Around the world, many youth and adults are denied their right to education. A recent UNESCO report emphasizes that equitable access to quality education is far from being a reality for many people, especially the most vulnerable. Many international declarations insist on the need to effectively implement this right to education.
The A-C-A Initiative (Analysis – Communication – Action) aims to provide a sustainable, concrete, and effective response to this challenge. Its main objective is to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations in the context of different countries to bring about targeted changes in the implementation of the right to education.
Several observations led to this initiative:
1. The lack of reliable data in many contexts to build strong advocacy around the right to education;
2. The disengagement of national organizations, including universities, that often depend on external expertise without taking ownership of it;
3. Scattered actions in the field are very expensive and have little impact on the right to education.
Members of civil society organizations (CSOs) participate in a short, high-quality, training course to develop research skills that will enable them to build a strong advocacy case. In parallel, CSOs conduct research by collecting original and diverse data. Throughout this process, they are accompanied by tutors.
The International Symposium on the Right to Education (SIDE) bring together actors with different profiles and from different contexts. What they have in common is that they all present studies on the right to education, including those of CSOs. In addition to policy briefs, infographics, and podcasts, the participating CSOs are asked to write a scientifically rigorous paper for a special issue of an internationally recognized education journal, Education in Debate: Comparative Analysis.
CSOs develop an advocacy plan based on the resources from the previous steps. This plan, which includes actions with a national and international focus (e.g., International Day Against the Commodification of Education), will then be implemented. A few weeks after the CSOs implement their advocacy actions, a follow-up report is planned to assess the initiative: can we already observe changes in the effectiveness of the right to education? What new avenues of research/action can we envisage?
✔️ Analytical skills for CSOs
✔️ New knowledge on the right to education
✔️ Increased visibility and recognition for CSOs
✔️ Policy changes as a result of advocacy
