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SADTU 8th National Congress, 2 October 2014 Speech of Haldis Holst Deputy General Secretary of Education International (EI) Dear friends and colleagues. Dear comrades and unionists. Dear delegates and guests at the 8th National Congress of SADTU. Good evening to you all! Let me start by greeting you all on behalf of Education International's General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen and our President Susan Hopgood. I know they both are with you in their hearts and that they sincerely wish for you a successful congress. And so do I. It is an honour to be here and witness my second SADTU congress. The atmosphere, the debates, the singing and you wonderful people; it is as special today as it was for me in 2006. You know you are special, don't you? You are special because you are teachers. You are special because you are trade unionists. You are special because you are South African. You carry the great task of educating your young people for their future, you carry the tradition of solidarity and collective action for workers' rights and you carry South Africa's history of diverse and valuable cultures, apartheid with all its injustice and crimes, and the last 20 years of walking down the path of reconstruction and reconciliation. You are special because you are symbols for so many people around the world for the way you managed your resistance against oppression and for the way you managed the transition process out of it. You are role models and carry the expectations from so many that you will keep on making good choices which will benefit all South Africans. You are also special because you gave EI Thulas. He was my president as an executive board member and president for all 30 million educators who are members of EI. He was a great president. And you are special because you now have given EI Mugwena as an executive board member. Believe me, he does an excellent job. Let me dwell a minute or two on role models and your proud heritage. I am from Norway. A small country far north which hits the news once a year when the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. On December 10th 1961 Chief Albert John Luthuli was the first African and South African to receive the Nobel Peace prize for 1960. The Nobel committee had placed respect for human rights on the agenda. Albert Luthuli - a tribal chief, a teacher, a trade unionist and president of the ANC. Let me share with you a quote from the presentation speech that day in Oslo: "Well might we ask: will the nonwhites of South Africa, by their suffering, their humiliation, and their patience, show the other nations of the world that human rights can be won without violence, by following a road to which we Europeans are committed both intellectually and emotionally, but which we have all too often abandoned? "If the non-white people of South Africa ever lift themselves from their humiliation without resorting to violence and terror, then it will be above all because of the work of Luthuli, their fearless and incorruptible leader who, thanks to his own high ethical standards, has rallied his people in support of this policy, and who throughout his adult life has staked everything and suffered everything without bitterness and without allowing hatred and aggression to replace his abiding love of his fellowmen." A true role model and a man who was able to act as he preached in difficult circumstances. In 1984 the Peace Prize went to South Africa again, to Bishop Desmond Tutu. He was saluted by the Nobel Committee for his clear views and his fearless stance, characteristics which made him a unifying symbol for all African freedom fighters. Attention was once again directed at the nonviolent path to liberation, right to dignity and human rights. Then came the Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 which was awarded jointly to Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa". Let me quote again, this time from Nelson Mandela's acceptance speech: "At the southern tip of the continent of Africa, a rich reward in the making, an invaluable gift is in the preparation for those who suffered in the name of all humanity when they sacrificed everything - for liberty, peace, human dignity and human fulfilment. "This reward will not be measured in money. Nor can it be reckoned in the collective price of the rare metals and precious stones that rest in the bowels of the African soil we tread in the footsteps of our ancestors. "It will and must be measured by the happiness and welfare of the children, at once the most vulnerable citizens in any society and the greatest of our treasures. "The children must, at last, play in the open veld, no longer tortured by the pangs of hunger or ravaged by disease or threatened with the scourge of ignorance, molestation and abuse, and no longer required to engage in deeds whose gravity exceeds the demands of their tender years. "In front of this distinguished audience, we commit the new South Africa to the relentless pursuit of the purposes defined in the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children." Nelson Mandela placed the rights of children at the core of a new South Africa. The right to quality education is essential in achieving this. This was confirmed again this morning by your president Zuma. Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela were very special. Desmond Tutu still is very special. And so are so many other South African men and women who have fought so courageously for dignity and human rights. This is your legacy. This is the framework for your future, for yourselves and for the children of South Africa as teachers and as trade unionists. Be proud, strong, vigilant and true to your values. Nothing is achieved once and for all. It must be protected and won again every single day. At the same time you must look towards the future and define new goals. Keep fighting for what you have and never give up on what you yet have to achieve. Some of my most memorable moments in South Africa have been my two visits to the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto. It brought me close to such an important point in history, the 16th of June 1976 and the Soweto uprisings. But it is also a museum which in an excellent way highlights the role and importance of education. Education can strengthen cultural heritage and identity. Education can liberate and create life opportunities. But education can also be used to oppress and control people. And by denying access children may be marginalized for a life time. It is a powerful tool. That's why there are so many children in world who still are deprived of the right of having their own language as their language of instruction. That's why so many girls are denied the right to education. That's why schools, teachers and students so often are targets for attacks. Some teachers face threats because of their classroom activities: they refuse to allow armed parties to recruit children from schools, they teach girls, or their lessons include particular topics and not others. Others are targeted because of their ethnicity, their association with the government or a warring party, their political activities, or because they engage in education-related advocacy. We must never stop fighting for quality education as a human right for all children, and we must never stop advocating for safe and supportive learning environments or for the right to learn in your own language. Unfortunately there are too many tragedies around the world which limit the right to education. What about the refugees from Syria and Iraq and all the schools which no longer are places of learning? What about Gaza where so many died following missile attacks this summer? What about Nigeria where religious extremists burn down schools, kidnap school children, and have assassinated 177 teachers in the past five years. What about the Taliban who hunts women teachers working in girls' schools in Pakistan? Several were shot in the past 12 months. In June, a leader of the Iraqi Federation of Teachers was murdered by the Islamic State together with his wife and children. Dear friends, these people were our front line soldiers. They stood up for the rights of their students. They refused to stop teaching and close their schools. But they paid the highest price. Let us not forget them. Let us honour them by bringing their mission forward. Education is a powerful tool. It can liberate and create life opportunities. There is no stronger antidote against extremism and totalitarianism than education; there is no better medication against poverty and no stronger stimulus for economic and democratic development. No wonder we find ourselves at the centre of a global debate, a global struggle rather, that will determine the future of our children, and the kind of society they will grow up in. We need to be strong voices in this debate. We need to be loud and clear and get the message across. We need to tell the world again and again what professional teachers believe quality education is. That is not an easy message to get across. Why do we send children to school? What do we want them to experience and learn? - Literacy and numeracy - certainly - Job skills - yes - Life skills - well.. - Values - yeah, within limits - Critical thinking - hmmm Often written objectives of education systems are broad, overarching and difficult to disagree with. But is this really what politicians talk about when they talk about quality? Education is politics. Politics are about power. And Politicians have to deliver to stay in power. They need quick results presented in a simple way. That is difficult with complex and long term goals. At the same time education has become business. Many see the opportunity to make money, big money. Some business corporations are seeking to create space for a multi-billion dollar education market, based on the illusion that education can be delivered more cheaply and efficiently by the private sector - with fewer and less qualified staff, and a liberal dose of one-size-fits-all online programs and standardized testing. This is dangerous, and may very well be a tempting solution for politicians who want quick results before the next election. They may be tempted to trade away democratic control for personal victory. And in the middle there is a teacher trying to do her job. She needs to know what she is doing and why. She needs to be able to justify her professional choices and be robust and confident when the public eye turns the spotlight on. She needs a strong union who can support her and advocate in a convincing way for quality public education for all. She needs a strong union who can remind the public that education is not for the benefit of politicians' career or private businesses profit. It is for the benefit of society and our children. Education International's vision of public education is grounded in the understanding that education is a public service and a human right. I know SADTU is a strong advocate for this vision. High quality, high professional standards and strong professional unions go hand-in-hand. We need to win the battle of the purpose of education and what quality really means. Education International has tried to give a definition of quality. A complex definition. But let's face it - education is complex: "Quality is neither one-dimensional nor straightforward. Quality education is defined by its inputs (including students' background, teachers' qualifications, working conditions, class-size and investment in education); by the education process (including teaching, parenting and related processes of learning) and by projected outcomes (including individual, social, cultural, economic and environmental needs)." Quality is contextual and cannot be determined by a single test or questionnaire, and often it takes a long time to prove itself. It is a good definition - yes. But it is also difficult to communicate in a punchline.. For a year now we have through our Unite for Quality Education campaign explained our vision of quality through 3 pillars: Quality teaching - Teachers are the most important educational resource and a critical determinant of quality. They must receive high quality initial teacher education and support throughout their career of continuous professional development. And they must be treated as respected professionals. Teaching must provide an attractive career choice, and must remain sufficiently attractive, in terms of salaries and conditions of employment, to retain the best teachers in the service. Quality tools for teaching and learning - including appropriate curricula and inclusive teaching and learning materials and resources. Quality environments for teaching and learning: Supportive, comfortable, safe and secure, with the appropriate facilities to encourage student learning and to enable teachers to teach effectively. Three pillars - simple yet powerful: Quality teaching, tools and environments, yet so out of reach for so many. Quality education for all is not a luxury. It is not the right of certain regions, certain groups or the inheritance of some cities or postal codes. For the planet's very existence, young people especially, must be afforded equity in a common future, paid for by governments and backed by strong and diverse civil society that demands continuous investment in democracy. We will continue to promote and pursue quality education for all. We will continue to confront those who frustrate the achievement of quality education for all, in pursuit of personal gain and in opposition to the public interest. We will continue to work with our global partners until every child in every community throughout the world has free and open access to a life-enhancing quality education. And I know SADTU will continue to fight for quality education for all the children of South Africa. And I know SADTU will continue to fight for decent terms and conditions for South Africa's teachers. Together we are reclaiming the promise of quality public education. Together we are demanding that education unions be respected as the legitimate voice of teachers and other education personnel. We are on the front lines and we are united. No force can break the passion of 30 million educators determined to guarantee the right of every child, every student, to quality teachers, quality educational materials and safe and supportive environments. I urge you all to prove it this weekend. On the 20th World Teachers' Day. Show the world that you are proud of delivering quality education to children, young people and adults! Show the world that we are a strong trade union movement. Record your message on www.5oct.org. Tell the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, that you support quality education for all, a post-2015 development goal on education, and the global campaign to get all children into school. Please email, text or tweet. It is easy and quick; just a little more than pressing a button. Solidarity and collective action are still valid tools for achieving progress. You can do it. You are special. You are SADTU. The world of education unions stands with you. Together we can make a difference for children and for the working people. Let's do it! Good luck with your congress, and thank you! -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. 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