Trilateral cooperation
National associations of regional education authorities from Canada, Germany and Switzerland are working together.
Germany, Switzerland and Canada share decentralized federal systems of government in which responsibility for education lies with regional authorities: the states (Länder) in Germany, the cantons in Switzerland and the provinces and territories in Canada. Education ministers in all three countries have established mechanisms for information exchange and consultation at the national level. These responsibilities lie with the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (KMK) in Germany, with the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) in Switzerland and with the Council of Ministers of Education (CMEC) in Canada.
In a new joint declaration, these three bodies have stressed their intention to strengthen education policy cooperation among themselves and to increase the exchange of information – for example, on current education reforms and on the implementation of processes in the fields of preschool education, primary and secondary education and post-secondary education. The partners are also thinking of cooperation in even broader contexts: they would like to coordinate and advance joint positions in multilateral organizations like the OECD. ▪
