Peace, Environment and International SIG

The Peace, Environment and International Special Interest Group is open to any interested member of the New South Wales Teachers' Federation. It meets twice per term at 4.30 p.m. at Teachers' Federation House, 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills. There are facilities for members outside Sydney to participate and receive information.

The meeting dates for 2005 are:

• Tuesday, 1st February,
• Monday 28th February,
• Tuesday 26th April,
• Monday 25th May,
• Tuesday 26th July,
• Monday 29th August,
• Tuesday 11th October,
• Monday 7th November.

The Federation has a proud record of direct involvement in peace and international affairs. As a union with a social conscience, the Federation has been a prominent supporter of the movement for peace and disarmament for many years. Some thousands of teachers participated in the huge Palm Sunday Rallies for Nuclear Disarmament in the 1980s. At that time, the Federation successfully pushed for the inclusion of peace and disarmament education in the school curriculum.

In the past, international concerns have been seen as a "luxury" or peripheral to our core work as a union. Today, globalisation is increasingly dominating the lives of ordinary people, including teachers, with repercussions for wages and working conditions. The Federal and NSW Governments and the Department of Education and Training increasingly follow much of the global neo-liberal economic agenda in framing their policies and approaches towards education.

For this reason, the Federation's international work and connections become a fundamental part of the Federation's industrial and educational concerns.

Through the Australian Education Union, the Federation is committed to a systematic program of support for our colleagues in teacher unions in developing countries. The Federation commits over $100,000 towards the Australian Education Union's International Trust Fund (ITF) which determines support for international development cooperation programs. Federation Senior Vice-President, Angelo Gavrielatos, is a member of the ITF Committee.

Environment

The Peace, Environment and International Special Interest Group plays a vital role in bringing before Federation's Executive policy positions for the union to adopt. It also plays a role in pushing for sound environment education in our schools and colleges.

The SIG welcomes more involvement. If you want to get involved, please contact the Federation on ph. 92172100. There is an officer attached to the Peace, Environment and International Special Interest Group who can be contacted on mail@nswtf.org.au.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005