We have received some questions and comments both on social media posts and privately about our stance on global political affairs, and we felt now was the time to make a clarification statement.
Whilst IATEFL is an international association, it is also a UK charity regulated by charity laws in the UK, and also governed by its own Memorandum and Articles of Association. Governance comes from a group of eight trustees, all of whom are unpaid volunteers, and whose responsibility it is to ensure that the charity complies with the relevant regulations in the UK.
Political neutrality has always been a key part of the way IATEFL works. Only by maintaining this can we welcome members from any country in the world and from any political regime to our webinars, conferences and into our SIGs. We understand that our neutrality can attract criticism for not taking public positions on global affairs. However, this stance enables us to engage with teachers across the world, to build communities of practice, and to create inclusive spaces for professional development, regardless of where a teacher is from or where they live. We believe that teachers and volunteer-led non-profit teaching associations are not responsible for the beliefs and actions of the country in which they are located, and IATEFL’s ethos is to be as inclusive as possible.
In addition, UK charity law prevents us from making any political statements unrelated to our very specific scope as a charity. Trustees find this highly frustrating sometimes, as much as anyone else would, especially in these times of conflict – but its enforcement is part of the responsibility of the role. We have made a wide-ranging statement condemning violence towards civilians in any kind of conflict anywhere in the world, and this can be found on our website here.
In terms of our associates, these are independent not-for-profit teacher associations, with no direct connections to their national governments. We do not believe that these associations can be held in any way liable for the policies of those governments. We also feel that in the extreme circumstances that countries can find themselves, the continued support of IATEFL is important for those teachers who find themselves opposing the regime where they live and work.
Regarding our banking arrangements, the IATEFL Head Office is exploring options for new banking partners with ethical investment policies being amongst our selection criteria. However, many banks do not accept charities as clients, and of those that do, many require at least 50% of trustees to be UK-based. Our global financial transactions—combined with the fact that very often our trustees are not UK-based — complicates matters for us but we do not believe requiring all trustees to be UK-based would align with our commitment to internationalism.
In recent months, we have very occasionally been accused online of cowardice or complicity. As a board, we have found these comments, though rare, very offensive and deeply hurtful. There are sometimes external or legal factors beyond our control that limit what we can do—even when we may personally disagree with those constraints. Trustees are volunteers, simply giving their time to help run a professional association within the constraints of the legal framework in which we operate.
As always, we remain open to dialogue with our members. We hope that IATEFL members understand that in order for the association to link, develop and support as many teachers around the world as possible, in keeping with our mission statement, political neutrality ensures that we reach and connect with teachers wherever possible.
The Board of Trustees of IATEFL
