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The Ministers of Education of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved the Plan of Action of Antigua and Barbuda 2019, which seeks to promote the implementation of the Inter-American Education Agenda (IEA).
The Plan of Action is based on the principles of collaboration, intersectorality, and interculturalism, and reinforces the link of the IEA with the objectives and goals set out in the 2030 Agenda, especially in Sustainable Development Goal 4: "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
The commitment adopted will focus on specific actions divided into the themes of: inclusive and equitable quality education, strengthening the teaching profession, comprehensive early childhood care, international cooperation and partnerships, and strengthening of OAS initiatives and projects. Specifically, the Plan includes commitments such as:
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Education, Science and Technology from Antigua and Barbuda, Michael Browne, who said that "as our circumstances continue to evolve, both on a national level and on a regional level, it falls on us to help ensure that teachers, students, and constituencies adapt to an evolving working environment." "Many countries and many regions are already involved in identifying best practices, we need to be in a position to continuously share those best practices and at the same time, be in a continuous mode of evaluation so that when policy decisions are being made, we are making them based on data and knowledge," he added.
For her part, the Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the OAS, Kim Osborne, urged member states to continue investing in education and, more importantly, to build linkages between education and the economy. "We need to build education systems that respond to the economic development needs of our member states, and our students must be prepared to play a meaningful role in the socioeconomic development of their countries and their region," she said. "We must recognize the skills of the future and train at every level to take advantage of the new world, we must embrace our new reality with a sense of urgency and quickly develop the policies, programs, practices and infrastructure necessary for a rapid transition," she added.
The adoption process of the Inter-American Education Agenda began at the VIII Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education, which took place in Panama City in February 2015, and ended with its approval at the IX Ministerial Meeting in Nassau, The Bahamas, on February 10, 2017.
Press Contact: Gina Ochoa [email protected]
Reference: E-051/19