Only one week left till the EEF starts: Come to Berlin!

international | public consultation / irish social forum | news report

Thursday September 11, 2003 09:07

by EEF Mobilisation team - European Education Forum

info at eef2003 dot org

18th to 20th September at the Humboldt University in Berlin

Simultaneously with the European Higher Education Summit 2003 the first European Education Forum (EEF) takes place from 18th to 20th September at the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Only one week left till the EEF starts: Come to Berlin!

Simultaneously with the European Higher Education Summit 2003 the first European Education Forum (EEF) takes place from 18th to 20th September at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Students, pupils and teachers from whole Europe will come to Berlin to discuss during two days the current education policy and to develop alternatives. On 20th September the forum will end with a demonstration. The European Higher Education Summit in Berlin has published some documents on its official website which underline the direction of education policy which it is supposed to have in the opinion of the ministers.

On the 11th and 12th March 2003, the Italian-German Foundation "Villa Vigoni" held a conference on the state of the university reforms in Italy and Germany, both initiated by the Bologna process (http://www.villavigoni.it). Apart from the aspects internationalization and mobility of teachers and students, which are nothing more than pretext, they underscored that it is very important for the development of a European Higher Education Area to develop a competitive thinking between the different European Universities within the global education market.
(http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de/pdf/Villa_Vigoni_Zusammenfassung.pdf).

In a report of the European Commission from 05/02/2003 (COM 2003 58 final), it is said that during the EU summit in Lisbon the European Council has defined their aim of becoming “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world“. Further on it is said that universities’ income are to be diversified by generating income by selling services and using research results. Also contributions from students (tuition fees) are mentioned. The European University Association (EUA) writes in „Trends 3“, a report of the „EUA Graz Convention“ (05/29-05/31/2003) that in the Communiqué of the Bologna meeting in Prague in 2001, the European Ministers in Charge of Higher Education supported the idea that higher education should be considered a public good and is and will remain a public responsibility. But the EUA draws the attention to the conflict between the aims which were mentioned in the Bologna declaration: Cooperation and competition. They also criticize the demands of the EU (of the USA) during the current GATS negotiations on the education sector. The GATS negotiations which are led for the EU by the Commissioner responsible for Trade Pascal Lamy are influencing the education policy in the different rounds of negotiation. It is remarkable that according to a study of the EUA only one third of the Ministries of Education have developed a policy on the position of Higher Education in the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The situation is similar for the universities and the Rectors’ Conferences. Only students’ associations are well aware of GATS.

The aim is to give teachers and learners an open forum for exchange of ideas and discussion. On this occasion the current European education policy is to be analysed critically and alternatives are to be developed. The main subjects of the EEF are the Bologna process and the GATS treaty.

On Thursday and Friday evening there will be panel discussion and lectures about these subjects. During the day different groups and individuals from whole Europe offer more than 50 workshops. These workshops offer opportunity for intensive discussions and organization by the participants, so that real participation from
below“ becomes possible.

Two weeks before the start everybody involved in the preparation of the forum is in the final spurt. We are expecting participants from whole Europe and other continents: From France, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Spain, Ghana, Bulgaria, Norway, Rumania, Bhutan, Italy, Slovenia, Lithuania and the Netherlands pupils, students and teachers will come to Berlin to exchange their ideas about education policy and to develop alternatives. Accommodation, catering and of course rooms in the Humboldt University for about 1000 participants have to be organized.

The EEF ends on 20th September with a huge education demonstration against the current education policy, which changes education from a basic right to a service which can be marketed.

Everybody who likes to tackle critically with education policy is invited. It doesn’t matter, how much one already knows about education policy: Workshops are offered, which fit for anybody.

More detailed information about the program, the journey and accommodation are published on our website: http://www.eef2003.org.

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European Education Forum

by Bastian - European Education Forum

Wed Sep 10, 2003 16:00

Latest developments
In this article the latest news about the European Education Forum and demo , september 18-20 in Berlin.
************ REGISTER FOR RESERVATION OF SLEEPING PLACES NOW! *************

Dear friends and supporters,

the countdown has started and here is the latest information about the EEF:

Plenaries

On Thursday, September 18th a panel discussion entitled 'The Bologna Process - criticism and alternatives' starts at 7:30pm. Lea Brunner (VSS/UNES, The Union of Students in Switzerland), Alan Clarke (NUS UK, National Union of Students of the UK), Heiner Fechner (fzs, National Union of Students Germany) and a representative of SUD Étudiant (French Students' Union) discuss about the huge project of the creation of a European Higher Education Area (HEA). Marzia Foroni (udu, Italian Students' Union) does the moderation of the discussion. At the end questions coming from the auditorium will be answered.

On Friday, September 19th Nico Hirtt informs about 'GATS and Education'. He is founder member of the Belgian movement "Appel pour une école démocratique" (Aped) and published papers and books on themes as 'School systems under market rules' and 'Marketizing Higher Education: Neoliberal Strategies and Counter-Strategies'. Afterwards the microphone is open for discussion to the members of the auditorium.

Workshops

55 workshops have been registered until now, which exceeds our expectations. Information about all workshops provided by their organizers is available on our website www.eef2003.org.

Demonstration

The final demonstration begins on Saturday, September 20th at 12:30pm at the main building of the Humboldt University, address 'Unter den Linden 7'. We will express our solidarity with the Trade Unions' youth organisations and the parents fighting against massive increase in price of day-care centres, who both agitate for a better education system. Day-Care centres and apprenticeship are important components of the education system which must be improved drastically .

Register for sleeping places!

We can only guarantee sleeping places to those, who register for reservation of sleeping places until Friday, September 12th, 10am at a fee of 3 Euro per night. We need to have that deadline because we have to book the gyms on Friday. Please use our online form for registration. The direct link is: http://www.asta-zeitung.de/eef2003/php/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65 . If you cannot reach our website simply send a mail to beds@eef2003.org .

Registration of information stands

If your group or organisation wants to install a stand during the forum, you have to register for it until Sunday, September 14th. We cannot guarantee the provision of a good place after this date. We take a fee of 10 Euro for each stand at which material is sold.

Call for translators

We need translators for workshops during the EEF. If you attend the forum and are able to do a translation of one workshop, please write a short mail to translation@eef2003.org .

Travelling to Berlin

Please use buses and trains for your journey or practise car sharing. Buses to the EEF can be announced on our website.

Donations for the EEF

We still need donations for organising the EEF. We therefore call upon all, who support us or attend the forum, to give a small contribution, if they can afford.

If you want to transfer money from outside Germany to the EEF account, please use the following information for addressing the money transfer:

Account holder: AStA der FHD LAT EEF
Bank: Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf
IBAN: DE 23 300 501 1000 390 513 21
IC: DUSSDEDD

For donations from Germany:
Kontoinhaber: AStA der FHD LAT EEF
Kontonummer: 39051321
Bankleitzahl: 300 501 10
Institut: Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf

In solidarity,

Bastian Gronloh
for the EEF preparation team

*** Another education is possible!
*** European Education Forum: 18-20.09.03 in Berlin
*** http://www.eef2003.org

Sat Sep 13, 2003 12:27

update with news around the EEF
here comes the latest information about the European Education Forum which will take place simultaniously during the summit of the European education ministers from September 18-20 2003 in Berlin, Germany.
Opening plenary

The opening plenary starts on Thursday, September 18th at 10am. We will welcome you and give you a short introduction to the idea and development of the EEF. You will also be given a short overview of the topical European developments in education policy and some technical information concerning the timetable of the EEF and your accommodation.

Demonstration

The Demonstration will start in front of the main building of the Humboldt university, the exact adress is Unter den Liden 6, Berlin. We had to start 1 hour later with the demonstration so the final date is September 20 at 13.30 (1.30pm).

Legal team

If you have any problems with the police during the EEF, please call 030 6922222. Write it on your hand when you arrive in Berlin so you always have it with you. We don`t expect any problems with the police but it is better to prepare anyway.

Registration and sleeping places

Please go to the info-point first and register for participating in the forum and getting information about the accommodation you reserved. All participants who have registered for accommodation until now are guaranteed a sleeping place! If you didn`t make a reservarion for a sleepingplace yet, do it now: send a mail to beds@eef2003.org

Information for organisations and individuals offering a workshop

We offer a short technical briefing for those people who offer a workshop. All information you need will be given to you on Wednesday, September 17th in room 1003 of the Humboldt University. The address is 'Unter den Linden 6'. The information, which will help you and us organising the forum as easily as possible, will take about one hour. We offer the briefing at 6pm and 7.30pm. We strongly recommend participating in the briefing.

International participation:

There are people coming from Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, United Kingdum, Scotland, Rumania, Finnland, Denmark, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Ghana and Germany

How to reach the Humboldt University in Berlin by public transport

Arriving at the airport Schönefeld:
- bus 171 (stops at the exit) to Berlin-Schönefeld
- suburban railway S 45 direction Westend to station Friedrichstraße
- walk via Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden to HU main building

Arriving at the airport Tegel:
- bus X9 or 109 (stops at the exit) to station Zoologischer Garten
- suburban railway direction east, 4 stations to Friedrichstraße
- walk via Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden to HU main building

Arriving at the airport Tempelhof:
- bus 341 direction underground station Turmstraße to suburban station Anhalter Bahnhof
- suburban railway S1 or S2 direction north, 3 stations to Friedrichstraße
- walk via Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden to HU main building

Arriving at the trainstation Berlin - Zoologischer Garten:
- suburban railway (S) direction east, 4 stations to Friedrichstraße
- walk via Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden to HU main building

Arriving at the trainstation Berlin - Ostbahnhof:
- suburban railway (S) direction west, 4 stations to Berlin Friedrichstraße
- walk via Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden to HU main building

You can find a map showing the way from the trainstation Friedrichstraße to the Humboldt University (HU) here: http://www.asta-zeitung.de/bildereef/friedrich.gif

We are looking forward to see you in Berlin!

*** Another education is possible!
*** European Education Forum: 18-20.09.03 in Berlin
*** http://www.eef2003.org

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Only one week left till the EEF starts: Come to Berlin!

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