The Diplomat
The Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) launched this past Tuesday the Ibero-American Network for Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship with the aim of contributing to democratic coexistence and mitigating polarization and disaffection towards the democracy in the region.
The network, launched from the General Secretariat of the OEI in Madrid, aims to promote education in values and human rights throughout the entire life cycle of people, for which actions will be promoted that incorporate ethical education, as well as the generation of knowledge through diagnostic reports, studies and guides on the state of human rights education in the region. Likewise, the network will promote awareness-raising and training activities on human rights through courses and technical advice aimed at governments, institutions and companies.
During the launch event, the State Secretary for Education of Spain, José Manuel Bar Cendón, celebrated the launch of a very relevant network in the current situation, “a titanic effort” that will contribute to combating the “lack of credibility in institutions” from “the enormous transformative power that education has.” In Bar Cendón’s opinion, education must “train not only people who are good in certain areas, but also train people for the future: inclusive, sustainable and democratic citizens”, for which he has offered the support of the Spanish government. to this initiative.
The recently appointed ambassador on special mission for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law of Spain, Alberto Cerezo Sobrino, also joined this support, who underlined the imperative need to educate on human rights to involve the various sectors, including politics and the parties.
Mariano Jabonero, secretary general of the OEI, pointed out that this network is an initiative of the Ibero-American Program on Human Rights, Democracy and Equality, created in 2023, which responds to a demand and need in the region. Furthermore, he highlighted the collaborative work of the OEI, which translates into the 365 active agreements that the organization currently has, which demonstrates “that we never work alone,” as is the case with this network.
For her part, Irune Aguirrezabal, director of the Ibero-American Program on Human Rights, Democracy and Equality of the OEI, highlighted the Ibero-American dimension of this network that constitutes a “bridge between Europe and Latin America” to “regenerate trust and promote democratic coexistence through education throughout life.”
