Media Center

Press Release

The OAS and Colombia Sign Agreement to Expand Educational Opportunities and Human Development in the Region

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the National Service of Learning (SENA) of Colombia today signed a cooperation agreement that seeks to promote the exchange of knowledge, experience and skills of both the SENA and other educational institutions in the region and to strengthen the support that the hemispheric institution provides to its member states in the field of education.

The OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development (SEDI), Sherry Tross, said the agreement "lays the foundation for establishing a program through which SENA courses will be available to citizens of other countries in the region," and enhances the capabilities of SENA in the bilingual training of its instructors. "The OAS is in a unique position to facilitate triangular cooperation and become the bridge between the interests and needs of our countries," she said, and also recalled that through this new partnership, the leadership of the SENA in promoting and strengthening comprehensive training programs will be made available to the other countries of the Hemisphere.

"At the OAS we have seen the growth in demand for technical support from several institutions of higher education, seeking to expand their training for professional development. Therefore, this partnership with SENA will enable the OAS, for the first time, to develop a program of knowledge transfer at the technical and professional levels among member states," said Executive Secretary Tross, who emphasized that the SENA" is a model of hemispheric interest based on the understanding that education is the most direct path to achieve fair and inclusive societies.”

For his part, the Director of SENA, Alfonso Prada Gil, highlighted the size, impact and recognition of the institution and the benefits that the agreement will bring to the citizens of the hemisphere. "The SENA is a large entity in terms of presence and recognition, as it meets the social function of providing vocational technical and technology skills for the most vulnerable sectors of our population, mainly young people, so that they can have a life with social mobility and with more conditions that give their lives dignity," he said.

The Director of SENA said that the agreement signed today "represents a legal instrument that will allow us to make decisions and have the resources to be able to support the region in all the ways we can based on our experience." He further noted that the SENA "has identified the need to move to a higher level, especially in bilingualism, and that cooperation with English-speaking countries can be of great value in empowering the institution in this era of globalization and new relations with the English-speaking countries."

SENA is a Colombian public institution under the Ministry of Labor, which serves to invest in the social and technical development of Colombian workers, providing and implementing comprehensive professional training for incorporating people into productive activities that contribute to social, economic and technological growth.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-020/15