How can the Abidjan Principles make a difference, how and by whom can they be used? This is the topic of the fourth of our five-video series on the Abidjan Principles, which have become the worldwide reference text on the right to education since they were adopted two years ago. The last video will be released on Friday 12 February, the day we will celebrate the anniversary of the Abidjan Principles in a public event.

The Abidjan Principles have been recognised by major human rights bodies and have a strong academic legitimacy. They have been already been used to inform major decisions, such as the Global Partnership for Education’s private sector strategy, and a court case in Uganda. They are a concrete tool to analyse and reflect on education policies.

They can be used by all actors involved in education: policy-makers, civil society, the judiciary, trade unions, education providers and other actors. They can serve as a tool for monitoring the situation against accepted standards, and making policy recommendations and advocacy by NGOs, education movements, education activists and the public to demand and hold the government accountable. They can be used by courts in interpretation and application of laws relating to the right to education, as it has already been the case. Governments can use them to inform the education plans and ensure they mainstream the situation education. The Abidjan Pinciples can be used by public and private education providers to assess their situation vis-a-vis human rights standards.

Every Friday since last 15 January, we have been releasing one of the 5 videos of our series on the Abidjan Principles on the right to education.

This series aims to present the Abidjan Principles with some interviews of the various experts who contributed and some of the users and key actors.

On 13th February, it will be two years since the Abidjan Principles, that have since become the reference text on the right to education, was adopted by 57 eminent experts from around the world in Côte d’Ivoire, after a three-year consultative process, which hundreds of people from various constituencies contributed to.

Since their adoption and worldwide recognition, the Abidjan Principles have given the right to education a central place in global policy debates.

In 2019, the Paris Peace Forum rewarded the Abidjan Principles as one of the ten ‘most promising governance projects’ among 716 projects from 115 countries. 

Celebration event: save the date!

On Friday 12 February, at 1:00-2:00pm, as we launch the animation and last video of the series, we will celebrate the Abidjan Principles’ anniversary through an online gathering to reflect on the role of the Abidjan Principles in the coming months, in a context where education has been severely impacted by the pandemic and containment measures.  

Stay tuned!

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Watch Video #4: How the Abidjan Principles can make a difference

Watch VIDEO #3: Addressing privatisation with human rights

Watch VIDEO #2: Abidjan Principles on the right to education: How important are they?

Watch VIDEO #1: Abidjan Principles: What are they?

The Abidjan Principles video series was made by Rainbow Collective.