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OAS PERMANENT COUNCIL TO HOLD SPECIAL SESSION ON
“PROMOTION OF A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE THROUGH EDUCATION”

  April 8, 2004

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States will convene in special session on April 12 and 13 to discuss how the formal and non-formal education processes are used to promote a democratic culture in the countries of the Americas.

A joint initiative with the for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) and the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment, the Permanent Council meeting will bring together ministers of education, members of the Inter-American Committee on Education and representatives of civil society organizations engaged in using education to promote a democratic culture.

The opening session will be addressed by Permanent Council Chairman Miguel Ruiz-Cabañas, Mexico’s Ambassador to the OAS; Hazel Manning, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Education and First Vice-Chair of the Inter-American Committee on Education; and OAS Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi.

The meeting is being convened pursuant to a mandate from last year’s OAS General Assembly in Chile, in line with commitments outlined in various declarations—including those arising from hemispheric education ministers’ meetings that undertook commitments to emphasize non-violence and a culture of peace.

More detailed information and agenda can be found at:
http://www.oas.org/udse/ingles2004/democracia.html

WHAT: Special Permanent Council Meeting

WHEN: Monday and Tuesday, April 12 and 13, 2004

TIME: 9:00 a.m.

VENUE: Hall of the Americas
OAS Main Building
17th Street & Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006

The opening and closing sessions will be webcast live, via the Internet at: www.oas.org

Reference: AVI-024/04