Education International Research
Box 3: In Norway, Teacher Representatives Plan for SDG Implementation and Collaborate with Government to Make SDG 4 a Reality Though it was nearly four years ago that UN member states adopted the 17 goals for Sustainable Development to be achieved by 2030, many countries have yet to develop clear concrete plans for their national implementation, let alone make these plans a reality. However, this has not stopped education unions and other civil society groups from devising their own action plans for how to contribute to the implementation of the SDGs. In the case of Norway, the government has taken steps to put in place mechanisms for implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda, but there is no national action plan for implementing the SDGs. Norway’s largest teachers’ union, Utadanningsforbundet (Union of Education Norway, UEN), which boasts over 175,000 members, has developed a plan for its own contribution to SDG implementation. They are motivated by the belief that their unique position as a trade union, able to engage in social dialogue, collective bargaining and negotiations with the government, means they have a responsibility to help achieve the SDGs. Therefore, core to UEN’s plan is engagement in social dialogue with the government (in particular the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, KS29), as well as the union’s own initiatives related to the SDGs.
The plan’s key objectives UEN’s plans for SDG implementation align with the policies of Education International in the international arena, as well as the national policy of Unio, the Confederation of Unions for Professionals in Norway. The plan30 outlines UEN’s priorities at the national, local and organisation level. Key objectives identified in UEN’s plan At the national level: Objective 1: Influence Norway's efforts to achieve SDG 4 Goal 2: Incorporate the SDGs into the social partnership Objective 3: Lobby the government over the SDGs in relation to foreign policy and international development policy At the local level: Goal 1: Incorporate the SDGs into the social partnership at a local level GRO.EI-IE
Goal 2: Ensure that the teaching profession is heard when implementing the SDGs locally At the organisation level (internally): Objectives: Members and union representatives will be able to identify relationships between local, national and international politics
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The plan was adopted by UEN’s Executive Board in 2018, and there is ongoing dialogue with the KS regarding implementation of the plan.
29 The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) is the employers’ association and special interest organisation for municipalities, counties and local public enterprises in Norway.
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See: https://www.utdanningsforbundet.no/globalassets/var-politikk/strategier/utdanningsforbundet_oppflg_barekraftsmal_sdg_nov-18.pdf