On 25 June, GI-ESCR co-organised with a group of researchers and civil society organisations a three-hour workshop to discuss how the recently adopted Abidjan Principles on the right to education can be used in social sciences research. The workshop was hosted by the Institute of Education at the University College London, with the leadership of Professor Elaine Unterhalter. It was also co-organised with the Open Society Foundation’s Education Support Program, Dr Frank Adamson at California State University, Dr Thibaut Lauwerier at the University of Geneva, the Right to Education Initiative, and UNESCO’s International Institute for Education Planning.

The workshop gathered 30 researchers from the academic and civil society spaces. Several ongoing or recent projects to apply the Abidjan Principles to assess reality were discussed, such as the report published by ActionAid’s study of the situation in four countries, and a new initiative to develop indicators to support States’ planning efforts. Several avenues for reflections were developed to develop the use of the Abidjan Principles to collect empirical data on education systems.

The ideas that emerged from this workshop will be collated by the organisers to continue fostering a discussion among researchers.