To mark the 61st anniversary of the FEDE and International Women’s Day on March 2024, we had the privilege of meeting Blerina Zoto, member of the FEDE Executive Board. An Albanian-Swiss diplomat, human rights expert and activist for women's rights, Blerina has built up her career through various international missions, notably at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Albania, the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the United Nations as a human rights expert. Now living in Geneva, she is Chairwoman of the Centre de Liaison des Associations Féminines-Genevoises (CLAFG), a leading center for women's initiatives bringing together around a hundred member associations and individual members. Question: International Women’s Day was established in 1977 by the UN. What is your opinion on the persistence of [lire plus]

As of 22 July 2021, the FEDE is an official partner of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The special consultative status granted by ECOSOC’s Committee on NGOs will allow the FEDE to forge close ties with the world’s most important international organisation – a reference on social, economic and environmental issues. Everyone on the FEDE team is delighted at the exciting prospects this new partnership brings. Presentation of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Since its founding in 1945, the United Nations (UN) has worked actively with NGOs, recognising their importance in advancing the Organisation’s ideals and supporting its work. Article 71 of the UN Charter states that the Economic and Social Council may take all necessary steps to consult NGOs on subjects falling [lire plus]

The European Political Community (EPC) was founded in Prague on 6 October 2022 during an inaugural summit bringing together 44 European heads of state and government. The summit was organised under the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). The EPC aims to improve unity, cooperation and dialogue between all countries in Europe. Background Following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022, the European Union was faced with a complex situation. Indeed, although Ukraine is a democracy, it is far from meeting EU standards, and it would take many years, or even decades, for the country to be admitted as an EU member. The founding of the EPC was suggested to the European Parliament by Emmanuel Macron on 9 May 2022 [lire plus]

Interview with Xavier Paroutaud, Director of Education at the FEDE Invited by the OHTE to speak on 12 May 2022 as a panellist on the topic ‘The end of peace in Europe?’, Xavier Paroutaud answered questions posed by former minister and MEP Alain Lamassoure concerning the challenges facing democracy and the role of the Council of Europe and the Observatory in promoting balanced and dispassionate history teaching. 1. How can we define Europe and describe its history? That depends on which Europe we are talking about, on our perspective and our field; but it is essential to use history to describe Europe. In this sense, we would probably have to start with a geographical description, then think about constructing a history of the continent (to the extent that there [lire plus]

FEDE AND EUROPE The Federation for EDucation in Europe (FEDE) is an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe (CoE), an INGO that includes 46 Member States representing more than 660 million citizens. As the leading human rights organisation in Europe, the CoE promotes the rule of law and political stability, while also encouraging the development of Europe’s cultural identity and diversity. The FEDE is a member of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe, which develops participatory democracy on a pan-European basis. Participatory status within the Conference of INGOs (CINGO) is granted to organisations that are representative of their field and whose mission and work bring about a more unified Europe. As a member of the CINGO, the FEDE is [lire plus]

Founded 51 years ago, Cours Bufflier is the only private higher educational institution in French Polynesia. How did you become a FEDE member? I first heard of the FEDE in 2012 from someone who occasionally taught at Cours Bufflier and who had their own FEDE member institution in Toulon. I then heard of it again from one of my former students, who continued her studies at a FEDE institution in Strasbourg. Having heard the name twice from two different people, and around the same time, I wanted to find out more. Thanks to our FEDE membership, we really stand out from public education institutions in French Polynesia. For example, we now offer an innovative bachelor’s level programme. French Polynesia is isolated from the rest of the world: we are in [lire plus]

The World Committee for Lifelong Learning (WCLLL) was founded in 2005 by a team of education-sector professionals. A French association working to develop an ecosystem to promote learning in all its forms, the WCLLL is active in all segments of society: cultural, civil, academic, non-profit, economic and institutional. The FEDE and the WCLLL have been partners since 2013 and are working together to improve vocational training and access to lifelong learning (LLL) for all. The WCLLL has been organising world forums on learning-related topics since 2008. The 2010 Forum, for example, was entitled ‘What happens to the learner in the planet village?’, and the 2017 Forum focused on the topic ‘Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals via Lifelong Learning’. The most recent Forum took place in July 2021 at the [lire plus]

The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) is a specialised Council of Europe (CoE) entity founded in May 1999 to improve the capacity of Member States to fight corruption. It aims, via a dynamic evaluation process and mutual peer pressure, to ensure that countries uphold CoE anti-corruption standards. GRECO works to identify shortcomings in national anti-corruption policies and encourages states to introduce legislative, institutional and practical reforms where necessary. GRECO has 50 Member States, of which 46 are Council of Europe members. Other members include Belarus, Russia, the USA and Kazakhstan. From 2017 to 2019, GRECO and ethe FEDE jointly developed an innovative teaching module to raise higher-education students’ awareness of corruption and the need for anticorruption measures. The anti-corruption module forms part of the FEDE’s European Culture and [lire plus]

Founded in November 2020 through a partial agreement signed by 17 Council of Europe (CoE) Member States, the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE) arose in response to a difficult geopolitical context in Europe, where tensions are rife in a number of regions: Ukraine, Belarus, the Balkans, and the English Channel. Many Europeans are questioning verified facts, and certain agenda-driven national narratives are ignoring historical truths established by the community of academic historians. In such a situation, we need to reiterate our duty with respect to memory and historical research. This is particularly true in an educational setting, since learners may be tempted to have recourse to biased and unverified sources of information. The OHTE aims to provide a snapshot of the current situation of history teaching and [lire plus]

Invited by the OHTE to speak on 12 May 2022 as a panellist on the topic ‘The end of peace in Europe?’, Xavier Paroutaud answered questions posed by former minister and MEP Alain Lamassoure concerning the challenges facing democracy and the role of the Council of Europe and the Observatory in promoting balanced and dispassionate history teaching. How can we define Europe and describe its history? That depends on which Europe we are talking about, on our perspective and our field; but it is essential to use history to describe Europe. In this sense, we would probably have to start with a geographical description, then think about constructing a history of the continent (to the extent that there is such a history or that it is possible to do [lire plus]