Su Excelencia Presidente Alvaro Uribe Vélez
Ministra Cecilia Maria Vélez
Distinguidos Ministros y Viceministros
Distinguidos delegados
Distinguidos representantes de organizaciones internacionales y de la sociedad civil
Colegas, señoras y señores

Primeramente, Señor Presidente, permítame agradecer su presencia en esta Reunión Ministerial. Los resultados de su gestión se evidencian en el apoyo popular del que goza. También, quisiera reconocer los indicadores que dan fe de las oportunas medidas tomadas durante su administración. Me gustaría saludar su liderazgo, así como su lucha por la paz.

Para mi es un honor y un placer estar aquí con todos ustedes con el propósito de inaugurar la Quinta Reunión Interamericana de Ministros de Educación que trata de un tema de tanta importancia. Me siento en casa en esta ciudad de Cartagena, Patrimonio de la Humanidad, y uno de los sitios más preferidos para visitar y de la que soy ciudadano honorario.

El tema que se estará discutiendo el día de hoy es sumamente crítico. Cuando se habla de educación, se está hablando de desarrollo, seguridad y estabilidad. De hecho, estamos hablando del mismo futuro de nuestras sociedades.

La inversión en la educación y la inversión en la juventud son los determinantes fundamentales para asegurar el futuro de nuestros países.

En mi opinión, la educación debe ser más que preparar a las personas para ingresar al mundo laboral. La educación debe preparar a los niños y jóvenes para la vida.

Lessons taught should seek to prepare current generations with the knowledge and skills training that will allow them to compete in a global environment, thereby providing countries with the human resource base that can support national demands for growth and development.

At the same time, lessons taught must also prepare children and youth to be responsible citizens, equipped with the skills to eventually govern and assume leadership in all spheres of society. And maybe Ministers and delegates to this meeting would want to consider adopting a decision to study the inclusion of a special subject in the curricula in this regard

Providing universal access to early childhood and primary education is perhaps one of the most complex yet ultimately most rewarding responsibilities that societies are called upon to undertake. Designing educational curricula that capture the attention of children at an early age and turn them into lifelong learners is an important investment from which our societies will reap the dividends.

Latin America and the Caribbean have made great strides in achieving significantly increased rates of enrollment in school and improvements in providing equal opportunity irrespective of gender.

However, persistent inequality remains for children from low-income, indigenous or Afro-descendent families, or who reside in rural communities. This is one of the outstanding issues that require commitment and resolve to change in order to produce more inclusive societies that provide opportunity for all.

I believe that investment in education must be a national priority. This requires the commitment, strategic partnerships and the sustained efforts of policy makers, educators, administrators, parents, youth – indeed, it requires the commitment of the entire community. It also requires political will to decide the necessary resources – both human and financial – to improve educational facilities and increase access and level of attendance for those marginalized groups in our societies.

In a recent survey of economists, conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank, these experts were of the view that early childhood development is the most effective solution to many of the challenges facing the Americas.

2000 Nobel prize winner in economics James Heckman has noted that the return on every dollar invested in early childhood education is much greater – eight to one – than that of a dollar invested in secondary and higher education (three to one).

It is in early childhood that the foundations are laid for achievement. Yet there remains a huge disparity among the countries of the Hemisphere with regard to preschool enrollment, ranging from less than 30% in some countries to over 80% enrollment in others.

Yet, some of our member states have incorporated the right to early childhood care and education into their Constitutions in recognition of the priority that should be assigned to early childhood programs.

In 2003, the Inter-American Committee on Education was created to provide follow up on the mandates agreed upon by Education Ministers at their biannual meetings. This has proven to be an effective mechanism to channel inter-American dialogue and cooperation, and it helps to ensure that your decisions are transformed into concrete actions and projects.

In this regard, I wish to recognize the effective early leadership of Mexico as Chair of the Inter-American Committee on Education. The leadership of Trinidad and Tobago over the past two years also deserves recognition. I look forward to the dialogue over the next two days and the decisions that you will take with regard to early childhood education and the development of a hemispheric alliance to promote education for democratic citizenship.

This V Ministerial Meeting on Education provides in my view an excellent opportunity to exchange best practices and to develop integrated policies for early childhood education in terms of content, facilities and training.

I am pleased to note that much progress has been achieved over the past weeks and today in finalizing the action oriented hemispheric commitment. Allow me at this point to recognize the effective leadership of the Government of Colombia, and in particular of Ministra Cecilia Velez, in this regard.

Election of Inter-American Committee on Education authorities for the next two years at this meeting is an important step in ensuring that we continue the policy dialogue, the knowledge-sharing, and the technical cooperation among OAS member states in the field of education.

Quisiera aprovechar esta oportunidad para agradecer nuevamente al gobierno de Colombia por ser sede de la Asamblea General de la OEA en Medellín el próximo año. La Asamblea General apoyará la consolidación de consensos y el diseño e implementación de programas de cooperación para enfrentar los retos de nuestra región.

Los Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno han afirmado que las reuniones ministeriales generan importantes resultados que constituyen los pilares fundamentales para la colaboración hemisférica. En este sentido, los resultados concretos de esta reunión, serán una importante contribución a la agenda interamericana de desarrollo.

Finalmente, quisiera agradecer nuevamente al Presidente Uribe y al gobierno y pueblo de Colombia por su hospitalidad y por ser sede de esta importante reunión.

Apreciamos también la calidez y el apoyo del Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española.

Seguiré atentamente las discusiones y el impacto que este diálogo pueda tener en la educación de los niños en nuestro hemisferio y eventualmente en el desarrollo y agenda de gobernabilidad de nuestros países.

Gracias.