID-19 Zimbabwe.