Young people in conflict: Building their tomorrows together
The missions of AIEJI’s XII World Congress are to promote dialogue that facilitate international awareness and understanding of young people’s needs, and to encourage constructive activities that improve the well-being of young people in conflict throughout the world.

Therefore, be it resolved: The XII World Congress affirms its commitment of behalf of young people throughout the world as follows:

1. To unite workers for young people in conflict, whatever their functions and with respect for their personal beliefs;

2. To contribute to the professional training, development and organization of workers for troubled young people;

3. To develop and implement constructive interventions based on the right of children to be safeguarded from psychological and physical threat or harm;

4. To promote study in the field of young people in need on a national and international level; and

5. To promote on-going linkages between national and international associations and organisations in order to better serve troubled young people.

 

Further
The participants of the XII World Congress and AIEJI pledge:

• To advocate that all national and international social and economic programs under consideration give the utmost priority to meeting the needs of both the child and the family;
• To advocate for all governmental programs to recognize the fundamental need of children to be raised in a stable family;
• To advocate for the elimination of incarceration and the death penalty of minors;
• To advocate that all countries sign the United Nations Declaration of Children’s
  Rights and the Convention.

 

Further be it resolved
AIEJI pledges that with the changes of the political climate in Eastern Europe and
with the recognition of the needs of young people therein, to promote exchange
and technical support as it does in the developing countries.

AIEJI, New York, June 1990

Professional Associations of Social Educators/Pedagogues met in Barcelona 8 – 10 October 2003, to participate in the First European Symposium of Social Educators’ Professional Associations called by the European Office of the International Association of Social Educators (AIEJI).

 

Declaration

• We have the will to take part in the process of building a European Union that provides easy professional mobility.
• We have the will to participate in the common construction of the European Social Educator’s profession.
• We have the will to contribute our knowledge in defining criteria for the professional recognition of Social Educators Professional Qualifications in Europe.
• We have the will to define ethical guidelines common to all social Educators in Europe.
• We agree to the need of a specific training at level 4, as outlined in the European Directive 2002/0061(COD), for all social educators in Europe.

Considerations

The social educational profession must be based on socio educational practice.

Reflection on the practice and the professional conceptual framework are part of the competencies of social educators.

We must pursue the goal of building the European social educators’ common platform.

 

We agree

To work together for the recognition of the profession of social educators in Europe.

To define a set of professional qualification criteria that provide a suitable level of competences required to perform the profession.

To develop a common ethical guide that will guide social educators’ practice in Europe.

To work for recognition at level 4, a specific educational programme at university level or equivalent institutions, as specified in the European Directive 2002/0061 (COD), that involves theoretical and practical issues.

 

Signed by
Asociación Estatal de Educación Social (ASEDES ), Spain
Association of Social Pedagogues and Social Workers of the Russian Federation
Association Professionelle Suisse des Éducateurs/trices Spécialisé(e)s (SBVS), Switzerland
Assoziazione Nazionale d’Educatori Professionalli (ANEP),  Italy
Caring for Children, United Kingdom
Col.legi d’educadors/es Socials de Catalunya (CEESC), Spain
Dutch Association of Social Educators (NVSPH), Holland
Féderation Suisse Romande des Travalleurs de l’Éducation Spécialisé (FERTES)
Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers (FO)
Throskathjafafelag Islands (TI), Iceland
Socialpaedagogernes Landsforbund (SL), Denmark
The National Children’s Bureau, United Kingdom

The Social Educators, and other actors, together in the XVI World Congress of AIEJI, after reflection and group debate, state that:

1. We reaffirm and confirm the existence of the field of Social Education as a specific task oriented to ensure the rights of the people we work for, which requires our permanent commitment at the ethical, technical, scientific and political levels.
2. To accomplish this commitment, the role of the Social Educator must be consolidated, as well as the integration in work teams and group organisation.
3. This task requires Social Educators with a good initial and permanent training.
4. This training must emphasize practice, with a permanent critical analysis.
5. We see the importance of the systematisation of the professional practice as a way to contribute to the training, professional improvement -which is a right of the users of the social education-, and the approach of our political pedagogical purposes in this process.
6. We reaffirm that ethics must be a permanent reference, collectively conceived and carried out with the critical participation of the subjects.
7. Social Educators renew our commitment with democracy and social justice, defend our cultural heritage and the rights of all human beings. We are convinced that another world is possible.

Montevideo, 18 November 2005

The mission of AIEJI’s XVll World Congress 2009 is to analyse and evaluate the possibilities of our profession in the light of a globalized world. A world thrown into deep economic crisis.

It is of uttermost importance to fight the economic crisis which increases social hardship for millions of people and makes people poorer. A crisis, which in particular threatens the life possibilities of children and young people and has severe negative influence on the existential conditions for people with disabilities and impairments.

As social educators we must specifically point to the consequences of the crisis felt by vulnerable and exposed children and young people, as well as the most exposed groups of adults: people with functional impairment, the abusers of drugs and alcohol, the homeless and many more – people whose already strained situation is worsened even more.

As social educators we must put pressure on national governments and international associations and demand that they take care of the ones who are hit most severely by the crisis. We must encourage the international relief organisations to devote targeted resources toward the children, young people and adults whom the crisis excludes from the communities of society.

There is nothing positive to say about the humanitarian consequences of the current economic crisis, but the failure of economic liberalism gives us a unique chance to take on globalism from a new angle. A chance to make things better, to make the world more just and humane.

As social educators we must fight for a globalized world which benefits all. We must pledge to make our contribution to social cohesion in the society. We must create new alliances and lines of communication across national borders. We must develop new and progressive ways to obtain global justice.

We must pursue cooperation across national borders where global networks and new media constitute a platform where social educators, as a profession, can develop and share knowledge about how to put the professional theories to work.

This exchange of knowledge and experiences will strengthen the profession and be an advantage to the people whom we seek to help through our work. Work which requires on-going training and continued improvement of the professional qualities to ensure the best support possible to a decent human life that we, as social educators in a globalized world, can provide.

Endorsed by 44 nations at AIEJI’s XVII World Congress
Copenhagen, 7 May 2009