>From February 3-7, a Conference on Education took place in
Havana, Cuba with the participation of over 6,000 teachers,
professors and specialists in the field of education. The topic
was: "Forum for the Unity of Latin-American Educators" and
delegates came from over twenty countries, including countries
such as Canada, Spain, Portugal and Australia, besides countries
of Latin America and the West Indies.
They exchanged experiences, discussed the results of
their research and together sought answers to different
questions.
Altogether nineteen workshops were organized to allow for a
better exchange between delegates. The workshops dealt with a
variety of questions concerning education, from pre-school
education to post-university education, including special education,
adult education, work training and educational technology. Several
workshops dealt with the different new approaches in education,
including the education policy of different countries of Latin
America and especially the health and education policy of Cuba.
Altogether over 1,200 presentations were made, not including the
special conferences, the round tables and panel discussions that
took place throughout the conference. Cubans themselves made over
500 presentations and Brazilians over 200. A Canadian delegation
comprised of nine specialists was taking part for the second
time. The Canadian delegates were from the University of Quebec
in Montreal, the University of Montreal, Laval University and a
high school. They made five presentations which were all well
received and raised a lot of interest. The Canadian delegation
also held a meeting with the director of International Relations
for the Cuban Ministry of Education and the Cuban representative
responsible for developing relations with Canada. This meeting,
which took place on the invitation of the Cuban Ministry of
Education, made it possible to have direct exchanges on questions
of mutual interest. Furthermore, links were established with two
schools in Havana to start a correspondence project between the
teachers and students of both countries. It is hoped that the
project will lead to student exchanges between the participating
schools.
Besides the workshops, other important salient features of the
conference included the opening session with the speech of the
Cuban Minister of Education which presented the orientation of
the conference and the work in the field of education in Cuba;
the opening performance given by primary school children. Other
events such as the cultural gala and the fiesta at the end of the
conference were also greatly appreciated by delegates. But the
most marked event was without contest the daily participation of
Cuban President Fidel Castro in the conference. Fidel Castro
participated in the company of the ministers of External Affairs,
Education and Health who also presided over three special
conferences on the problems faced by the Cuban people. The
presentations made at these special conferences informed the
participants of the criminal plans of the U.S. towards Cuba,
specifically as concerns the latest provocation in the form of a
four page document entitled "Plan for the Democratization of
Cuba", which details Bill Clinton's plan for a transition from
the Cuban socialist system to a capitalist system. On many
occasions, and especially during his intervention at the closing
session of the conference, Fidel Castro exposed the plans of the
U.S. and reiterated that the Cuban people will never give in to
U.S. threats and blackmail. He said that the Cuban socialist
revolution will continue to develop. He said that many peoples of
the world fighting for their independence have turned their eyes
to Cuba and feel inspired by its example. He added that Cuba has
responsibility towards its own people and the peoples of Latin
America and the West Indies, but also towards all the peoples of
the world. He called on the participants to continue their work
to reverse the anti-social policies being implemented in every
country.
The Congress concluded in an atmosphere of confidence and unity
with the Cuban people and a commitment of all participants to
work in their respective countries to advance the struggle for
the reversal of the anti-social policies and for the education of
their people, for a democratization of the political systems that
will place human beings at the center of all development. The
final declaration called for the strengthening of the unity
between the peoples of the Americas and the West Indies,
expressed support for the struggle of the Cuban people for their
independence and the denunciation of the U.S. blockade against
Cuba.
Call to Educators to
Work for Unity and the Preservation of Identity
At the inauguration of Pedagogy '97, Cuban Education Minister
Luis Gomez issued a call to latin American teachers and
professors to work for unity and the preservation of identity.
They must work to create awareness about saving Latin American
and national identities, he said, within the conditions when an
agenda of globalization and the destruction of national projects
is ruling the world. Schools in Latin America, he added, can and
must be the source of Latin America and Ibero-American culture,
diverse, but with a vision of unity.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
