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Latin American Education ministers strengthen cooperation with UNESCO
The meeting convened by UNESCO on Friday, 11 October, brought together members of the Araucaria Community—a network of regional education ministers—with the aim of advancing regional cooperation for educational transformation. The gathering took place as part of a visit by national and subnational ministers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay to Chile, where they explored the host country's educational policies and reforms.
Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, opened the meeting by highlighting the region’s leadership in educational policy discussions. “Latin America will host the world’s largest event for global educational coordination. The Global Education Meeting, to be held from 31 October to 1 November in Fortaleza, Brazil, will be a key moment for education, bringing together the international community—including government and civil society stakeholders—to agree on strategies to accelerate the remaining goals of the 2030 Agenda, with a transformative vision for education,” she said.
During the event, Alejandro Vera, Head of the Education Monitoring and Planning Section at UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, presented the work being undertaken by the Regional Office alongside other UNESCO offices and institutes. Amparo Naranjo, an education programme specialist from the same office, discussed recent progress in regional educational coordination, focusing on the Latin America and Caribbean Ministerial Education Meeting held in Santiago, Chile, in January 2024.
The session concluded with two working groups. The first, led by Ecuador’s Minister of Education, Alegría Crespo, addressed the challenges of human mobility and educational inclusion. The second group, headed by Virginia Cáceres, President of Uruguay’s National Public Education Administration, focused on educational quality and the role of assessment as a tool for improving learning outcomes.
Alegría Crespo emphasised, “We shared valuable regional insights on education. Our ultimate goal is quality, inclusion, and educational equity, so it’s always enriching to exchange experiences with colleagues who are committed to this noble cause.”
Agustín Porres, Regional Director of the Varkey Foundation, highlighted the importance of the Araucaria Community: “When ministers and secretaries of education listen to each other, discuss, share challenges and models, and find solutions together for their districts, any educational transformation becomes possible. That’s what the Araucaria Community is about, and that’s what’s happening in this experience focused on Chile.”
Chile’s Minister of Education, Nicolás Cataldo, expressed his satisfaction with the visit: “We are very pleased to have hosted members of the Araucaria Community at UNESCO’s headquarters in our country. As co-chairs of the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee, we believe it is essential to foster initiatives like this to achieve substantial improvements in the quality of education across the region. These meetings also prepare us for the upcoming Global Education Meeting 2024, where we hope to showcase advancements in regional cooperation.”
