Digitalization and regional integration, notable activities of the IEO in 2023

The digital transformation in the classrooms of the Dominican Republic or indigenous communities of Mexico and the launch of the Ibero-American Chair in Buenos Aires are examples of the more than 300 projects that the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) launched in 2023.

As reported this Thursday by the organization, present in twenty countries in Latin America, this year’s projects benefited more than 21 million people in the region, among them, more than 5.5 million trained students and more than 270,000 teachers who reinforced their teaching abilities.

In its commitment to digital transformation, it cites as an example the project ‘Strengthening STEAM skills’ (skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics), carried out in the Dominican Republic, in which the OEI participated with advice for teachers on this methodology, or in the project ‘Social justice: key element for digital transformation in education’, to contribute to digital transformation and basic education in the indigenous communities of the Mexican state of Durango, in collaboration with the Spanish Cooperation Agency International for Development (AECID).

And in terms of higher education, in Cuba, for example, the Ibero-American Network for Training and Research on Digital Transformation in Higher Education was launched.

Early childhood was also one of the organization’s priorities this year, with initiatives such as workshops on the Art and Play Methodology with a focus on neurosciences and inclusivity in Nicaragua; the Training project in Comprehensive Early Childhood Care in the Dominican Republic; the cycles of reflection on Socio-emotional Education in Mexico or the First International Meeting ‘Early Childhood: Realities and Perspectives’, held in Bolivia.

Another of the organization’s objectives is regional integration, and for this, in 2023 it launched the Ibero-American Integration Chair, based in Buenos Aires, held the third edition of the International Conference of Portuguese and Spanish Languages ​​(CILPE), in Asunción, or held the first edition of the ‘Madrid in Ibero-America’ festival, which this year took place in the cities of Cali (Colombia), Arequipa (Peru), Santa Tecla (El Salvador) and Córdoba (Argentina).

The organization also focused on the promotion of human rights as an essential value for the development of the region, with the launch of a Human Rights, Democracy and Equality Program or the holding in June in Santiago de Chile of the ‘Democracy’ forum. Parity in the constitutional process of Chile’, without also forgetting the promotion of science.

The OEI, a UN Observer Organization since October of this year, will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2024 with an eye toward challenges such as the implications of artificial intelligence in education or culture or the need to improve the quality of educational systems. of Ibero-America.