The 9^th Tri-national Conference in Defense of Public Education

will be held in

Montre al, Quebec, Canada, May 9 - 11, 2010

 

The conference will be co-hosted by FNEEQ-CSN (Federation Nationale des Enseignantes et Enseignants du Quebec) & CSQ (Centrale des Syndicats du Quebec), and will be held on the campus of UQAM (Universite du Quebec a Montreal), which is located Downtown Montreal.

If you are interested in participating in the planning of this event – please see our Invitation to join the preliminary meeting for the IX^th Trinational Conference. The preliminary meeting will be held in Los Angeles, California, USA on September 25 - 27, 2009 and will be hosted by the UTLA (United Teachers of Los Angeles).

Since NAFTA created new links among Mexico, the U.S. and Canada in 1994, education union activists from the three countries have met at a conference every two to three years.  The purpose has been to deepen understanding of the impact of the neo-liberal policies exemplified by NAFTA on public education and to find ways to work together in mutual support of public education in the three countries. 

This 9^th conference provides another opportunity to join in this process.  While the context in each of the three countries is obviously different, we always find that there are also many similarities.  The links formed through these conferences have been important in providing mutual solidarity in times of crisis, as well as in expanding knowledge of the realities of education in our neighboring countries.  

The conference has generally had speakers from each of the three countries present on common themes, to get a transnational perspective on the issues.  Discussion then focuses on looking for the patterns and exploring ideas about common or supportive actions that might be taken in relationship to the issues.   

Funding for the conferences has come from two sources.  Registration fees have covered costs of translation, since the conferences are conducted in English and Spanish through simultaneous translation.  Grants from unions in Canada and the U.S. have provided funding to ensure that a significant number of teachers from Mexico can participate in the conference. If you or your organization is prepared to make a donation, please contact Jean Trudelle.

Please take a look at our Conference Information::

       Brochure (English) - N/A

Conference Documents:

       Program for the 9^th Trinational Conference (English) - N/A

       El programa de Acontecimientos (Espanol) - N/D

Here are invitation letters to:

       U.S. / Canadian Unions – N/A

       Mexicano Delega – N/D

Here are our registration forms:

       Registration Form (English) – N/A

       Formulario de inscripcion (Espanol) – N/D

For Mexican participants, here are the relevant documents with information regarding entering Canada:

       

Conference hotel (with unionized workers):

       TBA

We hope that you and you and your organization will be interested in participating in the 8^th Tri-national Conference in Defense of Public Education.

For background on the Trinational Coalition for the Defense of Public Education, please check out all of our links at the top of the page, and don 't forget to  read:

       "A Brief History of the Trinational", by Dan Leahy

       "Una Historia Breve del Trinational (Espanol)" por Dan Leahy)