Education in the Information Age:=20
An Agenda for Action in Latin America
July 9-11, 1997 in Cartagena, Colombia
Sponsored by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), the Global
Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) and the University of the Andes
(UA).
Knowledge and the Information Age
Innovations in information technology and telecommunications open
unprecedented opportunities for learning to every person on the planet. But,
as computers and new telecommunications dissolve the old limitations of
time, distance, language, local competence and resources, every familiar
model and practice in education the world over must be re-examined. From
acquiring basic functional literacy to the most advanced search for new
knowledge, every learning endeavor is being impacted by the new=
technologies.
Education as the Global Competitive Advantage
The intellectual capital of a nation is more important than natural
resources and financial capital to a country's ability to compete in the
global economy. As the world evolves into a global community, education will
increasingly be the basis on which a country can compete, or be left behind.
Several challenges lay before educators as they consider how to enable their
populations with the skills required to compete in the 21st Century:=20
=95Creating a curriculum that enables mastery of the tools of new=
information
technologies.=20
=95Establishing benchmarks for quality education that employs information
technology.=20
=95Developing the capacity to produce, absorb and disseminate knowledge -=
the
fundamental strength of societies and nations.=20
=95Ensuring equitable access to education and information technologies, to
bridge the gap in literacy and access to knowledge.=20
A Focus on the Latin American and Caribbean Regions
Why focus on the Latin American and Caribbean region?
=95In a recent study, disclosed by the UN in the seventh meeting of Latin
American and Caribbean in Kingston, Jamaica, May, 1996, it is described how
only 10% of the population of the subcontinent admit to being illiterate.
However, the study points out that more than 50% of the population is unable
to communicate in writing at the standards required by modern society.
=95Literacy in Latin America as a region is still well behind OECD=
countries.
In 1990, the number of children of schooling age without access to primary
education in Latin America was 21%, in comparison with 19% for the average
of underdeveloped nations.
=95The investment per capita in Research and Development (R&D) in Latin
America is nearly sixty times lower than in the group of industrialized
nations, according to data from 1991.
=95The investment in R&D, as a percentage of GDP, is seven times lower in
Latin America than in the group of industrialized countries.
=95The number of scientists (as defined by the UN) in Latin America is nine
times lower than in the industrialized countries.
=95The yearly production of scientists, engineers and researchers, on a per
capita basis, is four times lower in Latin America than in industrialized
nations.
=95The production of scientific publications in Latin America is less than=
1%
of the industrialized countries, even though the population of Latin America
(about 420 million) is about 70% of the population of the industrialized
countries (750 million).
Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Technology
The Forum on Education in the Information Age is a unique meeting of minds
between players determining the future of education: namely the public
sector decisionmakers determining educational policy, and private sector
practitioners who are creating the technologies of the future. The aim of
the conference is to strive to reach a better understanding on how education
and technology policy must change to prepare future populations for the
information age.=20
The forum, proposed by GIIC Commissioner Fernando Restrepo, President of RTI
Television, Colombia, sponsored by the InterAmerican Development Bank, and
supported by the University de los Andes, Colombia, constitutes a unique
partnership of organizations committed to creating change in the education
arena in Latin America.