Report: Afro-Descendants and Intercultural Education: Lessons from Venezuela

[magbana]

April 6, 2009


Afro-descendants and Intercultural Education: Lessons from Venezuela
March 2009

image002-4.gif image by outigger97TransAfrica Forum's Latin America and Caribbean Policy Program, with the assistance of Venezuelan intercultural education specialist and activist Angela Diaz, has launched Afro-descendants and Intercultural Education: Lessons from Venezuela (March 2009).

Over the past decade, Venezuela has taken notable steps towards addressing entrenched social inequities and Afro-Venezuelans have been the driving force behind government advances in recognizing their historical and contemporary contributions. Nonetheless, more work and political will is still needed to achieve these goals and achieve sustained support for capacity building and organic development.

In early March, newly elected United States President Barack H. Obama outlined plans for education reform and stated "For decades, Washington has been trapped in the same stale debates that have paralyzed progress and perpetuated our educational decline."


It is important for civil society in the U.S. and Venezuela to be able to talk to one another about innovative ideas and alternative approaches to improve the quality of education at the local level, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities. To this end, Diaz recently visited the Washington D.C.-Metro area to share her experience with non-profits, activists, students and government officials. The report draws on Diaz's experience teaching and working in Afro-descendant, Afro-Indigenous and Indigenous communities and advocating for advances in promoting cultural diversity and inclusiveness in the Bolivarian education system.

Angela Diaz is from Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela and is an active member of La Red Afrovenezolana (ROA), a national network of Black grassroots organizations. She is involved in their educational reform projects related to anti-racism, culture, and the integration of Afro-Venezuelan history and contributions into educational textbooks. Diaz is also a professor at the University of Carabobo, and founder and general coordinator of Fundacion Curduvare.

Go to http://www.transafricaforum.org/files/Combined%20File_PDF%20(Low-Res).pdf for the full report of Afro-descendants and Intercultural Education: Lessons from Venezuela


TransAfrica Forum | 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 1100 | Washington, DC 20006 |
Phone: [phone] | Fax: [phone] | [e-mail]

www.transafricaforum.org
Visit http://www.transafricaforum.org/donate-taf to donate.

To unsubscribe: Click Here or

send email to [e-mail]