From June 29 to July 1, 2022, the Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains (MIDH), with the support of GI-ESCR, held a workshop, to inform and develop an advocacy strategy for the implementation of the recommendations of the report on the impact of the privatisation and commercialisation of education, in Grand-Bassam in Côte d'Ivoire. This workshop brought together 20 representatives of civil society organisations and state bodies including the Senate, the Ministries of National Education, Budget, Justice and the Promotion of Good Governance who are key stakeholders with a good knowledge of the decision-making process.

This workshop takes place in a context of unprecedented growth of private actors in education in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as in other countries in the region. The impact of this phenomenon in terms of the quality of educational content, territorial segregation, social inequalities, and more generally the realisation of human rights, makes it a major challenge for actors and defenders of the right to lifelong education and highlights the importance of active mobilisation around the issue.

In its capacity as MIDH’s major partner in conducting the research, preparing the report and organising the workshop, GI-ESCR made a general presentation of the Abidjan Principles in light of which the said report was prepared.

Very lively discussions were held on the issues raised by the report which are:

• A strong privatisation of education since 1992 which results from political choice;

• An insufficient and declining normative framework;

• The privatisation of education as a rooting factor of discrimination on grounds related to social inequalities, disability and the allocation of students by the State in private and public schools;

• The failure of the State to provide and finance public, free and quality schools for all;

• The transformation of education into a commodity;

• Non-compliance with regulatory standards by private actors;

• Less participatory and democratic private schools.

After three days of intensive work, four pillars around a participatory advocacy strategy were identified.

These pillars are:

• Harmonising the laws

• Budget

• Regulating private schools

• Implementing the right to education in educational planning

The workshop enabled the creation of windows of opportunity favorable to the implementation of the recommendations of the report. Indeed, the workshop was an opportunity for MIDH to forge strategic relationships and to obtain concrete guidance from state bodies’ representatives on the approach to follow and the key people to reach in order to increase the chances of consideration of the report's recommendations by the competent authorities.

This workshop was also an opportunity to inform and raise awareness among participants about the Abidjan Principles which they are not very conversant with, and to demonstrate the relevance of these Principles in view of the findings of the report.

Finally, this workshop enabled all the participants, in particular the MIDH, to have their advocacy capacities strengthened.