Contributions from Latin America to ICAE’s World Assembly

Raul Leis, Panama.

Secretary General of the Latin American Council of Adult Education – CEAAL.
By Julie Wong
Translation by ICAE

J: What contribution, from youth and adult education, do you think Latin America and the Caribbean can make to ICAE’s Assembly?
R: Despite that in recent years a progressive increase of investment on EPJA is perceived, which is expressed on specific programmes of coverage widening, systems of scholarships and labour training grants, social assistance plans and others, it can still be stated that youth and adult education, in many cases, suffers some kind of exclusion as governments assign them a secondary role regarding importance, resources and competences.

But it must be stressed that EPJA, the education of those who remained outside the system, the excluded ones, must be not only for them but with them. That’s why the old-fashioned concept of “compensatory” education must be changed for the concept of lifelong education, participatory education, with quality and equity within the framework of human development progress.

But not only the excluded ones. Documents and statements stress the comprehensive and proteic dimension of all subjects, which is fostered by highlighting the dimension of transforming citizenship of EPJA. This is why a plan that convenes all sectors to significantly move forward towards the re-thinking and re-making of education as an instrument to build a society that overcomes poverty and social exclusion is urgently needed.
Popular education, participatory action research, popular communication, the Theatre of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire’s thinking, all native of Latin America linked to the actions of social and citizen emancipatory movements constitute a significant contribution for another education and another world to be possible.
Latin America is the most unequal continent in the world, but at the same time, it has the greatest environmental potentiality, threatened by predatory macro investments. This invites us to choose and to build another development model inspired on another paradigm, as the concept of Good Living that comes from Sumak Kawsay in Andean expression, or from Balu Wala de Kuna Yala, well defined by Donald Rojas: “It is the philosophical axis of individual and collective thinking and action of indigenous peoples, it implies an indissoluble and interdependent relation between the universe, nature and humanity, where an ethic and moral base favourable to the environment, to development and to society is built, in which harmony, respect and balance are revealed and become necessary”, as well as a decent life for all, we add. Good Living is very different from “living well”, understood as an irrational, dehumanizing and depredator consumerism.
It is urgent to work jointly in critical, creative and inclusive actions and educational expressions, so it is necessary to strengthen and update debates and systematizations which give a meaning and coherence to educational and organizational actions to contribute to the knowledge inclusive society, to deepen democracy and to building the new society we ambition.

Aportes desde América Latina a la Asamblea Mundial del ICAE

Des apport de l’Amérique Latine à l’Assemblée Mondiale de l’CAE