Who We Are
Defending the right to education since 1985
OIDEL is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Legally recognised as a public interest association under Swiss law, OIDEL’s primary mission is the promotion of the right to education as a fundamental human right — a right that cannot exist without State support and the protection of individual freedoms. Our work is grounded in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Our Foundation
OIDEL was founded in 1985 by forty political leaders, educational experts and parents committed to the right to education. Since its founding, OIDEL has maintained consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe, and collaborates actively with the European Union and international non-governmental organisations.
Founding Members
Lluis Alegre SPAIN
Former Member of Parliament and Catalan Minister of Commerce.
Emilio Colombo ITALY
Former Prime Minister, former President of the European Parliament.
Ramón Durany SPAIN
Former President of Institució Familiar d’Educació.
Concepció Ferrer SPAIN
Deputy Ombudsman, former Member of the European Parliament.
Antoine Humblet BELGIUM
Former Minister of Education, Honorary President of OIDEL.
Kurt Malangré GERMANY
Former Member of the European Parliament, former Mayor of Aachen.
Joseph Michel BELGIUM
Former Minister of Education.
Alberto Michelini ITALY
Former Member of the European Parliament.
Juan Antonio Ortega y Díaz-Ambrona SPAIN
Former Minister of Education.
Jacques Python SWITZERLAND
Lawyer, Honorary President of OIDEL.
Rosa Russo Jervolino ITALY
Former Minister of the Interior and Education.
Stuart Sexton UNITED KINGDOM
Director of IPSET.
Mario Viscovi ITALY
Former President of the European Parents’ Association.
Frank Monagle AUSTRALIA
School Director.
Executive Committee
Teresa Martínez SPAIN
Former President of EASSE
Charles L. Glenn UNITED STATES
Professor and Dean of the School of Education at Boston University.
Ernesto Rolando Marín Coto EL SALVADOR
Former Minister of Education of El Salvador (2002–2004).
Josep-Manuel Prats SPAIN
Lawyer. President of FAPEL, Vice-President of COFAPA, and former Vice-President of the European Parents Association.
MEMBERS
Alfonso Aguiló SPAIN
President of the Arenales Education Network. National President of the Spanish Confederation of Educational Centres (CECE).
Joan Curcó SPAIN
Director General for the Promotion of Educational Centres.
Joaquín Juan Torres Lacambra SPAIN
Director General of Institució Familiar d’Educació.
Joan Gallostra SPAIN
President of the FIP (Fundació per a la Innovació Professional).
António Sarmento PORTUGAL
President of AEEP (Associação De Estabelecimentos De Ensino Particular E Cooperativo) and ISU (Instituto de Solidariedade e Cooperação Universitária). Secretary of CNEF (National Confederation of Education and Training).
Arja Kraunchenberg AUSTRIA
President of the Education Committee of the Conference of INGOs of the CoE. Vice-President of LLLP (Lifelong Learning Platform). Former President and current Project Coordinator of the EPA (European Parents Association).
Bertrand Doncieux FRANCE
Executive Director of AEFLIB (European Association of Free Faculties).
Claire de Lavernette FRANCE
Vice-President of the NGO Committee for Human Rights.
Francis Delpérée BELGIUM
Emeritus Professor at the University of Leuven. Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives from 2004 to 2019.
Georges Haddad FRANCE
Honorary President of the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne from 1994 to 2016. Rector of the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne from 2016 to 2021. Director of the Higher Education Division at UNESCO from 2004 to 2010, and Founder and Director of the Education Research and Foresight Unit at UNESCO.
Paz Gutiérrez Cortina MEXICO
Secretary of the Education Commission of the Mexican Parliament from 2009 to 2012.
Ashley Berner, PhD UNITED STATES
Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy.
Jan de Groof BELGIUM
Professor at the College of Europe and Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Honorary Doctorate from the University of Pretoria and the University of Macedonia. Head of UNESCO Mission (2007–2010). Appointed by Pope Francis as an education consultant since 2016.
Tommaso Agasisti ITALY
Professor at the Polytechnic School of Administration of Milan. From 2012 to 2019, he was co-delegate for the I&PA (Institutions and Public Administrations) area, and since then, he currently serves as Vice-Dean of International Relations and Academic Excellence at the POLIMI Graduate School of Administration. He is a member of the editorial board of Educational Researcher.
Javier Tello SPAIN
Director General of the Fundación San Pablo CEU. Professor of Financial Law, first at Carlos III University and since 2011 at CEU San Pablo University. Former Deputy Director General of Special Procedures at the National Tax Administration Agency, having also worked in the financial sector as tax director for various banks and law firms.
International Network
OIDEL’s activities are funded through membership fees and subsidies from conferences and research projects.
Our Objectives
- Study educational policies through a human rights-based approach.
- Inform the public about progress and violations related to the right to education and freedom of education.
- Provide training and information on the right to education and freedom of education to stakeholders in the education sector.
- Collaborate with international organisations and human rights bodies to defend and promote the right to education and educational freedoms.
Our Main Areas of Engagement
United Nations
- UN Commission on Human Rights
- UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
- UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
- UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- UN World Conferences
UNESCO
- International Conference on Education (UNESCO/IBE)
- UNESCO General Conference
European Institutions
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
- European Parliament
- European Commission
Our Global Network of Experts
OIDEL coordinates a worldwide network of experts including jurists, economists, academics, government representatives and independent school managers. Our network spans Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others.