Global Foundation for Democracy and Development was one of the non-governmental organizations that attended the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council Extraordinary Session on "The Promotion of Democratic Culture through Education". The session took place at the OAS headquarters in Washngton D.C., on April 12 and 13, and the GFDD representative was Ms. Natasha Despotovich.

The two-day meeting on such an increasingly relevant topic was organized on the initiative by the OAS General Assembly and under the coordination of the OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and the Unit for Social Development and Education. An extensive exchange of experiences in formal and informal education on promoting knowledge, skills, attitudes, behavior and values in democracy ensued, and the need for an Inter-American Civic Education Program was reinstated.

Unit for Social Development and Education www.oas.org/udse

Unit for the Promotion of Democracy www.upd.oas.org

Among the participants there were permanent representatives of the OAS Member States, Ministers and high officials of Education Ministries, members of the Inter-American Commission on Education, representatives of non-governmental institutions, private sector, and educational specialists.

The Session created a valuable opportunity for a full overview of civic education initiatives and programs implemented in the Hemisphere, through governmental and non-governmental mechanisms. Results of several research projects regarding the level of civic education, particularly among children and youth, were presented. A few success stories were told. They indicated possible directions to take in order to uplift the level of democratic knowledge, awareness, skills and participation, by working with populations from their earliest years, and through joint efforts of formal and informal sector initiatives.

Global Foundation for Democracy and Development fully supports the importance and urgency of good, widespread and efficient civic education. It will join the efforts of other national and international institutions, and foresees in its near future to carry out programs and activities in that area.

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