At its Annual General Meeting on October 18, the members of the Institut de coopération pour l’éducation des adultes (ICÉA) adopted a 2021-2022 action plan that includes participation in CONFINTEA VII, to be held in Morocco in 2022. In this perspective, the ICÉA intends to exercise leadership in Quebec, Canada and within UNESCO throughout the preparatory process of the UNESCO International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) as well as at this conference.
The upcoming CONFINTEA VII comes in a pandemic context where adult education has not received attention from governments, even though adult knowledge and skills were a key requirement for successful crisis management plans. CAIE’s goal is to bring forward perspectives and recommendations that address the challenges and issues of a changing adult education world. In addition to participating in the conference and its preparation, the expected results for ICÉA are
a) to make Quebec aware of the reflections on adult education expressed on the international scene;
b) to mobilize the Canadian adult education community within the framework of a Canadian concerted effort
c) to make political representations to the Quebec and Canadian authorities involved in the participation of Quebec and Canada.
The General Assembly was the occasion for a major renewal of the Board of Directors. This meeting also confirmed the key role that the ICÉA plays in Quebec and also in Canada in the world of adult education.
International Francophone Meeting of Networks on Education for Global Citizenship and International Solidarity
Global Citizenship and Solidarity Education (GCSE) is an essential dimension of the renewal of popular and political education activities on the planet. At a time when environmental issues, as well as the consequences of pandemics and the growth of inequalities, raise questions about the ins and outs of the Millennium Education Goals, citizenship education appears to be an essential dimension in this context for the world of adult education.
These are some of the reasons that have led networks from different French-speaking countries to propose an international meeting of networks concerned with education for citizenship. This Internet meeting, initiated by the international committee of the Festival des Solidarités (Festisol – France) and animated by the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale (AQOCI), will allow for the sharing of practices and reflections on Global Citizenship and Solidarity Education. The objectives of the meeting are
- to exchange on the differences and similarities of practices in different countries
- to share our visions on de-colonial approaches;
- and to raise interest in an international francophone network in education for global citizenship and international solidarity.
This activity is held on the occasion of the campaigns for the promotion of education that take place in Europe often in November, as well as the Quebec days of international solidarity. The meeting will take place on November 16. For more information, contact foudesessolidarites@gmail.com. (Ronald Cameron, ICAE Executive Committe Member)
