The Minister of Education of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Mrs Caroline Désir, will be on a mission in Quebec — Québec City and Montreal — from 23 to 26 October, 2023. During her mission, Minister Désir will have the opportunity to address several topics of common interest with Quebec, including:
- promotion of the teaching profession;
- inclusion of children with disabilities;
- teaching a second language;
- the fight against the school dropout.
This mission will give her the opportunity to exchange views with the Quebec authorities and meet a number of stakeholders who will share their experiences and expertise in this field.
Biographical notes:
Caroline Désir holds a law degree from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and a degree in social law from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She started her career as a lawyer specialising in labour law before quickly moving into politics. From 2009 to 2019, she was a member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region and of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (including the Education Committee). From 2013 to 2019, Ms Désir was also Deputy Mayor of Ixelles (urban renewal, housing, mobility and public education). She was elected Member of Parliament in May 2019.
On 17 September 2019, Caroline Désir became Minister of Education in the Walloon-Brussels Federation. In line with the values she has upheld since the beginning of her career, she is devoting her energy to defending a fairer, more effective and more inclusive education. This is the main objective of the Pacte pour un Enseignement d'Excellence, a far-reaching reform of the school system aimed at improving the quality of French-language education.