Successful Adoption of UDBIE and Establishment of OEC Accomplishes Mission of the Education Relief Foundation

PR83102

GENEVA, Mar. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

The Education Relief Foundation (ERF) was established in 2016 with a clear and

ambitious mission: to develop, promote and embed the then nascent concept of

Balanced and Inclusive Education (BIE).

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8697451-adoption-udbie-establishment-oec/

To serve this mission, ERF first organised a series of Regional Consultation

Meetings in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Europe,

collating the experiences and recommendations of cross-sectoral stakeholders

(including education ministries, academics and international civil society) in

2017. These regional recommendations were presented at the I ForumBIE 2030 in

December 2017, at which ERF received the international mandate to develop a

Global Guide of Ethics, Principles, Policies, and Practices in Balanced and

Inclusive Education on the basis of the consultations.

Less than a year later, in November 2018, ERF convened, with the Ministry of

Education of Mexico, the II ForumBIE 2030 in Mexico City – at which the Global

Guide was launched. The II ForumBIE 2030 concluded with the issuing of an

International Call for Balanced and Inclusive Education, expressing the

collective aspiration of its 41 signatories – constituting 671 Ministries of

Education, academic bodies and civil society organisations. The ICBIE mandated

ERF, as the convenor of the ForumBIE 2030, to redact a formal draft of a

Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education within 18-24 months,

at which point it would be signed at the III ForumBIE 2030.

Just 14 months later, ERF convened, with the government of the Republic of

Djibouti, the III ForumBIE 2030 – International Summit on Balanced and

Inclusive Education. It was attended by Heads of State and Government,

Government Ministers, civil society organisations, and academic bodies from

across the Global South. The III ForumBIE 2030 saw the adoption of the UDBIE.

As an immediate concrete outcome, the Organisation of Educational Cooperation

(OEC) was created by 27 countries, and 10 CSOs and academic bodies with the

purpose of contributing to the achievement of the commitments contained within the UDBIE.

Within four years of its creation, ERF is in the unique position of being able

to proudly affirm that it has fulfilled its mission. Through its promotion

efforts, the concept of Balanced and Inclusive Education has gone from

inception to consolidation within a shared vision embodied by the Universal

Declaration. The creation of the OEC, as an International Organisation

accountable to its Member States, has embedded BIE within the international

education and development agenda.

The OEC is now best placed to ensure the development of BIE as the foundation

of a sustainable, equitable and inclusive future for all.

With the fulfilment of having accomplished its duty, ERF will conclude its

activities with the completion of its BIE pilot project, in June 2020. The

report on this project will be published on the ERF website, which will remain

as a valuable repository for further use and development.

The Education Relief Foundation (ERF) [https://educationrelief.org/] is a

Geneva-based not-for-profit and non-governmental organisation which serves to

develop, promote and embed a balanced and inclusive education through policy

development, capacity building and civil society engagement, amongst other activities.

The Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC) [https://oec-oce.org/ ] is a

platform and an instrument of intellectual, technical and financial cooperation

and solidarity between its Member States as well as its Associate Members.

As set out by its Constitutive Charter, the purpose of OEC is to "contribute to

the equitable, just, and prosperous social transformation of societies by

promoting balanced and inclusive education, in order to attain the fundamental

rights to liberty, justice, dignity, sustainability, social cohesion, and

material and immaterial security for the peoples of the world."

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1029418/ERF_Logo.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1095205/Constitutive_Charter_of_OEC.jpg

For more information, contact:

Etienne Lacombe-Kishibe

Head of Media and Communications

E: e.kishibe@educationrelief.org or info@oec-oce.org

T: 0041-22-920-0859

M: 0041-79-864-2692

SOURCE: The Education Relief Foundation