AME Consolidates Achievements in Venezuela and Reaches New Frontiers in Last Quarter of 2008

In November 2008, AME (Actualización de Maestros en Educación), the professional development program for educators of the Fundación Cisneros, awarded course completion certificates to Venezuelan elementary education teachers from Maracaibo, in the western state of Zulia, Venezuela. A ceremony was held by AME and the Education Department of the Zulia state government to honor the recipients of the course completion certificates. Mary Grace Castillo, Secretary of Education of the Zulia state government, congratulated the teachers who participated in the courses, and expressed optimism that during the 2009 school year the number of participating teachers would triple.

AME also awarded course completion certificates, during October 2008, to teachers from Punta Cana International School (PCIS), in the Dominican Republic, who successfully participated in the program’s HIV/AIDS prevention course. AME will continue to offer courses through early 2009, when a new group of teachers from PCIS will participate. The Fundación Cisneros is also working closely with Fundación Ecológica Punta Cana to improve education in the region and to protect the environment, an endeavor that would benefit the Dominican people and the tourism industry.

In late November, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) hosted a seminar in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to improve the quality of public education in Latin America. Representatives from AME attended this event devoted to fostering relationships and consolidating the Corporate Social Responsibility movement among Latin American companies with programs in the area of education. Participants benefited from an opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss policies with IDB representatives and regional government officials.

In October, AME also participated in the Global Innovation Forum for Education and Development in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, organized by the United Nations Global Alliance for Innovation and Development and its Committee of Leaders in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The event was co-sponsored by Athgo International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing practical entrepreneurial education and training to young people as a way of launching and developing new socially conscious initiatives in the local community.