ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATESInter-American Council for Integral

Development(CIDI)

SIXTH INTER-AMERICAN MEETING OEA/Ser.K/V.9.1OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION CIDI/RME/doc.6/09 rev. 1August 12-14, 2009 11 August 2009Quito, Ecuador Original: Spanish

REPORT OF ACTIVITIES OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMITTEE ONEDUCATION (CIE) 2007-2009

(Presented by the Chair of the CIE and the Technical Secretariat)

Introduction

This report was prepared by the Chair of the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE) and its Technical Secretariat, which resides within the Department of Education and Culture (DEC) of the OAS Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI).

Its purpose is to inform member states of the activities of the CIE and its Technical Secretariat since the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Education, held in Cartagena, Colombia, in November 2007. The report focuses specifically on progress in the areas of (a) policy dialogue; (b) project support; (c) resource mobilization; and (d) promotion of interagency cooperation and consultation with civil society.

Background

Established at the Third Meeting of Ministers of Education, held in Mexico City in 2003, the CIE is composed of one representative of each ministry of education of the 34 OAS member states. Its principal mandate is to follow up on the implementation of decisions issued at the ministerial meetings and in the Summits of the Americas process in the field of education. In addition, the CIE seeks to identify multilateral initiatives and contribute to the execution of OAS policies and programs dealing with strategic partnerships for education. The CIE performs its functions with support from the OAS General Secretariat, in the form of services from its Technical Secretariat, residing within the Department of Education and Culture of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development.

The CIE has been supported in its task of implementing concrete programs and projects, in response to priorities set by the ministries, through a subfund consisting of a single contribution to support initiatives to fulfill the mandates of the Summits of the Americas and the ministerials. The total allocated to education in 2003 was US$2,000,000. The CIE charged its authorities with the responsibility for decisions on financing initiatives under this fund. More information regarding regulations and expenditures in the 2004-2009 period is given in the Resource Mobilization section of this document.

The CIE meets in plenary session (34 representatives) approximately once every two years. The authorities and Executive Committee of the CIE, composed of three officers (one chair and two vice chairs), five subregional representatives, and five alternates, meet approximately two to three times per year to review the progress of ongoing projects, to discuss new policy priorities and

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important research findings, and to develop concrete strategies for providing financial, technical, and political support to specific initiatives that promote multilateral cooperation among member states of the Hemisphere.1/ These meetings are open to participation by all member states.

During the 2006-2008 term, the CIE authorities continued to implement the CIE Work Plan,

based on the priority areas established by Ministers of Education at the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Education and in the Summits of the Americas process. At its meetings of March 13 and 14, 2008, May 13, 2008, and February 26 and 27, 2009, the authorities and Executive Committee of the CIE revised the Work Plan to incorporate new mandates and guidelines provided by the Ministers of Education at their Fifth Meeting and by the fourth regular meeting of the CIE in plenary session. The latter meeting was held in Quito, Ecuador, on October 14 and 15, 2008.

The Department of Education and Culture of the OAS Executive Secretariat for Integral Development, in its role as Technical Secretariat, supports the CIE by promoting policy dialogue among members; by fostering horizontal cooperation in all the member countries to exchange information and discuss experiences and good practices in the field of education; by managing multilateral projects on key priority topics; and by encouraging a coordinated approach to strengthening policy and practice, coordinating with international organizations, and consulting with civil society regarding their priorities. The activities of the past two years are summarized herein under the following headings: project support, policy dialogue, resource mobilization, and facilitating interagency cooperation and consultation with civil society.

Project Support in Priority Areas

Education Indicators:

In 1998, the 34 Heads of State and Government gathered at the Second Summit of the Americas, in Santiago, Chile, and adopted a Plan of Action on education with three quantifiable objectives to be achieved by 2010: the first is universal access to and completion of primary education; the second is that 75% of the region’s young people enter secondary education, with increasing rates of secondary completion; the third is that the population in general have access to opportunities for lifelong learning. At the same time, the Plan of Action specified the need to develop internationally comparable education indicators in the region. The result was the Regional Education Indicators Project (PRIE), initially coordinated by Chile and, since 2003, coordinated by the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) of Mexico, with technical coordination by UNESCO/OREALC. The project has received funding from the OAS (CIE), the SEP, and, in the first implementation phase, USAID. The Steering Committee that guides project execution consists of representatives of five ministries of education, SEP, UNESCO, and the OAS (CIE Chair and Director of the Department of Education and Culture).

1 ?. At the Third Meeting of Ministers of Education, Mexico was elected Chair, and Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil as Vice Chairs, of the CIE for the 2003-2005 term. (For a report on progress during this period, see document OEA/Ser.W/XIII.6.3). At the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Education, Trinidad and Tobago was elected Chair of the CIE; Brazil and Venezuela were elected Vice Chairs. At the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Education, Colombia and Ecuador were elected Chair (for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 terms, respectively); Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil were elected Vice Chairs. (For subregional representatives and alternates, see http://www.oas.org/udse/cie/ingles/fr_bien.html).

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The main objectives of PRIE are to develop and publish a set of indicators of OAS member-country progress toward achieving the education goals of the Summits of the Americas and to provide technical assistance to member countries in strengthening their capacity to collect, analyze, and use reliable data in decision-making.

The Educational Panorama 2007: Challenges Met and Still to Be Addressed was delivered to ministers in Cartagena as the most up-to-date overview of member-state – and regional – progress in achieving the Summit Goals. This publication follows upon the 2005 Educational Panorama and demonstrates significant progress in the region, particularly on questions of access to education, but also that the challenges of equity and quality of education have yet to be met. The 2010 Educational Panorama is slated for publication as a corollary to the PRIE project in 2010.

Technical missions carried out since the Fifth Meeting of Ministers are as follows:o Honduras, October 28 to November 3, 2007 o Paraguay, December 10 to 12, 2007o El Salvador, November 13 to 18, 2007 o Dominican Republic, December 2 to 6, 2007o Uruguay, March 2008

The “Findings of the Diagnostic Missions” from the preceding period were also published and delivered to Member States.

The countries that will receive technical assistance in data plan missions for the third phase, in 2009, are Jamaica, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Suriname, and Grenada.

From November 28 to 30, 2007, a technical workshop on educational statistics was held in Cancún, Mexico. Thirty-four countries, the OAS, and UNESCO were present.

On September 23 and 24, 2008, the Central American Workshop on Education Indicators for Follow-up on the Goals of the Summits of the Americas: Method of Construction and Use was conducted by the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico. The purpose was to improve the production and analysis of internationally comparable education statistics and to strengthen the capabilities of professionals from the member countries. This was part of a project related to PRIE but financed by FEMCIDI, “Strengthening the Capacity to Develop Education Statistics in Central America and the Caribbean.” Also under this project, a workshop on the use of international indicators in national reports was held in Nassau, The Bahamas, on December 9 and 10, 2008; it was attended by 13 Caribbean member countries of the OAS.

The OAS Technical Secretariat has provided technical information for the project’s objectives and execution, the development of products and communications strategies, and the development, in collaboration with the SEP and UNESCO, of the project website: www.prie.oas.org. A virtual forum will also be established on the OAS website for online discussion of the use and analysis of information and other topics meaningful to agents of the Regional Information System (SIRI).

The CIE has provided technical and financial support to the PRIE with funds under resolution

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CP/RES. 831 (1342/02), US$182,5752 and US$185,600 for the 2006-2007 term (Phase II). At its tenth regular meeting, in 2009, the CIE approved the continuation of the third phase with US$62,400 in new funds plus US$50,048 in reallocated prior-year funds. Mexico has contributed US$261,907 in 2005 and US$257,309 in 2007. In 2008, Mexico plans to contribute US$300,821 for a final phase of the PRIE. Moreover, US$70,800 in FEMCIDI funds were approved, of which US$25,490.99 were earmarked for Central American workshops and US$36,848.09 for the Caribbean workshop (US$62,339.08). In all, the PRIE is receiving US$484,069 for 2008-2009 activities (US$413,269 from the OAS-SEP and US$70,800 from FEMCIDI).

Early Childhood Development and Education

In November 2007, the Ministers of Education of the Member States adopted the “Hemispheric Commitment to Early Childhood Education” (CIDI/RME/doc. 10/07) and the "Guidelines for Early Childhood Education Programming” (CIDI/RME/doc. 7/07) in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. In March 2008, the CIE approved the Work Plan for 2008-2009, which contains ten activities that implement the ministers’ mandates through the following activities:

1. Project: “Policies and Strategies for the Child's Successful Transition to Socialization and School” seeks to complement the efforts of the Member States to design, create, and evaluate the policies and strategies that increase enrollment and improve the quality and equity of early childhood/preschool education and the first two years of basic/elementary school. The project has two components: i) Understanding and disseminating the state of the art of early childhood education and care from birth to 3 years, for which a symposium took place in May 2007, and ii) Policies and strategies for the child’s transition to socialization and school, which culminated in a second symposium.

i) The Second Inter-American Symposium on the Child’s Transition to Socialization and School” took place in May 2009 in Valparaiso, Chile. It was organized by the Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles (National Association of Kindergartens - JUNJI) and the DEC/OAS, as well as a National Commission composed of Chilean institutions, with additional support from the Chilean Ministry of Education, the INTEGRA Foundation, UNICEF/TACRO and UNESCO/OREALC. It was also supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation.

Through analysis of the findings of research and practice on a child’s transition processes from birth to the first two grades of basic education, the event helped to strengthen the institutional capacity of early childhood/preschool and basic education national offices to formulate policies and strategies that improve the qualify of life and possibilities for academic success of children. The event, moreover, allowed for work within subregions to identify possible alliances and steps to take in the future.

Three hundred delegates participated, including national early childhood/preschool directors from 29 Member States and eight basic education directors; 44 representatives from civil society institutions and international organizations (UNICEF, UNESCO, World Bank, IDB, OEI, Andean Development Corporation (CAF), Bernard Van Leer Foundation, PAHO,

2 ?. The amount covers the 2004-2006 term.

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World Association of Early Childhood Educators (AMEI); World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP). To guarantee greater coverage, the Symposium was broadcast live to the 34 countries of the OAS as well as outside the Inter-American region. See presentations at http://www.sedi.oas.org/dec. See videos in English at http://www.oas.org/OASpage/videosondemand/home_eng/videos.asp

ii) “Questionnaire on Transitions.” With support from Chile’s International Institute for Early Childhood Education (IDEI), the DEC/OAS prepared two questionnaires on the policies, programs, challenges, lessons learned and experiences related to a child’s transitions in his first eight years of life. The Member States returned 80% of the early childhood education and preschool surveys and 60% of the basic education surveys. It is worth mentioning that out of the aforementioned, the Caribbean submitted 100% of their questionnaires. The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and UNICEF/TACRO used the data collected for two studies on the state of the art of early childhood education and care and their main challenges in Latin America. Their progress was presented at the II Symposium along with a DEC Summary of the Caribbean Subregion. See questionnaires and studies at http://www.sedi.oas.org/dec.

iii) Early Childhood Transitions: An International Outlook. JUNJI and DEC called upon two international consultants to prepare a book that analyzes aspects of the topic of transitions in the Americas and in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It includes a conceptual framework and an analysis of policies, curriculums, teaching materials, teacher education and professionalization and parent participation. The findings were presented at the Second Symposium. See http://www.sedi.oas.org/dec. The book is in its editing and English translation phases.

The project received US$149,440.00 from the CIE in 2006 – funds from resolution CP/RES. 831 (1342/02). In 2008, it received US$181,600.00.

2. OAS/van Leer Project: “Transition policy trends in indigenous, rural and border communities” began in 2007 with the participation of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. It is a research project that seeks to contribute to policymaking in these priority areas. The last coordination meeting took place on May 25, 2009 in Santiago de Chile. The results of the studies – including case studies, methodology, development of social communication actions and products and some conclusions and recommendations – were presented at the Symposium in Chile. See studies and presentations:http://portal.oas.org/Portal/Topic/SEDI/EducaciónyCultura/EducaciónCuidadoyDesarrolloInfantil/Proyectos/Transicionesexitosasdelniño/tabid/1317/language/es-CO/default.aspx

The first book on “Transition policy trends indigenous, rural, and border communities” gathers information from the first five countries of the project: conceptual precisions, analysis and interpretation of statistics and education policies focused on indigenous populations. The book is currently being translated into English.

The DEC garnered the participation of four more countries to the project: Costa Rica and Bolivia, financed by UNICEF; Guatemala, financed by the Institute for Development and Educational Innovation in Early Childhood Education and Children’s Rights (IDIE) of the OEI and finally, Mexico, financed by the government of China and carried out by Mexico’s Foundation for the

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Integral Development of Indigenous Peoples and Rural Communities, which will organize an international gathering to present its study and that of eight countries, from November 9-11, 2009 in Puebla.

Indigenous leaders in the Hemisphere: During the II Symposium, in agreement with and with the financial support of UNICEF/TACRO, 15 indigenous leaders from various countries of the region met to discuss early childhood care in their communities. They finalized their work at a meeting with delegates from the Van Leer/OAS project. They adopted a Declaration – see version in English at http://portal.oas.org/Portal/Topic/SEDI/EducaciónyCultura/EducaciónCuidadoyDesarrolloInfantil/Proyectos/Educacióndelaprimerainfancia/tabid/1318/language/en-US/Default.aspx

This project was financed by the Bernard Van Leer Foundation through a sum of 200,000 Euros (approximately US$270,000). Chile/JUNJI and Brazil’s Ministry of Education furnished government resources as well. UNICEF, OEI/Guatemala and the government of China contributed to the project. The DEC received approval for an increase in financial support from the Van Leer Foundation.

3. Project: “Expanding the Hemispheric Commitment to Early Childhood Education through Technology and Communication Networks.” The Commitment of the Ministers of Education proposes “developing communication and dissemination policies” and exchanging and promoting advocacy and social participation experiences in early childhood. In June 2008, a US$161,925 project was approved by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The DEC, with support from Colombia’s CINDE, Chile’s JUNJI and Peru’s Acción por los Niños (Action for the Children), prepared a “Communication Strategy to improve the quality of early childhood education.” In August 2008, it organized a Workshop in Lima, Peru, which was attended by delegates from Colombia, Peru, Chile, Jamaica, Suriname, and UNICEF participants. In November 2008, the Ministry of Women and Social Development convened media specialists in Lima, Peru to discuss their role as well as the topic of early childhood. CINDE/Colombia developed four forums to disseminate the Van Leer study. Between the 25th and 28th of May, 2009, the OAS organized a second workshop to fine-tune the Communication Strategy, which will hopefully be developed in those Member States that express interest. Delegates and participants from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago attended the workshop.

4. Project: Consolidating early childhood education in the Caribbean through technical cooperation with Chile.” The OAS and the government of Chile signed a Memorandum of Understanding for mutual technical cooperation between Chile and Caribbean Member States. The memorandum approved a project to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Caribbean countries to expand and improve the quality of childhood care and education, within the “Regional Framework for Action for Children 2002-1015 (CARICOM)” and “Chile crece contigo” (“Chile grows with you”). The project was approved in May 2009 for US$100,801, which allowed the participation of delegates from 13 Caribbean countries in the Symposium on Transitions in Chile.

5. Project: Evaluation of Quality Education: Follow-up of the Commitment to early childhood. This project seeks to promote the implementation of follow-up, monitoring, and

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evaluation strategies that contribute to the improvement of the quality of early childhood care. It will examine indicators, teaching standards, and tools to evaluate the equality of educational processes. Thirty-four Member States will participate through their actions in five subregions, which will culminate in an Inter-American meeting in Paraguay. CIE agreed to finance this project with US$180,000 (February 2009).

The Ministry of Education of Costa Rica, along with the DEC/OAS, UNICEF, the General Secretariat of Central American Education and Cultural Coordination (CECC/SICA) of the Central American Integration System convened the “Central American Subregional Congress: Evaluation of childhood development and learning from 0 to 8.” Forty-two government delegates from eight countries’ different sectors and institutions participated. Those in charge of Paraguay’s evaluation programs and Mexico/CENDI participated in order to initiate inter-regional coordination.

6. “Introduction to early childhood care strategies from 0 to 3” Distance course. As part of the NHPA Program and the CapaciNet project “Improving Democratic Governability: Online learning for institutional capacity-building,” the DEC and the Executive Secretariat of the SEDI have undertaken (with support from a consultant) the content design of the distance course that will be offered in 2009 to the Member States, civil society institutions and teacher education institutions. The CapaciNet project supports the DEC in this endeavor with US$10,000.

Strengthening the Teaching Force

Research shows that well-prepared teachers are one of the main factors in student learning. But in most areas of the Americas teacher preparation levels are uneven and often substandard. The OAS and the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago have continued to implement the project “Teacher Education for the 21st Century: An Emphasis on Technology and Collaboration to Improve the Quality of Education in the Americas,” presented by Trinidad and Tobago to the CIE in May 2008.

This project, approved by the CEP, has various components:

Component 1: A seminar, “Teacher Education for the 21st Century,” was held in Trinidad and Tobago from October 29 to 31, 2008. The participants were approximately 100 officials from ministries of education, universities, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, unions, and teacher training institutions of 33 member states. It also brought subregional representatives working on the FEMCIDI hemispheric project “Responses to the Challenges of Improving the Quality of Recruitment and Selection, Initial Training, Professional Development, and Evaluation of Teachers in the Countries of the Hemisphere.” In the cases of the Caribbean and Central America, these representatives had designed harmonized policy frameworks for teacher education, which they shared with the representatives of the countries of the Americas.

Component 2: Creation of a website devoted to initial teacher education in the region. The Latin American Network of Educational Portals (RELPE) and the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) are also participating and

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have agreed to collaborate with the OAS in this endeavor. The RELPE wants to create an observatory on the use of ICTs in teacher training in the Americas. It would consist of a database on equipment, usage policies, training, and curricular integration of ICTs in teacher training institutions of the Americas. The IESALC wants to have a graphic representation or map of teacher training institutions in the Americas, which will provide a highly detailed registry and description of such institutions.

Component 3: Creation of online teacher educator courses to help teachers integrate information and communication technologies into their instruction. The iEARN network and Fundación Evolución have worked with the OAS in developing and executing this component. This is an 11-week course to train educators of future teachers to integrate technology and Internet Web.2 tools into their pedagogy, enhance their classes, and improve student learning. The first round of these courses in English for the Caribbean began on February 15, 2009. Thirty teacher trainers from five Caribbean countries, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, participated. Eighty teacher trainers from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Chile took the same course in Spanish between April and July of 2009. In August, an evaluation of the training provided in both courses will be available, the aim being to adjust both versions for the second round, scheduled for September 2009. The invitation to register for these courses is issued through the ministries of education, the permanent missions, and contacts at the Inter-American Committee on Education.

The latter two components will form part of the Inter-American Teacher Educator Network (ITEN), an exchange and cooperation mechanism whose design will begin in August 2009. The objectives of ITEN are:

• Horizontal cooperation and technical assistance among member states in the areas of policy, programs, projects, and good practices in initial teacher training, as a way to develop and strengthen capabilities at the ministries of education in this field.

• Creation of a community of policy-makers on initial teacher training at ministries and pedagogical universities of the Americas.

• Creation of a community of teacher educators dealing with the integration of ICTs through pilot online courses (along the lines of UNESCO’s teacher ICT competencies).

The CIE’s total contribution to this project is US$178,200.

Education for Democratic Citizenship

The Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices, adopted by the Ministers of Education in 2005 and supported by the OAS General Assembly at its recent session, has been successfully launched as an alliance of governments, civil society, international organizations, schools, universities, and others who work to promote the development of a culture of democracy through education. The Program includes three components: research, professional development, and information exchange. An Advisory Board includes approximately 35 representatives of such international entities as the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights,

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UNICEF, and UNESCO; representatives of member states’ education ministries; and experts from academia and civil society from across the Hemisphere. The role of the Advisory Board is to monitor the progress of the Program.

At the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Education, held in Trinidad and Tobago in August 2005, the Ministers requested that the CIE support the launching of the Program and also facilitate the development of a detailed and feasible work plan with a proposed budget and sources of financing for the program’s first phase.

In response to this mandate, the authorities and Executive Committee of the CIE, in 2005, 2007, and 2008, have approved a total of US$390,100 in support of specific activities of the Program through 2009. Leveraging the CIE seed funds, the DEC has secured an additional US$1,071,000 in counterpart funds from outside donors for activities in all three components of the Program.

The topic and the Program are now part of the political agenda of the OAS. At its thirty-eighth regular session, held in Medellín, Colombia, en 2008, the General Assembly focused on the topic of youth and democratic values. The Inter-American Program plays a prominent role in the General Assembly’s declaration.

The Program also has yielded the following products and concrete achievements since 2005:

Research Component

Launching of the Inter-American Journal on Education for Democracy, an online, trilingual, peer-reviewed journal in partnership with the University of Indiana, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and the University of Toronto. The first three issues can be found at www.ried-ijed.org .

An analytic report entitled National Policies on Education for Democratic Citizenship in the Americas, distributed to the Ministers in November 2007. The report is based on a survey of member states by the Technical Secretariat on behalf of the Program in the 2006-2007 term. For more information, see http://www.educadem.oas.org/espanol/cpo_politicas.asp.

Professional Development

Online course for educators on teaching the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, piloted in Peru in 2006, with the participation of 750 teachers, and funded by the United States Government. The last course module helps teachers make their classrooms “democratic classrooms.” Under consideration is the possibility of implementing the project in Colombia and Guatemala with financing from FEMCIDI. See promotional video and additional background documents at http://www.educadem.oas.org/.

“Education for Democratic Citizenship in the Caribbean: An Internet Course for Educators,” initiated in 2007 with funding from Canada (CIDA). The course was developed in close collaboration with six Ministries of Education and the University

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of the West Indies. The pilot phase is well underway, with teachers from five member states participating, and runs until the end of 2009. For more information, see project website at http://www.oas.org/documents/sap/caribbean/seminar/.

“Inter-American Course on Evaluation of Policies and Programs on Education for Citizenship,” developed and currently being piloted with the participation of 22 member states and support from the CIE. The in-person part of the course was held from December 1 to 3 in Guatemala. The course, with both on-line and in-person components, will eventually be offered to all interested member states.

The Young Scholars Program has received 82 applications from all the sub-regions of the Americas and 15 young students and professionals from different disciplines were selected to participate in the first stage of the program consisting of an on-line course on the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The second stage of the program will enable a selection of young scholars who graduate from the online course to participate in the activities of the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices.

 

Information Exchange Component

An “Inter-American Seminar on Best Practices in Citizenship Education” took place from July 5 to 7, 2006, in Mexico City, with 88 participants from 19 countries of the Hemisphere. For a final report on the outcome of the meeting, see www.educadem.oas.org/mexico.

Inter-American Encounter on Conflict Resolution Education, held in Cleveland, Ohio, in March 2007 and March 2008. The presentations and report are available at: http://www.educadem.oas.org.

Launch and maintenance of an Internet portal for the Inter-American Program: http://www.educadem.oas.org.

Publication of five issues of the online bulletin of the Inter-American Program, each with a different focus: (1) general information about the Program; (2) participation of youth in democracy; (3) conflict resolution education; (4) human rights education; and (5) the role of the arts and communications media in citizenship education: http://www.educadem.oas.org/espanol/cpo_boletin.asp.

In 2009, the Program has various activities scheduled, including:1. Launch of issues 3, 4, and 5 of the Inter-American Journal on Education for Democracy;

2. Launch of the policy brief series, continuation of electronic bulletin versions 6, 7, and 8, and portal maintenance and update;

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3. Design and implementation of the project “The use of arts and the media in promoting democratic citizenship among children and youth,” to be held in collaboration with the Plaza Sésamo Workshop, the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE), and the Inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC).

New initiatives: Thanks to contributions from the Permanent Mission of the United States and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Inter-American Program in 2009 has made progress on the following new initiatives:

4. Launched a horizontal cooperation fund to support technical assistance missions in the area of education for democracy. A call for applications was distributed to all member states in March 2009 and the OAS received a total of twenty-seven proposals. Through a competitive process, nine proposals were selected benefiting twelve countries and directly involving twenty-one institutions. The missions will be conducted between July and October 2009.

5. Development of a virtual online course center, so as to provide ongoing opportunities for professional development. This includes a course on evaluation of citizenship education policies and programs and a course for teachers on the creation of democratic classrooms, among others.

6. Began to design an evaluation process for the Inter-American Program and its initiatives. Distributed a call for proposals and through a competitive process selected a team of experts to design the evaluation.

7. Launched a three-year project on the right to education of migrant children and youths, in early 2009. In the first year, the project is developing an analytical report to document the size and nature of the educational situation of migrant children and youth in the member states; and to document and analyze existing national education policies and programs pertaining to migrant children and youth. The report will be.based on a policy survey that was conducted throughout the Hemisphere between May and July 2009. As of August 1, 2009, 22 member states had responded to the survey.

Literacy

On June 3, 2008 the OAS General Assembly adopted resolution AG/RES 2387 (XXXVIII-O/08) “Eradicating Illiteracy and Fighting Diseases that Affect Integral Development.” The resolution ratifies the mandate from the Heads of State in the Mar del Plata Summit of the Americas and from the 2006 OAS General Assembly, which entrusts the OAS with conducting a study of successful programs and practices for the development of literacy skills in adult and youth populations. On June 4, 2009, the General Assembly adopted once again Resolution AG/RES 2467 (XXXIX-O/09) “Eradicating Illiteracy and Fighting Diseases That Affect Integral Development” and reiterated the need to deepen efforts.

The Eighth Meeting of Authorities and Executive Committee of the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE), held on March 13 -14 2008, approved the 2007-2009 CIE Work Plan

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and its budget in order to supplement UNESCO efforts in this field. The country delegates ratified the decision to support other initiatives through the following activities:

a) Participate in the Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean on Literacy and in the Preparatory meeting for CONFINTEA VI, “From Literacy to Life-long Learning: The Challenges of Literacy and Adult Education,” held on September 10-13, 2008 in Mexico City (D.F.).

The Department for Human Development, together with the DEC, selected nine national directors and civil society representatives from Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Saint Kitts and Nevis to receive air fare grants. Room and board expenses were defrayed by Mexico’s National Institute for Adult Education (INEA) in agreement with UNESCO/Headquarters. CIE was represented by Professor Raúl Omar Martínez, a literacy and adult education specialist from Colombia and the DEC’s Senior Education Specialist, Gaby Fujimoto.

b) Dr. Joel Warrican (Barbados) prepared and presented a study on “Public Policies, Strategies, and Programs for Literacy and Adult Education in Caribbean Nations (2003-2008).” Dr. Warrican included an Appendix with information on government and civil society institutions that offer literacy and adult education programs in Caribbean countries. The study was translated into Spanish and presented to INEA, UNESCO, and the IV Ordinary Meeting of the CIE. Delegates from the Caribbean Member States were asked to contribute to the enhancement of the study. The study will be presented at the International Conference on Adult Education in Brazil, which will be held from December 1-4, 2009 and at the International Civil Society Forum (FISC) in Belén do Pará, Brazil on November 28-30, 2009. See updated information in Spanish:

http://portal.oas.org/Portal/Topic/SEDI/Educaci%C3%B3nyCultura/Alfabetizaci%C3%B3nyEducaci%C3%B3ndeAdultos/Bibliograf%C3%ADa/tabid/1651/Default.aspx

This project received US$29,000.00 from the CIE Education Subfund.

Policy Dialogue

Much of the substantive education policy dialogue fostered by the CIE is reflected in the preceding topic-specific sections of this report, since virtually all areas of project work involve policy dialogue and discussion of lessons learned and good practices. Indeed, one of the primary motivations for undertaking projects within the CIE framework is to illuminate and influence policy.

The bulk of this section, therefore, focuses on meetings of the CIE and its authorities. Since the Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Education, held in Cartagena, Colombia, in November 2007, the CIE, with assistance from the Technical Secretariat, has supported the preparation, organization, and follow-up of the eighth, ninth, and tenth meetings of the authorities and Executive Committee of the CIE, the fourth regular meeting of the CIE, and the preparatory meeting for the Sixth Meeting of Ministers.

The Fifth Meeting of Ministers of Education took place in Cartagena, Colombia, in November and focused on lessons learned and hemispheric commitments to early childhood education. The Ministers adopted the “Hemispheric Commitment to Early Childhood Education,” a

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ground-breaking hemisphere-wide commitment to the eventual achievement of universal comprehensive care and education for children. They also discussed guidelines for inter-American cooperation in this field, to be used in developing the portion of the CIE 2007-2009 Work Plan that concerns early childhood education. New CIE authorities were elected for the 2007-2009 biennium: as Chair, Colombia (2007-2008) and Ecuador (2008-2009); as First Vice Chair, Trinidad and Tobago; as Second Vice Chair, Brazil; and as members of the Executive Committee (alternate representatives in parentheses): Mexico (Canada) for North America, Costa Rica (Honduras) for Central America, Jamaica (Haiti) for the Caribbean, Venezuela (Bolivia) for the Andean Region, and Paraguay (Argentina) for the Southern Cone.

The eighth meeting of the authorities and Executive Committee of the CIE, held in Washington, D.C., at OAS headquarters on March 13 and 14, 2008, had as its central purpose the development of the CIE Work Plan for 2007-2009 in the light of the commitments adopted and program guidelines reviewed by the Ministers in Cartagena and input received from member states at the request of the Technical Secretariat. The meeting focused on developing activities in the field of early childhood education, in addition to defining the next steps on CIE projects and initiatives in other thematic areas. (See document CIDI/CECIE/doc.5/08 rev.3).

The ninth meeting of the authorities and Executive Committee of the CIE, held at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 2008, focused on preparations for the participation of the CIE authorities (Chair, Colombia; and Vice Chairs, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil) in the meeting of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) on May 14 and the planning meeting of CIC authorities on May 15. It also dealt with the analysis of proposals for continuation of CIE projects in the fields of education for democratic citizenship, teacher education, education indicators, and early childhood education and activities in support of regional adult education and literacy efforts. The meeting concluded with specific recommendations for changes to each project proposal, which were submitted for approval for partial funding from the Education Subfund (CP/RES. 831) by the CIE authorities. The meeting also issued recommendations for the organization of the fourth regular meeting of the CIE, to be held in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2008, alongside a conference organized by the Ministry of Education of Ecuador on early childhood education. (See Final Report CIDI/CECIE/doc.8/08). Subsequently the authorities approved, in July 2008, funding for two of the continuing projects: US$178,200 for the Inter-American Teacher Educator Network (ITEN) and US$390,100 for the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices (2008-2009).

The fourth regular meeting of the CIE took place in Quito, Ecuador, on October 14 and 15, 2008. The Minister of Education of Colombia, Cecilia María Vélez White, officially handed over the presidency of the CIE to Minister Raúl Vallejo Corral of Ecuador. The delegations reviewed accomplishments, challenges, and future plans concerning the projects and activities of the CIE’s Work Plan. They also developed proposed texts for the paragraphs on education of the Draft Declaration of the Fifth Summit of the Americas and agreed to enter the consensus text into the negotiation process through the delegation of Ecuador. They reviewed proposals for the partial funding of two continuing CIE projects: the Regional Educational Indicators Project, proposed by Mexico, and the early childhood education project, with a new phase focusing on evaluation, presented by Colombia; they entrusted the authorities with reaching a final decision once the countries had studied the proposals in depth and their inputs had been incorporated. The delegations expressed interest in working with the Inter-American Committee on Culture on activities of shared interest. Finally, the delegations welcomed Ecuador’s offer to host the Sixth Meeting of Ministers of

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Education in 2009. They discussed possible central topics for the Meeting, especially teaching, secondary education reform, and the necessary factors for making education relevant to the 21 st

century.

The tenth meeting of the authorities and Executive Committee was held in Washington, D.C., on February 26 and 27, 2009. It ratified the CIE Work Plan, including approval of US$180,000 for the project on educational quality evaluation as a follow-up to the Hemispheric Commitment to Early Childhood Education and continuation of the Regional Educational Indicators Project (PRIE) with US$62,400 plus US$50,048 in reassigned prior-year funds. It was agreed that member states would name a contact at each ministry to help coordinate activities under the new project on education for migrant children and youth. It was decided to circulate the project proposal for joint efforts between the CIE and the Inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC) and the culture area. In preparation for the Sixth Meeting of Ministers, the CIE enthusiastically agreed to make youth and secondary education the central focus. It was also decided that the Meeting should focus on policy dialogue and that the outcome should be a policy declaration containing specific instructions to the CIE and other bodies. The preparatory meeting was scheduled for Washington, D.C., around June 15, 2009.

Subsequently the preparatory meeting for the Sixth Meeting of Ministers of Education was rescheduled for July 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C., for development of and agreement upon the documents of the Meeting of Ministers and the next steps in the preparatory process.

The Fifth Summit of the Americas incorporated into its final declaration texts on the role of education and the commitment of member states to offer quality education to all, similar to those suggested by the CIE. The work of the Chair and the Technical Secretariat also helped the OAS General Assembly adopt clear and decisive language on the importance of education in promoting a culture of nonviolence.

In support of policy dialogue, the Technical Secretariat, in close coordination with the Chair of the CIE, prepared the documents, promoted smooth communication through virtual and other means, and translated the proposals submitted, as well as comments on the projects that members posted on the virtual forum. The DEC contributed to the policy dialogue by producing technical and analytical documents. In the final report of each meeting, it safeguarded the institutional memory of the CIE. It provided inputs to, and updated, the CIE web pages. It designed and implemented the virtual forums for the CIE and for the projects under the Work Plan. Lastly, the Technical Secretariat fostered dialogue between the CIE and the Inter-American Committee on Culture in response to guidelines from the Inter-American Council for Integral Development and requests from the ministries of culture and education of the member states.

The Technical Secretariat reports regularly to the OAS political bodies, particularly the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI), and to the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General, on CIE accomplishments and challenges. It also ensures communication with other pertinent OAS areas, such as the Summits Secretariat, the Department of Human Development, the FEMCIDI office, the Secretariat for Political Affairs, the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, and, of course, the Culture Section within the Department of Education and Culture, to find partners and promote coordination on topics and projects of mutual interest. Finally, the DEC promotes ongoing communication with other international organizations working in related areas (see section below on interagency coordination).

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Resource Mobilization

At the Third Meeting of Ministers of Education, the Ministers adopted resolution CIDI/RME/RES.9 (III-O/03), allocating US$2,000,000 of resolution CP/RES. 831 (1342/02) education funds to future responses to Summits and Ministerial mandates. The CIE delegated to its authorities the power to decide upon initiatives funded through this mechanism. At its third regular meeting, in October 2006, the CIE, considering that these resources will not be replaced, adopted specific criteria to guide decisions regarding the selection of proposals for CIE funding (CIDI/CIE/doc.7/06 rev. 1). These criteria were:

Responds to mandates emanating from the Summits of the Americas and thematic priority areas defined by the Ministers of Education; and, whenever possible, complements Summit and/or Ministerial hemispheric projects already in execution;

Pertains to those topics within the education sector for which the OAS has recognized competence and, when appropriate, draws support from other OAS cooperation mechanisms, in particular, the fellowship and training mechanisms;

Is multinational and/or hemispheric in scope, although it may contain subregional components;

Requests funding for less than 40% of the total project cost; and demonstrates confirmed counterpart support from other sources;

Demonstrates endorsement from and confirmed participation of ministries of education of the CIE member states and is endorsed and presented by a CIE member;

Encourages policy dialogue and horizontal cooperation among its members in the field of education;

Demonstrates adequate technical quality and policy relevance as evidenced by a successful evaluation according to the CIE Project Evaluation Matrix and approval of the Project Evaluation Committee of the OAS General Secretariat.

Since 2005, the CIE and DEC have been actively seeking to mobilize additional resources to support the various initiatives of the CIE. The following table presents information on the allocations made to specific CIE initiatives between 2005 and 2008. It also includes counterpart resources secured by the CIE, the DEC, and partners. During the 2005-2008 period, the CIE allocated US$1,735,080.00 to specific education projects from the reserve subfund. Counterpart resources guaranteed by the CIE and the DEC totaled US$3,554,698.85, or 67% of total project resources. Significant in-kind resources in the form of staff time were contributed by the Technical Secretariat and, in some cases, by other entities; these are not reflected in the chart.

Recursos Movilizados Estimados 2005-2009Estimated Resources Mobilization 2005-20093/

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TopicCP/RES. 831 (1342/02) Counterpart Description Total

Educación para 390,100.00   Reserve Subfund (CPR 831)  Democracia   51,000.00 Center for Civic Education  Education for   40,000.00 Govt. of Colombia  Democracy   560,000.00 CIDA (Govt. of Canada)      80,000.00 Global Issues Resource Center      80,000.00 SEP Mexico      10,000.00 UNDP      250,000 Permanent Mission USA    390,100.00 1,071,000.00 Subtotal 1,461,100.00         Educación 521,141.00   Reserve Subfund (CPR 831)  Inicial 8,000.00 World Bank  Early Childhood   8,000.00 IDB      5,000.00 CENDI      3,000.00 OEI      6,000.00 CAB      8,000.00 UNESCO      65,000.00 UNICEF      10,000.00 Ohio State University      3,000.00 AMEI      3,000.00 CARICOM      3,000.00 University of Chicago      3,000.00 CEECD (Center Excellence ECD)      20,000.00 OAS Fellowships  

280,475.85Bernard Van Leer Foundation (2007,2008)

50,000.00 Govt. of China161,710.00 CIDA Canada100,801.00 MOU Chile-Caribbean

60,000.005,000.002,000.002,000.00

50,000.0015,000.00

200,000.00

II Transitions Simposium UNICEFUNESCOOEIOhio State UniversityCivil Society and Private SectorCAFGovt. of Chile

  521,141.00 1,071,986.85 Subtotal 1,593,127.85

Indicadores   243,975.00 USAID (2005)  

Educativos   261,907.00 SEP Mexico (2005)  

3 ?. These figures are based on funds mobilized since the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Education, held in August 2005. Both subfund CP/RES. 831 (1342/02) and counterpart resources are allocated funds and do not represent up-to-date expenditures. Counterpart resources are estimated on the basis of reports from partners and include both cash and in-kind resources.

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Education   257,309.00 SEP Mexico (2007)  Indicators   300,821.00 SEP Mexico (2008)    182,575.004/   Reserve Subfund (2004-2006)    185,600.00   Reserve Subfund (2006-2007)    62,400.00   Reserve Subfund (2008-2009)    430,575.00 1,064,012.00 Subtotal 1,494,587.00Formación 178,200.00   Reserve Subfund (2008)  Docente 60,000.00 Reserve Subfund (2006)  Teacher   17,000.00 Mexico (FEMCIDI)  Education   40,000.00 El Salvador (FEMCIDI)      80,000.00 MOE T & T (in kind)      58,500.00 MOE T & T (FEMCIDI)      52,000.00 RELPE      55,200.00 Fundación Evolución - i EARN      30,000.00 OAS Fellowships    238,200.00 332,700.00 Subtotal 570,900.00Alfabetización 29,000.00   Reserve Subfund (CPR 831)  

  15,000.005 OAS Fellowships  Literacy      

       29,000.00 15,000.00 Subtotal 44,000.00Apoyo Secretaría      Técnica CIE 6,000.00   Reserve Subfund (CPR 831)  Support Technical Secretariat 5,630.00   Reserve Subfund (CPR 831)  CIE 114,434.00   Reserve Subfund (CPR 831)    126,064.00   Subtotal 126,064.00  1,735,080.00 3,554,698.85 GRAND TOTAL 5,289,778.85         

Facilitating interagency cooperation and consultation with civil society

In an effort to mobilize additional resources, develop synergies between organizations and sectors, and avoid the duplication of efforts, the CIE and the DEC facilitated interagency cooperation and civil society participation in OAS education initiatives in the 2005-2007 period. In some instances, this cooperation consisted in the simple sharing of information about policies, programs, and projects; in others, partnerships or alliances were forged or resources were mobilized from donor agencies, international organizations, civil society organizations, and the private sector to strengthen OAS Ministerial and Summit priorities.

In the Regional Education Indicators Project (PRIE), in addition to support from the CIE, funds were provided by the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico, and in the initial phase by 4 ?. This amount covers the 2004-2006 period.5 ?. Estimate.

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USAID and the U.S. Department of Education (National Center for Education Statistics). Technical partners include the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, headquartered in Montreal, and the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC).

In the Early Childhood Education activities, the Secretariat was able to mobilize a significant alliance of international and civil society organizations, including UNICEF, UNESCO, the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, the World Bank, the IDB, the World Association of Early Childhood Educators (AMEI), and others to bring counterpart resources and experience to the projects sponsored by the CIE. For example, for the Second Inter-American Symposium, in addition to the contributions of the Government of Chile and the CIE, there were financial and intellectual contributions from those other organizations, without which the event would not have achieved the scope, level of participation, and impact it did.

In education for democratic citizenship, and specifically in the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices, Advisory Board members include representatives from UNICEF, UNESCO, the OEI, the Convenio Andres Bello, and numerous civil society organizations, universities, and private sector partners, as well as the Governments of Canada, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, and others. Many of the Program’s partners have committed concrete resources (both financial and other) to initiatives of the Program in each component (Online Journal, online courses, cooperation, seminars, and workshops) since its launching (see final report at www.educadem.oas.org).

On the topic of strengthening the teaching force, the Secretariat is firming up an alliance with the Latin American Network of Educational Portals (RELPE), the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Fundación Evolución, and the iEARN network. (See www.oest.oas.org/iten).

On May 30, 2009, in Santiago, Chile, and in coordination with UNESCO/OREALC and the OEI, the OAS convened an interagency meeting to coordinate the education agendas of the various institutions. The central topic was identifying tools to promote better communication and coordination and reduce the duplication of effort. It was attended by representatives of the three organizers and of UNICEF, PREAL, the Van Leer Foundation, the World Bank, the IDB, and ECLAC. The organizations agreed to put together a table in which they would report their activities, based on the “Goals 2021” proposed by the OEI in the Ibero-American Summit framework.

Conclusion

At the thirteenth meeting of CIDI, in 2008, the Chair of the CIE, Ms. Adriana Gaviria of Colombia, addressed both the achievements of the CIE and the challenges it faces. Among the achievements, she cited: establishing and maintaining a reasonable number of key priorities, utilizing the subfund created by CP/RES. 831 to support the priorities with concrete projects, working in a democratic and collegial way across countries, forming strategic alliances with other partners like UNICEF, UNESCO, and RELPE, and building on technical expertise in the Technical Secretariat to provide real technical support to member states.

As for the challenges, Ms. Gaviria cited: the importance of promoting communication in the various areas of the OAS; harmonizing FEMCIDI with the priorities of the Summits and the

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Ministers of Education; replenishing the subfund or mobilizing other counterpart resources; and not duplicating the efforts of other institutions.

In sum, under the current leadership, the CIE has delivered to member states a series of strategies, projects, activities, publications, and opportunities for policy dialogue that reflect the priorities set and instructions given by the Ministers since their Fifth Meeting, held in Cartagena, Colombia. The CIE has stepped up dialogue and the sharing of research findings and examples of good practices in the fields of early childhood education and education for democratic citizenship – two areas in which the OAS, through the efforts of the CIE, can be considered a leader. The member states’ progress on meeting the education goals of the Summits of the Americas can now be examined in detail through reliable and comparable indicators, and efforts have been made to strengthen their capacity to generate these indicators. The critically important topic of preparing teachers to teach the students of the 21st century receives needed attention through a promising new project. The CIE has made a meaningful contribution to regional discussions on adult education and literacy and will contribute new information on educational policies for migrant children and youth. The Committee has become institutionalized as a decision-making body within the inter-American system, allowing the topic of education to be examined in an informed, fruitful, and ongoing manner within the OAS political dialogue. Resources have been executed transparently. Partnerships have been established with a range of important international and civil society actors.

Challenges facing the CIE over the next two years include consolidating the gains of the past several years, continuing to address existing priorities in depth, and taking on new critical priorities as identified by the Summits of the Americas. An urgent need is to design and implement an effective resource mobilization strategy that ensures the continuity of policy dialogue, project support, and interagency and civil society consultation in the years to come. Another challenge is to balance and represent subregional interests and experiences in as diverse a region as the Americas. And finally, the challenge of keeping education specifically, and the development agenda more generally, under discussion in a political organization should not be minimized. With continued vigorous leadership, the CIE can continue to play an important role in supporting member states in their efforts to provide quality education to all, and as an informed and eloquent voice for the fundamental role that education plays in economic development, social inclusion, and democratic governance in the region.

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