The Araucaria Community is the first network that brings together exclusively ministers and secretaries of Education in the region, and is promoted by the Varkey Foundation, the Athena Community and allied educational stakeholders: CAF—development bank of Latin America—, Georgetown University, the Coppel Foundation, Fundación Inclusión México, Instituto Natura, Ticmas, the Inter-American Development Bank, Templeton World Charity Foundation and Lemann Foundation. The countries that participated in this first edition included: Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay—at the national level; and Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico—at the state level.
The keynote speech was delivered by Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education during Barack Obama’s administration, who noted: “I think of teachers as nation builders, we have to recognize them as such, treat them, compensate them, reward them as such. There is no profession more important in any country than teaching.” He then recommended to the ministers: “Try to work with a real sense of urgency and a small set of specific goals, staying focused, not fanning out into too many areas, and devoting time each day, every week, every month, to trying to make progress on those two or three most important goals.”
Georgetown University was the venue for this meeting, which included a solid training in leadership and innovation in public policy by professors of said university. Guest experts in the area included Pablo Bartol, CAF’s Social Development Manager, who highlighted: “The Senior Education Management Program has been a leap forward for Latin American ministers of education in their access to qualified voices that analyze the region’s education systems. The fact that we can interact with Andreas Schleicher, Arne Duncan, or researchers from Georgetown University, Brookings Institute, among others, helped us reflect on our own management of educational systems. For CAF, participating in and supporting this initiative to better understand the challenges put forward by education leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean has been a very enriching experience.”
Similarly, the OECD was represented by Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education, who noted: “Change outcomes requires changing mindsets. It is about making schools more real, offering concrete and personalized learning experiences. The aspirations of students emerge at school, if we nurture them, the sky will be their limit.” Collaborative culture is the fastest way to transform teaching. We need to create an environment of professional development among teachers, and this requires building networks that connect them. Our challenge here is to professionalize their work, because a great teacher saves and transforms lives.”
The Community also held a series of meetings with local officials from the U.S. Department of Education and on a visit to the Senate, they held an exclusive meeting with Senator and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.
Other noteworthy activities include visits to schools of different levels and modalities, guided by their students and teaching staff: Aidan Montessori School, Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School, Montgomery College, Two Rivers (charter school), Arlington Tech, Sacred Heart School, and Gallaudet University.</div >
Lastly, the ministers and secretaries had a chance to review the relationship of multilateral organizations with national and local governments in a conversation with their main representatives: CAF’s Pablo Bartol, IDB’s Mercedes Mateo; and World Bank’s Jaime Saavedra.
The partnership with this community of ministers is proof of CAF’s interest in improving the quality of education of Latin Americans, in an effort to help our children and young people contribute to the good development of the region.
