October 29, in Washington D.C. was signed the Cooperation Agreement for the implementation of the ProFuturo Digital Educational Programme in Saint Lucia.
The signing event was attended by H.E. Anton Edmunds, representative of Saint Lucia to the OAS, Maria Celeste Fuenmayor, representative of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), and Kim Osborne, Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the OAS.
The signing of the agreement marks the beginning of the implementation of this programme that expects to benefit 3,000 children in Saint Lucia with technological equipment, teacher training and digital educational content. In the following months the programme will begin training for school principals and teacher coaches in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development.
Some impressions of the signatories of this agreement:
“Technology has become one of the greatest drivers of social and economic development. Telecommunications and ICT appropriation are a mechanism to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. Today we signed this agreement with ProFuturo and the OAS Secretariat for Integral Development for a better education for children in the Caribbean, especially in Saint Lucia.
This agreement also responds to the objectives of the ICT 2030 Alliance, which promote the appropriation of technologies as an instrument to deliver quality education, improve teaching skills and provide better tools to children, so that they can reach their potential."
Maria Celeste Fuenmayor, representative of the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL)
“As we know, the divide between urban and rural areas in our countries in terms of access to education can be very deep. This agreement gives us the opportunity to reach schools in rural communities, where there are great opportunities to grow and develop the region.
This collaboration with ProFuturo gives us the opportunity to be more inclusive in terms of education, to ensure that those who otherwise would not have access to educational growth tools and opportunities, can have them.”
Kim Osborne, Executive Secretary for Integral Development (SEDI) of the OAS.
“We are very excited to be part of this group of countries that incorporate ProFuturo, along with The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and Guyana. The fact that this program trains teacher coaches and teachers will help us reach more and more students in the country.
I am very pleased with this collaborative effort between the OAS and Saint Lucia because programs like this are really for the future. In the Caribbean we can't really be competitive if we don't connect our students and teachers with technology."
H.E. Anton Edmunds, representative of Saint Lucia to the OAS
Some photos of the signing event: