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OAS and Trinidad and Tobago Organize Second Edition of Virtual Educa Caribbean

  May 16, 2014

The Organization of American States (OAS ) and the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago will hold on May 19 and 20 the Second Edition of the Virtual Educa Caribbean Symposium to take place in Port of Spain, which will assess the use and impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the educational systems of the region.

In presenting the event last April, the Minister of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, Tim Gopeesingh, said that Virtual Educa teacher-training ICT workshops, conducted by internationally renowned experts, would be held to help close the digital divide in the educational system, equipping teachers with the necessary skills to integrate ICT into the curriculum and enabling students to thrive in the highly competitive global environment.

The opening ceremony of the Virtual Educa Caribbean Symposium will feature the presence of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad- Bissessar; Education Minister Gopeesingh; the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin; and the Secretary General of Virtual Educa, Jose Maria Anton. The meeting’s agenda will also include panel discussions on topics such as the use of ICTs at all levels of primary and secondary education; training educators in the twenty-first century; strengthening education systems through the use of technology; and how to achieve quality education for competitiveness, among others.

Similarly, participants will be able to experience the “21st Century Virtual Classroom” to be presented by Samsung and Blink|bMobile, as an example of the roll-out of 20 pilot virtual classrooms in primary and secondary schools across Trinidad and Tobago.

Virtual Educa is a groundbreaking initiative that seeks to transform education through the use of ICTs to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, creative thinking, inclusion and accessibility for all students. This multilateral and cooperation initiative has become a leading event in the Americas on innovation applied to education. Its second regional Caribbean edition is aligned with the overall objectives of the OAS in education: to contribute to poverty reduction, tackling inequality and fostering social inclusion through access to quality education in the region.

More information is available here.

WHAT: Second Edition of the Virtual Educa Caribbean Symposium

WHEN: May 19 – 20, 2014

WHERE: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain , Trinidad and Tobago

Reference: AVI-087/14