The International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC) is an NGO whose objective is to be the voice of Catholic Education in the world, to serve as an exchange network, and to promote research on Catholic schools. It is one of the largest networks of non-governmental schools in the world, and thus OIDEL works closely together them. For instance, OIDEL has come to represent OIEC in the Human Rights Council and has developed consultancy work for them.

OIEC’s International Congress takes place every 4 years. This year, it was held in Marseille (France) under the theme “Giving Hope”. The program included a variety of speeches and reflections, and OIDEL had the opportunity to present its work to the great family of Catholic Schools. The video intervention of Pope Francis was one of many outstanding contributions. All in all, this Congress was a great opportunity to learn more about the challenges related to educational pluralism in Catholic schools.

The event was also the occasion to bid farewell to the former president and the former director of OIEC, Paul Barber (United Kingdom) and Philippe Richard (France). Both have been great friends of OIDEL. Later, the new President, the Tunisian Jawad Alamat, and the new Director, the Frenchman Hervé Lecomte, were introduced. The Director of OIDEL was able to speak with both of them and expressed his intention to work closely with them.