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‘Human rights policy responses to the growth of private actors in education’
Friday 12th June from 12.45pm to 2.15pm, Geneva
The Right to Education Project, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the Global Campaign for Education, and the Privatisation in Education Research Initiative are pleased to invite you to an event on 'Human rights policy responses to the growth of private actors in education’, to be held on Friday 12th June from 12.45pm to 2.15pm in Auditorium A2 at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Maison de la Paix , Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2, Geneva).
The global growth of private actors in education presents many challenges from a human rights perspective. As discussed during a side-event at the Human Rights Council last year, increasing privatisation of education is pushing already vulnerable groups deeper into poverty and furthering social divisions, making it more difficult for States to fulfil their core obligation to provide quality public education for all. Unfortunately, the issues discussed last year have become more acute and the questions raised at that time remain unanswered; in particular, which policies consistent with human rights frameworks need to be adopted to effectively respond to these challenges.
The event seeks to provide an overview of this topical issue, building on the report of Mr Kishore Singh, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, which will be presented the following week at the Human Rights Council. The event will also provide an opportunity to share experiences and to discuss the potential of different human rights policy responses to the privatisation of education.
The Global Campaign for Education will also launch its forthcoming flagship report on low-fee private schools.
Confirmed speakers:
- Mr Kishore Singh, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Ms Anjela Taneja, Head of Policy at the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), who will present GCE's key report
- Ms Salima Namusobya, Executive Director, Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Uganda
- Mr Frank Adamson, Senior Policy and Research Analyst, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE)
- Mr Angelo Gavrielatos, Project Director, Global Response to globalisation and privatisation of education, Education International (EI)
The event will be chaired by Dr Joanna Bourke-Martignoni, Research Fellow, Project on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.
Please contact Anja Nielsen at anja.nielsen@opensocietyfoundations.org with any queries and to RSVP. The event is free of charge but space is limited, so please confirm your attendance to avoid disappointment. Do not hesitate to share this invitation with other partners.
Please note that you're welcome to join us from 12pm for lunch. The event itself will start promptly at 12.45pm.
If you are available, after the event we would like to invite you to a multi-stakeholders discussion about the issue of the growth of private education. The aim would be to discuss the issues at stake, present the ongoing intiatives to work on the topic as well as the opportunities to get involved or create synergies with work you may be doing, and to get feedback from a range of stakeholders on the projects conducted. We will also present the intiative to draft a set of human rights principles on the role of private actors in education. The discussion will start after a short break and last until 4pm, and will take place at the nearby International Service for Human Rights, Rue de Varembe 1, 5th Floor.
