Education International launches “For Public Education!” campaign in Chile on the occasion of the UNESCO Education Summit

Representatives of Education International launch the global campaign “For Public Education!” in Chile in defense of public education.

As part of the Summit for Education, organized by UNESCO and various United Nations agencies on August 27 and 28 in Santiago, representatives of Education International (Internacional de la Educación) met this evening at the Casa del Profesor, headquarters of the Chilean Teachers’ Association, to launch the global campaign “Go Public! Fund education”.

Among those present were the President of the Chilean Teachers’ Union, Mario Aguilar, and the leadership of Education International, including Mugwena Maluleke (President, South Africa), David Edwards (General Secretary, USA), Sonia Alesso (President of the Regional Committee – Latin America), and several leaders from different countries. We were also honored by the presence of Saed Erzioat, a Palestinian teachers’ leader and activist, who shared the suffering and difficulties of his people in a moving tribute conference held separately, which can be viewed HERE (in English).

The campaign includes a program of coordinated global actions:

• Promotion of public policies that strengthen investment in public education.
• Social and union mobilization in defense of teachers’ and students’ rights.
• Creation of alliances with governments and civil society to curb the expansion of privatization models that exclude and segment students.

During the press conference, spokespersons for Education International—the world’s largest federation of unions in the sector, with more than 33 million affiliated teachers in 178 countries, whose website can be viewed HERE—emphasized that the meeting in Chile symbolizes the commitment to position Latin America as a leader in the defense of public education.

“Our message is clear: without strong, free public education, there can be no democracy, equality or social justice. That is why we are gathered here in Santiago to reaffirm that education is not for sale, it must be defended,” they said.

The launch of “Go Public!” coincides with a historic opportunity: the Education Summit brings together authorities, experts, and social organizations from around the world to discuss how to ensure inclusive and equitable education systems within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

It is an “urgent call for governments to invest more in public education as a social right and in teachers as an essential factor for quality education, guaranteeing their labor rights and ensuring decent working conditions, manageable workloads, and competitive salaries”. A global collective initiative to highlight and reinforce the central role of public education as a fundamental human right and pillar of democratic development, in a context marked by growing pressures for privatization and commodification in various education systems around the world.

The choice of Chile as the regional launch site reflects the symbolism of a country where the social movement for education has marked milestones in citizen mobilization over the last decade, and where teachers’ unions have played a decisive role in the struggle for a more equitable education system.

We interviewed Mario Aguilar, David Edwards, and Saed Erzioat, whose capsules we will be publishing in the coming days.

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