This week GI-ESCR was at the Comparative, International and Development Education Centre (CIDEC) at the Ontario Institute Studies in Education, University of Toronto for a seminar on the Abidjan Principles. Sarah French, Campaigner for GI-ESCR joined Prachi Srivastava, Associate Professor in education and international development, Western University, and Karen Mundy, Professor of International and Comparative Education at the University of Toronto for a discussion on the development of the Abidjan Principles, and the key avenues for their implementation.

The  Abidjan Principles were adopted in February 2019 by over 50 eminent experts on the right to education, following a three-year consultative process with decision-makers, communities and practitioners. As presented by Ms. French this landmark text unpacks existing human rights law regarding the obligations of States to provide public education and to regulate private involvement in education.

Prof Srivastava provided context to the development of the Abidjan Principles which was initiated, in part, by the rapid transformation of education systems from a significant increase in the scale and scope of non-state actors in education at the primary and secondary levels in developing countries.

Prof Mundy, an expert on education in the developing world, former Chief Technical Officer at the Global Partnership for Education, and a past President of the Comparative and International Education Society, raised important interventions on the application of the Abidjan Principles for education stakeholders.

The event was organised in collaboration with RICE at Western University, CIDEC, and GI-ESCR.