The Council of Pacific Education (COPE)


The Council of Pacific Education (COPE) is a regional organisation of education unions from the South Pacific Region. COPE is a sub-branch of Education International

Education International

Education International is a global union federation of teachers' trade unions. Currently, it has 401 member organizations in 172 countries and territories, representing over 30 million education personnel from pre-school to university...

's (EI) Asia and Pacific regional division. The following affiliates comprise the Council of Pacific Education:


Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

National Tertiary Education Union

National Tertiary Education Union

The National Tertiary Education Union is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector.-About the NTEU:...

 (NTEU)

Independent Education Union of Australia

Independent Education Union of Australia

The Independent Education Union of Australia with a current membership of over 68,000, is the federally registered industry union representing all employees working in non-government schools and institutions across Australia...

 (IEU)

Australian Education Union

Australian Education Union

The Australian Education Union is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions...

 (AEU)


Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

Cook Island Teachers' Institute (CITI)


Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

Fijian Teachers' Association (FTA)

Fiji Teachers Union

Fiji Teachers Union

Fiji Teachers Union is a union representing elementary and secondary education teachers in Fiji. It is a member of the Fiji Trades Union Congress, and Education International....

 (FTU)

Association of the University of South Pacific Staff (AUSPS)

Kiribati

Kiribati

Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...

Kiribati Nation Union of Teachers (KNUT)


New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

Association of Staff in Tertiary Education

Association of Staff in Tertiary Education

The Association of Staff in Tertiary Education is a national trade union in New Zealand. It was formed in 1988 by the merger of the Teacher Colleges Association , and the NZ Association of Polytechnic Teachers . The majority of members are from polytechnics...

 (ASTE)

Association of University Staff (AUS)

New Zealand Educational Institute

New Zealand Educational Institute

The New Zealand Educational Institute is the largest education trade union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1883 and has a membership of 51,000.The NZEI is affiliated with the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, and Education International....

 (NZEI)

Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA)

Independent Schools Education Association of New Zealand (ISEA)

ASTE & AUS have elected to amalgamate to become New Zealand Tertiary Education Union (NZTEU) effective 1 January 2009


Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

Papua New Guinea Teachers' Association (PNGTA)


Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

Samoa National Teachers' Association (SNTA)


Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

Solomon Island National Teachers' Association (SINTA)


Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

Friendly Islands Teachers' Association

Friendly Islands Teachers' Association

The Friendly Islands Teachers' Association is a trade union in Tonga. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation....

 (FITA)


Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

Tuvalu Teachers' Association (TTA)


Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

Vanuatu Teachers' Union (VTU)


Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

FORCE Ouvriere Enseignement



COPE provides advice and assistance on professional, industrial, legal and human rights issues for teachers, support staff and their representative union affiliates in the region. It also acts as a clearing house for information to both its affiliates and to other organisations across the Pacific and to Education International.


COPE hosts biennial conferences to address issues facing education in the South Pacific. In August, 2008 the Roundtable and 18th Biennial Conference was held in Nadi, Fiji, together with UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 and UNICEF, on "Improving the Status of Teachers as per International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

(ILO)-UNESCO's 1966 Recommendation and promoting Children's Rights to Quality Education".

The topics of discussion ranged from key issues and challenges in the pacific region concerning the status of teachers, to school leadership and obstacles to children's right to education specific to the region.


The COPE office is based in Suva, Fiji. The current Secretary General is Govind Singh.


References
http://www.ieu.org.au
http://www.ei-ie.org/asiapacific/