Plan of action Final Report from the Second Meeting of Education Ministers Declaration by the education ministers of the Americas Declaration against violence Project proposals in education Follow up mechanisms

The Summits of the Americas and Education The advancement of education at all levels has been a central focus of the Summits of the Americas. During the Second Summit of the Americas member countries of the Organization of American States recognized a hemispheric-wide commitment to education. At this meeting vast processes of reform were enacted to reach all levels of the educational system. These were based on a broad consensus about the difficulties currently encountered in the field of education throughout the Western Hemisphere and the shared responsibility of all Member States to overcome these problems. It was agreed upon that the fundamental principles for guiding the reform process are equality, value, ownership, and efficiency. Additionally, the Plan for Action released at the III Summit of the Americas sets forth several tenets that will guide future educational policy in the hemisphere. Education is identified as the key to strengthening democratic institutions as well as the basis for developing human potential to the fullest. Likewise, the Plan of Action of the III Summit of the Americas acknowledged the role played by education in improving equality and broadening understanding between the peoples of the Americas. The importance of education as it relates to economic growth was not overlooked either, as ministers and other attendees underscored the positive influence of quality education on increased productivity, economic growth, and poverty reduction. The principles laid out in the Plan of Action contain mandates that should be carried out by individual states with the support of the Organization of American States through its capacity as technical secretary. In order to undertake the directives of the III Summit of the Americas two forums must converge their efforts in the field of education. One, of political character, is the Meeting of Education Ministers within the framework of CIDI and another, of technical character, is the Inter-American Committee on Education. In the former, Ministers of Education review the approaches presented by the Heads of State through the processes of the Summits of the Americas. The Ministers of Education and their departments then analyze these policies and methodologies, establishing lines of action, model programs, and strategies for horizontal cooperation. The Inter-American Committee on Education, for its part, acts in the capacity of permanent advisor, responsible for following through with the implementation of obligations agreed upon at the Summits of the Americas and the Meeting of Ministers. The Committee also proposes themes or points of special emphasis concerning the hemispheric dialogue on education.