Ditsela Educators Conference 23 - 11 - 06

DITSELA Media alert

Celebrate, Consolidate, Innovate
Towards Building a Workers' Education Movement

The Development Institute for Training, Support and Education for Labour
(Ditsela) invites the media to the Ditsela Educators Conference and
Tenth Anniversary Celebrations, from 27-30 November 2006, at the
Birchwood Executive Hotel and Conference Centre, 120 North Rand Road,
Bartlett, Boksburg. See attachment for the full programme.

Over the past ten years, Ditsela has grown to become the leading
provider of education, training, research and support services to the
country's trade unions and federations. We have also developed a solid
reputation internationally as an important partner in the field of
workers' education.

This year we are proudly hosting our bi-annual Educators Conference to
which 150 leading local and selected international trade union educators
have been invited. It will be taking place at a time when the challenges
facing the trade union movement, nationally and globally, have become
ever more complex.

The need for workers' education to support organisations has never been
felt so keenly. Despite resource limitations and the organisational
challenges facing unions, a range of exciting examples are unfolding,
where unions and their allies have developed creative worker education
responses to strengthen organisation and deepen union solidarity across
industrial sectors and borders.

At the conference, we want to explore these challenges, and share some
of the emerging innovative responses. In particular we want to highlight
opportunities for unions to put in place low-cost, and mass-based
workers' education programmes that draw upon the very best of our
traditions. We not only want to celebrate our past and our achievements,
but also to understand and prepare for the future. In short, we are
hoping for a Ditsela Educators Conference that will inspire, motivate,
and encourage educators and all those committed to workers' education in
South Africa and beyond.

The Conference also takes place at a very special time in Ditsela's
history, as it coincides with its 10th Anniversary. Part of the 4-day
Conference programme will include a celebration of this historic
occasion. The theme for the evening of 29th November is "Celebrating a
Decade of Service to Workers Education". Delegates to the conference
will be joined by a list of eminent people who have been associated with
the institute over the past 10 years. The Honourable Minister for
Labour, Cde Membathisi Mdladlana, will deliver the keynote address to
mark the occasion.

(*Ditsela is a joint project of the two largest Labour Federations in
South Africa, COSATU and FEDUSA. It was created to help build the Labour
Movement's education and organisational capacity to respond to, and
actively engage with the new challenges that it faces. Ditsela is funded
primarily by the Department of Labour, from the Strengthening of Civil
Society Fund. Recognition of the value of trade union education marks a
step forward for labour in South Africa. Supplementary funding has been
kindly provided by a range of international trade unions and other
funders.)

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Objectives of the Conference:

* To critically examine the meaning and practice of Workers' Education

* To evaluate the impact of Workers' Education in relation to a range of challenges arising from a neo-liberal economic
context

* To contribute to the strengthening of a Workers' Education movement by sharing lessons and strengthening
linkages locally and internationally

* To celebrate the contribution of Workers' Education and to begin to map out the way forward for the next ten
years.

* To critically examine the last ten years of Ditsela, in its 10th Anniversary year.

* To work towards an inclusive and conscious, non-sexist, non-racist democratic approach in all that we do.

Please confirm your attendance with Veronica Malatji at 011 403 2155 or
e-mail to info@ditsela.org.za <mailto:info@ditsela.org.za> . In the
build up to the conference more information will become available on our
website (www.ditsela.org.za)

For further information please phone Ditsela Executive Director Gino
Govender on 011 403 2155