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 Versión Español | October 2015

SEDI News

OAS and Virtual Educa Take Education to Children in the Colombia-Venezuela Border

Pop-Up School

The first Popup School of the OAS and its education program Virtual Educa was built in 24 hours to assist displaced children affected by the situation on the Colombia-Venezuela border. The school, known as Popup given its rapid construction and the simplicity of its materials, is located in Colombia's Norte de Santander department, near the Juan Frio Agricultural Institute. Equipped with 25 laptops and a virtual screen, the school will initially serve more than 60 Colombian and Venezuelan children, and is becoming a center of educational and training resources for the entire community in the municipality of Villa del Rosario, in the department of Norte de Santander, Colombia.

Cooperation in social protection: exchanging experiences, expanding opportunitiesFor students, the school represents the potential to explore a different way of approaching knowledge, as its connection with other schools in the network enables them to work on common issues, and strengthen their self-esteem given that all students have the same opportunities. For teachers, the school is a place for experimentation, where they can interact with content and dynamic educational materials in an ICT environment (information and communications technology).

For the OAS, the school represents access to the right to education for children. As emphasized by the Secretary General of the Organization, Luis Almagro, "access to the rights of children is a priority for the Organization of American States. The opening of this school and the other classrooms planned are very good examples of what we want to do – concrete actions on the ground that reflect our slogan ´More rights for more people."For her part, Ideli Salvatti, Adviser to the Secretary General of the OAS for Access to Rights and Equality, added that “we are determined to work to guarantee the rights of children and all people. In this case, the right of access to education without interruption.”

Pop-Up SchoolThe Virtual Educa Popup school model was created precisely in Colombia, during the XIV International Gathering held in Medellin in 2013. Its modular and quick-construction concept was designed by the Portuguese company JP-Inspiring Knowledge to facilitate the inclusion of remote areas, and consists of an infrastructure system that is fully equipped with furniture, energy, technological devices and educational materials for students and teachers.

The new school in Colombia showcases the agility and applicability of the model in different environments. In the short term, the project is expected to expand and open three additional educational technology centers in the same region.

Through Virtual Educa, the OAS brings together governments, businesses, academia and civil society to support the process of incorporating ICTs into education systems, as a mechanism to expand the access to innovative and quality education in the Americas.

 

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