Strengthening Teachers' Unions and Developing Human Rights Curriculum

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As educators and community leaders, teachers have a unique role in many societies that enables them to play a major role in shaping opinions and exemplifying democratic practices. In many countries, this role has led to challenges for teachers and, in some cases, violence and conflict. Governments and teachers' unions alike are looking for solutions to mitigate the uptick in strikes in education and the simultaneous degradation of the public image of teachers in many countries. DRL requests proposals to establish one overall program in at least three of four countries (Egypt, Georgia, Honduras, and Zimbabwe) to focus on advancing worker rights and civil participation through engagement with teachers and the organizations that represent them. The program would focus on (1) strengthening teachers' organizations as civil society organizations, including by providing technical assistance to help ensure that teachers' organizations are independent, democratic and representative of their membership base; and (2) integrating tolerance; respect; inclusion and human rights within curriculum. This program would seek to improve mechanisms for dialogue between teachers' unions and local authorities and to increase the ability of individual teachers to play a constructive role in local communities, national education, promotion for tolerance and respect, and broader political and civil rights for women and other marginalized groups. In countries where multiple organizations represent the majority of teachers, the program would focus on equal engagement across organizations with an eye toward building consensus around activities, deliverables, and desired impact. Activities in the program would also include technical capacity building of the unions focusing on collective bargaining and alternative dispute resolution; social and economic literacy and awareness raising for teachers; skills training with the end goal of improving public education and the status of teachers; and/or professional exchanges and union-to-union collaboration to develop and spread models and cases internationally. Pending availability of funding and evaluation of programmatic progress, DRL may expand and extend this project to include additional activities in a later phase.

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