On June 29, CESI’s internal members’ Expert Commission ‘Education, Training and Research’ (EDUC) convened for its constitutive meeting and endorsed the appointment of Salvatore Piroscia from CONFSAL (Italy) as President, and Luc Viehé from SPELC (France) and Daniëlle Woestenberg from CNV (Netherlands) as Vice-Presidents.

The meeting offered participants the opportunity to exchange with some of the key EU decision makers and researchers in the field of education and discuss on the priorities of the Expert Commission for 2021, the reforms and investments in the education sphere, the needs of the sector, and the status quo of education in the Member States against the background of the Covid19 pandemic and its impact on the education systems

Géraldine Libreau, Policy Officer at the European Commission (DG EAC), presented the objectives, the scope, and the content of the new EU Child Guarantee and explained the role of educators and teachers in its implementation. She also brought to attention a recent report on “Early childhood education and care: How to recruit, train and motivate well-qualified staff”, as well as a series of webinars organized by DG EAC on the topic.

Mihai Palimariciuc, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, presented the findings of the EPC study on “Well-performing public services for a fair and resilient European society”, which was conducted for CESI’s PULSER project, focusing on the conclusions for the education sector.

Isabelle De Coster, Policy Analyst at the Eurydice Network of the European Commission, talked about Eurydice’s new report on “Teachers in Europe: Careers, Development and Well-being” and described the challenges of the sector, with a focus on the continuous development of teachers, one of the crucial points put forward in CESI Manifesto for the teaching profession when it comes to the valorisation of education professionals

The President of the ‘EDUC’ Expert Commission, Salvatore Piroscia, said: “Today, we had the chance to discuss about many of the issues at stake. We must focus on the role of the teacher, the working conditions in education, and the generational change at our schools. And I will say it again: ‘In every decision, in every project, in every opportunity, we must think what the impact will be for the next generations.’”

CESI Secretary General, Klaus Heeger, added: “We are facing not only the health crisis of corona, but also an economic and social crisis, and we are in the middle of a digital and green transition, and education will play a key role in all these developments. Young people are the essence of every society and the people who transmit education and knowledge must remain in the focus in the coming years.”

CESI voices the need for an open education system with decent working conditions for the staff of all levels of education.