Media Center

Press Advisory


OAS to Host International Authorities on Childhood and Integral Development

  February 23, 2010

International experts and authorities on childhood, the fight against poverty, social development and equality will meet this Wednesday, February 24, at the Organization of American States (OAS) to participate in two panels to be held during a special session of the OAS Permanent Council and the Permanent Executive Committee of the OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI) at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will inaugurate the session. The panelists are:

Leonardo Garnier, Education Minister of Costa Rica
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute and professor at Columbia University in New York
Fraser Mustard, Founding President of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Joan Lombardi, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Estela Ortiz, Executive Vice President of Chile’s National Association of Government-Funded Preschools (Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles or JUNJI)
Nurper Ulkuer, Program Officer for Early Childhood Development, UNICEF
Leonardo Yanez, Project Officer for Latin America of the Bernard Van Leer Foundation (Holland)
Gloria Vidal, Education Vice Minister of Ecuador and President of the Inter-American Committee on Education

The media will have the opportunity to interview all of the abovementioned participants at 09:15 EST (14:15 GMT).

The meeting, titled, “Investing in Early Childhood: A Safe Strategy for Combating Poverty and Promoting Social Development and Equality,” will be held from 10:00 to 13:00 EST (15:00 to 18:00 GMT) in the Simón Bolívar Hall of the OAS Main Building in Washington, DC.

The complete agenda of the event may be read here.

The event will be broadcast live on the OAS Website.

WHAT: Special Session of the Permanent Council and the CEPCIDI titled, “Investing in Early Childhood: A Safe Strategy for Combatting Povery and Promoting Social Development and Equality”

WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 10:00 to 13:00 EST (15:00 to 18:00 GMT)

WHERE: Simón Bolívar Hall
OAS Main Building
17th St & Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org

Reference: AVI-043/10