Participation of the Dominican Republic at the Inter-American Seminar on Education for Democracy

Following its commitment to the development of civil society and civic education, FUNGLODE/GFDD took part in the Inter-American Seminar on Education for Democracy that took place in Washington, DC, September 20-23, 2004. The Seminar was hosted by the Organization of American States, OAS, and the Center for Civic Education. It was opened by OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Luigi Einaudi, Richard A. Nuccio, Director of International Programs for the Center, and the U.S. Department of Education Deputy Under-Secretary for International Affairs, Mr. Joseph Esposito. Asunción Sanz, Project Coordinator, represented the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development. Frida Pichardo de Villamil and Mirna Díaz Coronado, representatives of the Consortium for Civic Education, participated in the event and were part of the program.

The event gathered associations, non-governmental organizations, and ministry representatives from 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries plus members of US government, universities, think tanks, the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, donor agencies and multilaterals.

Frida Pichardo and Mirna Díaz had the opportunity to present the programs that the Consortium for Civic Education, in collaboration with the Center for Civic Education of California, U.S., has been conducting in the Dominican Republic for ten years with great success.

The Consortium's programs have gained international recognition and were expressly mentioned by researchers and donors as a model program for its contents as well as for its sustainability.

FUNGLODE/GFDD has shared a number of activities and programs in an effort to make civic education available to every child in the Dominican Republic as part of respective agreements of cooperation with the Center for Civic Education and with the Consortium for Civic Education.