Sixth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Education

Presentation of Proposal by the Chair of the CIE: Building an Inter-American Education Agenda

October 14 and 15, 2014, Washington, D.C.

Emergence of the Inter-American Meetings of Ministers of Education

• Second Summit of the Americas, Santiago, Chile (April 1998)– Central theme: Universal Access to Education

• The heads of state and government instructed the Organization of American States (OAS) to coordinate the efforts of all education stakeholders, so that this hemispheric commitment would be institutionalized in formal mechanisms for promoting dialogue and cooperation between our countries.

Since 1998, seven ministerial meetings have been held:

• First: Brasilia, Brazil, 1998

• Second: Punta del Este, Uruguay, 2001

• Third: Mexico City, Mexico, 2003

• Fourth: Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, 2005

• Fifth: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 2007

• Sixth: Quito, Ecuador, 2009

• Seventh: Paramaribo, Suriname, 2012

Promoting the Dialogue on Education Policies

Seventh Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education – Suriname, 2012

Sixth Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education – Ecuador, 2009

Relevance of the Inter-American Meetings of Ministers of Education• Ideal forum for the Education Ministers of the 34 OAS

member states to:

– Meet to share the progress made in the field of education. – Discuss current problems that reflect both national and hemispheric

realities and needs. – Showcase experiences on education policy making. – Exchange progress and results emanated from challenges and lessons

learned arising from education policies and their implementation. – Consider the possibility of establishing bilateral or regional technical

cooperation programs. – Examine the progress made with the education mandates handed down

by different political and technical bodies, i.e. Summit of the Americas and prior ministerial meetings.

Importance of the Ministerial Meetings:

They foster dialogues thatlead to consensus-building, exchanges, developments, and progress with national and hemispheric education commitments.

They offer opportunities for the education ministers to strengthen the developmentof their policies and to identify innovative and collaborative solutions to their common challenges.

Political Dialogue Process

Summits of the Americas

Inter-American Meetings of Ministers of Education

Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE)

OAS Member States

Priorities Agreed on by the Member States in the Ministerial Declarations

Common elements:

1. Guiding principles of the Inter-American dialogue Identify the education policy priorities of The OAS Member States.

2. Hemispheric initiatives Seek to strengthen the capacity of the OAS Member States to implement the priorities identified by the countries for the furtherance of their education goals.

By the Fourth Ministerial Meeting, the OAS Member States had established starting points for their dialogue on how education:

Guiding Principles

Plays a key role in the social, cultural, political and

economic development of the hemisphere.

It is a basic human right, a public good and a tool for development

to attain more social equality and overcome poverty; it is also a key means to

strengthen democratic institutions.Must place emphasis on quality, comprehensiveness, and equity, promote social inclusion and the

development of democratic citizenship, and prepare

people for the world of work.

Must take into account the principles of gender, cultural diversity, and

ethnic pluralism of our hemisphere.

Guiding PrinciplesSince the Fifth Ministerial Meeting, the OAS Member States

have focused their priorities on specific topics, such as:

• Early childhood (Cartagena, 2007)

• Secondary education (Quito, 2009)

• The role of teachers (Paramaribo, 2012)

Hemispheric InitiativesAt the Sixth Ministerial Meeting, the countries instructed the CIE to prepare a work plan that would strengthen the processes of horizontal cooperation and technical assistance. The Technical Secretariat of the CIE, in conjunction with the countries, began execution of hemispheric initiatives included on the CIE's work plans, such as:

Hemispheric Committment for Early Childhood

Education Portal of the Americas.Scholarships for

Academic training and professionaldevelopment.

Inter-American Programon Democratic Values

and Practices

Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN)

Professional development; Communities of practice;

Dialogue & exchanges of exp;Technical cooperation;

Research

Challenges Facing the CIE• Need to “promote dialogue among education authorities and

governmental institutions at the hemispheric, regional, national, and subnational levels, as well as with international and civil society organizations and others, aimed at meeting the challenges faced by education in the hemisphere, both in person and by virtual means.”[1]

• Cooperating and coordinating efforts is an excellent way to make efficient and effective use of resources.

[1] Declaration of Paramaribo, “Transforming the Role of the Teacher in Response to 21st-Century Challenges.” Seventh Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education, Paramaribo, Suriname, March 2012.

Expected Outcomesof the Next Ministerial Meeting

Eighth Inter-American Meeting of Ministers

Revitalize the political

dialogue between the ranking education

authorities in the Americas.

Reflect on the education

priorities of the member states with a national,

regional, subregional and

hemispheric vision (Summits of

the Americas).

Discuss and approve the work strategies on

education in the Americas for the medium and long

terms, together with their follow-up and

interconnection mechanisms.

Increase the ownership and

leadership of the OAS Member States

to ensure the implementation and sustainability

of the efforts.

Basis for the Proposal by the CIE Authorities:

Construction of an Inter-American

Education Agenda, based on a continuous

political dialogue and on

collaborative, inter-sectoral cooperation.

Defining the region's education priorities, connected with local, national, and regional needs and realities, thereby creating a solid foundation for joint action.

Complementing the education work completed and underway,within the regions and subregions, and enriching it.

Using an approach of permanent cooperation, to foster current, urgent, and important solutions in the field of education.

Strengthening the intersectoral and interagency dialogue among education authorities and government institutions at the hemispheric, regional, national, and subnational level, and with international organizations, the private sector, and civil society, thereby promoting constructive governance.

Lines of Action in the Proposal by the CIE Authorities

Proposed lines of

action for inclusion in the agenda:

1. Promoting and monitoring policies of quality, equity and inclusion.

2. Strengthening initial teacher preparation, professional development and the teaching profession.

5. Comprehensive early childhood care and education

3. Promote the teaching of STEM in grades k-12, using

modern pedagogy

4. The use of information and communication technologiesin the teaching and learning process.

Objectives of the Proposal by the CIE Authorities:

• Tackling the region's main challenges in the area of education, from an intersectoral and collaborative perspective.

• Combining efforts and resources to make a strategic contribution to attaining the priorities set at the global and subregional levels.

• Constructing a coherent and relevant mechanism that can bring together hemispheric, regional, and national efforts in the field of education.

• Obtaining a prioritized Education Agenda that can direct the emphasis on efforts and their sustainability.

• Securing a tool for contributing priorities, visions, and innovations to global and regional discussions on the topic of education, such as the Post-2015 Education Agenda and the subregional agendas.

Support Requirements of the Sixth Meeting of the CIE

1. Reflect and agree on the need and usefulness of constructing an Inter-American Education Agenda, during the Sixth Meeting of the CIE.

2. Discuss and agree on the lines of action and subtopics that are to be included on the agenda.

3. Identify possible strategies for implementation and follow-up from a regional, subregional, and national perspective.

4. Motivate the involvement of OAS Member States to lead the implementation of each of the Agenda's lines of action and of the Agenda itself.

From the Sixth CIE to the Eighth Ministerial

The Technical Secretariat will work with the Committee of Authorities of the CIE and all the countries in order to:

- Prepare a proposal for the Inter-American Education Agenda, for adoption by the ministers.

- Conduct consultations with the ministries, academics, civil society organizations, the business sector, international organizations, cooperation agencies, etc.

- Consolidate a portfolio of practices related to the lines of action adopted by the 6th CIE, as an input for designing the implementation strategies.

- Design strategies for implementing the identified lines of action. - Prepare the request for support for the Inter-American Education

Agenda, to be placed before the Summit of the Americas in Panama in April 2015.

Thank you very much!