International Congress on Pedagogy Inaugurated in Havana

The Pedagogy 2009 International Congress was inaugurated on Monday evening at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana with
the presence of First VP Jose Ramon Machado Ventura.

In her opening address, Education Minister Ana Elsa Velazquez
highlighted Cuba’s achievements in the education sector over the past 50 years after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, in spite of the economic, financial and trade blockade imposed by the United States.

In particular, Velazquez praised the role of Cuban teachers who, inspired by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, helped Cuba become the first Latin American country free from the scourge of illiteracy in 1961.

In this respect, she also highlighted Cuba’s contribution with personnel and the “Yo si puedo” (Yes, I Can) methodology to ongoing literacy campaigns in almost 30 countries and recalled that Venezuela, in 2006, and Bolivia, in 2008, recently declared themselves free from illiteracy
with Cuba’s assistance.

Velazquez highly commended the efforts by the Cuban government in order to improve education at all levels and explained that, due to Washington’s blockade, the country has to spend almost 30% more than it would normally do in order to acquire educational means and resources.

The official stressed that Cuba also guarantees the education of children and youths with physical and mental impairments.

She added that 72% of university graduates in the field of education are currently linked to post-graduate courses.

Also present in the opening ceremony of the event were VP Esteban Lazo Hernandez and Jose Ramon Fernandez, VP of the Cuban Council of Ministers.

More than 3,000 teachers and researchers from 44 countries are in Cuba for the meeting that will end next Friday. The countries with the largest delegations attending the event are Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico.

Thus far, 14 Education ministers have confirmed their presence in the Cuban capital for the Congress. Also attending will be the General Secretaries of the Ibero-American Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Association of Ibero-American Educational
Television.

The Scientific Program of the event includes four main topics: integral formation of citizens, scientific and developing education, training of educators and education sciences.

(Evidencia Cuba logros en educación, a pesar del bloqueo)