The Education Relief Foundation (ERF) was established in 2016 with a clear and 
ambitious mission: to develop, promote and embed the then nascent concept of 
Balanced and Inclusive Education (BIE).

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: 
https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8697451-adoption-udbie-establishment-oec/ 

To serve this mission, ERF first organised a series of Regional Consultation 
Meetings in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Europe, 
collating the experiences and recommendations of cross-sectoral stakeholders 
(including education ministries, academics and international civil society) in 
2017. These regional recommendations were presented at the I ForumBIE 2030 in 
December 2017, at which ERF received the international mandate to develop a 
Global Guide of Ethics, Principles, Policies, and Practices in Balanced and 
Inclusive Education on the basis of the consultations.

Less than a year later, in November 2018, ERF convened, with the Ministry of 
Education of Mexico, the II ForumBIE 2030 in Mexico City – at which the Global 
Guide was launched. The II ForumBIE 2030 concluded with the issuing of an 
International Call for Balanced and Inclusive Education, expressing the 
collective aspiration of its 41 signatories – constituting 671 Ministries of 
Education, academic bodies and civil society organisations. The ICBIE mandated 
ERF, as the convenor of the ForumBIE 2030, to redact a formal draft of a 
Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education within 18-24 months, 
at which point it would be signed at the III ForumBIE 2030.

Just 14 months later, ERF convened, with the government of the Republic of 
Djibouti, the III ForumBIE 2030 – International Summit on Balanced and 
Inclusive Education. It was attended by Heads of State and Government, 
Government Ministers, civil society organisations, and academic bodies from 
across the Global South. The III ForumBIE 2030 saw the adoption of the UDBIE. 
As an immediate concrete outcome, the Organisation of Educational Cooperation 
(OEC) was created by 27 countries, and 10 CSOs and academic bodies with the 
purpose of contributing to the achievement of the commitments contained within 
the UDBIE.

Within four years of its creation, ERF is in the unique position of being able 
to proudly affirm that it has fulfilled its mission. Through its promotion 
efforts, the concept of Balanced and Inclusive Education has gone from 
inception to consolidation within a shared vision embodied by the Universal 
Declaration. The creation of the OEC, as an International Organisation 
accountable to its Member States, has embedded BIE within the international 
education and development agenda.

The OEC is now best placed to ensure the development of BIE as the foundation 
of a sustainable, equitable and inclusive future for all.

With the fulfilment of having accomplished its duty, ERF will conclude its 
activities with the completion of its BIE pilot project, in June 2020. The 
report on this project will be published on the ERF website, which will remain 
as a valuable repository for further use and development.

The Education Relief Foundation (ERF) [https://educationrelief.org/] is a 
Geneva-based not-for-profit and non-governmental organisation which serves to 
develop, promote and embed a balanced and inclusive education through policy 
development, capacity building and civil society engagement, amongst other 
activities.

The Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC) [https://oec-oce.org/] is a 
platform and an instrument of intellectual, technical and financial cooperation 
and solidarity between its Member States as well as its Associate Members. As 
set out by its Constitutive Charter, the purpose of OEC is to "contribute to 
the equitable, just, and prosperous social transformation of societies by 
promoting balanced and inclusive education, in order to attain the fundamental 
rights to liberty, justice, dignity, sustainability, social cohesion, and 
material and immaterial security for the peoples of the world."

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1029418/ERF_Logo.jpg 
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1095205/Constitutive_Charter_of_OEC.jpg


For more information, contact:
Etienne Lacombe-Kishibe
Head of Media and Communications 
E: e.kishibe@educationrelief.org or info@oec-oce.org
T: 0041-22-920-0859 
M: 0041-79-864-2692

SOURCE: The Education Relief Foundation