policy

The Solidarity Fund was established to assist member organisations in emergencies such as natural disasters, famine, war, persecution or other life threatening situations. The assistance provided by the  Solidarity Fund is used mainly for short-term relief to help ensure the survival of organisations and their members.

The Fund, established with voluntary contributions from member organisations and administered by the EI Secretariat, represents a visible example of solidarity among teachers around the world. Natural and man-caused disasters that threaten the lives of teachers and their families call for our solidarity through the delivery of immediate and effective assistance.

At the  World Congress in , the role of the Solidarity Fund was extended to providing financial support for development cooperation activities with member organisations in developing countries. The decision of the  Congress opened the way for the Fund to be not only reactive to emergency situations but also pro-active by cooperating with teacher organisations in developing countries and countries in transition. The Congress also decided that EI itself and its member organisations should be invited to allocate of their annual income to this work. The of income’ contribution is lodged annually in the Solidarity Fund.

Education is one of the most important tools to combat poverty and terrorism and to establish democratic political systems. As an international trade union organisation,  has to ensure that colleagues in member organisations are able to carry out their professional role even in life-threatening situations.