A regional meeting on the theme “Key Education Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean: Teachers, Quality, and Equity”, will be held on 12-13 May 2011, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The Meeting is in preparation for the 2011 ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), to be held at United Nations Headquarters in Geneva in July 2011, on the theme:  Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education.

The meeting will be hosted by the Government of Argentina, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latina America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The meeting will bring together a diverse and comprehensive range of regional stakeholders, including Government Ministers, senior regional practitioners and experts, to identify trends and challenges in regards to education in Latin America and the Caribbean and their impact on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The panellists and experts will further examine integrated approaches and concrete policy measures that ECOSOC can promote to accelerate progress on the international education goals.

The Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) is a key function of the Economic and Social Council established by Heads of State and Government at the 2005 World Summit. It was mandated as an instrument to track progress and step up efforts towards the realization of the internationally agreed development goals (IADGs), including the Millennium Development Goals, by the 2015 target date.

The theme of the 2011 ECOSOC AMR is “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education”. The Review will be held in Geneva during the ECOSOC High-Level Segment in July 2011. DESA is working closely with UNESCO, ECLAC and UNICEF in planning the AMR.

In addition to this meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean, there are other preparatory regional meetings which capture specific regional issues in education and ensure multi-stakeholder involvement.

OBJECTIVES
-> Examine progress in achieving the education agenda in the region and related challenges, especially those that could best be addressed through regional cooperation.-> Examine in greater depth specific aspects of education issues with focus particularly relevant to the countries in the region.
-> Exchange lessons learned.

VALUE-ADDED OF THE MEETING
-> Provide an opportunity to discuss national and regional education issues with a variety of actors including government officials, civil society, private sector, international institutions, NGOs, etc.
-> Promote stakeholder engagement – governments, civil society, UN system institutions and private sector – early on in the AMR process.
-> Support the preparations of the AMR July session and enrich the global review. The outcome of the regional review will feed into the 2011 AMR.-> Promote the launch of new partnership initiatives at the AMR July 2011 session, in Geneva.