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Ministers of Education of the Americas Meet in Suriname to Strengthen the Role of Teachers

Ministers of Education of the Americas will meet March 1-2 in Paramaribo, Suriname, in an event coordinated by the Organization of American States (OAS) to analyze the current status of the teaching profession in the region, and propose policies and strategies that strengthen the role of professional educators.

The Seventh Meeting of the Ministers of Education, to be held at the Royal Torarica Hotel in the Surinamese capital, will be inaugurated on Thursday March 1st by the President of the host country, Desi Bouterse; the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza; and the Minister of Education and Community Development of Suriname, Raymond Sapoen.

The meeting is scheduled to conclude Friday, March 2, with the adoption of the "Declaration of Paramaribo: Transforming the role of teachers to meet the challenges of the XXI Century," the final text of which will be agreed upon during the meeting. OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin will attend the final session. Following the session, there will be a press conference.

During the two-day meetings, the ministers will hold nine plenary sessions, seeking to determine what kind of teaching today’s student requires and what role governments play in ensuring quality education for all.

Furthermore, they will discuss educational institutions, proposing mechanisms to strengthen partnerships between institutions both within the educational system and other external sectors; analyze priorities for cooperation between countries; suggest concrete actions in the framework of the OAS to strengthen the role of teachers; review progress made ​​in the previous ministerial mandates; establish the basis for the Work Plan 2012-2014 of the Commission on Education (CIE); and elect officials of the Executive Committee of the CIE for the next two years.

The meeting in Paramaribo will be the Seventh Meeting of Ministers of Education led by the OAS. The first was held in Brasilia in 1998, and since then ministers have met every two years: in Punta del Este, Uruguay; Mexico City, Mexico; Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago; Cartagena de Indias, Colombia; and Quito, Ecuador.

More information about the Ministerial Meeting is available here.

Parallel to the Ministerial Meeting, the OAS is organizing the “Virtual Educa Caribbean" Conference in the Surinamese capital, a forum open to representatives of governments, academic institutions, the private sector, and civil society. The forum provides an environment for participants to exchange their experiences on how to apply the latest information and communication technologies to education. It will be the first "Virtual Educa" held in the Caribbean.

More information about the “Virtual Educa Caribbean” Conference is available here.

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

Reference: E-060/12