Leonel Fernández requests support from the European Union and Caricom for profile study on the Caribbean countries

In the framework of his European ten-day work agenda, the former President of the Dominican Republic and President of Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), Dr. Leonel Fernández, requested support from the European Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for an annual study on the profile of the Caribbean countries.

The announcement was made by the Press Coordinator of the former Dominican President, Annia Valdez, at the end of a work
meeting with Mario Pezzini, Director of the Center for Development of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

She explained that the annual study will be made jointly by Fundación Global, the OECD and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and that it will cover topics mostly related to economic, political, social and cultural development.

"This will be the first study of its kind to cover
the entire Caribbean from the development perspective", said the journalist who is accompanying Fernández, after disclosing that during the meeting it was agreed to conduct a comparative study on youth at the global level. The study will address young people’s questions and concerns, and will take into account the population growth that is occurring throughout the world.

The study, which is already underway, will select some countries in Africa, Latin America,
Europe and Southeast Asia. Another issue that was discussed at the meeting was education. In this regard, Fernández said that attention is being paid to the impact of distance education, especially that of online education.

The agencies involved in the initiative are studying the issue of the various educational offers to be presented to young people, especially with regard to training, education and the development of skills and abilities for the job market.

The objective is to strengthen the idea of ​​the development of technical, vocational and polytechnic institutes, since "that type of educational institutions train for the labor market."

Paris 8

As part of his work agenda in the French capital, former President Fernández also visited the University of Paris 8 to follow up on an interagency cooperation agreement that Fundación Global
has with that educational institution.

At the end of the visit it was reported that both institutions are taking the necessary steps to implement the agreement in the areas of social sciences and the humanities, as well as regarding the use of technological networks to achieve greater dissemination of knowledge in general.

For the remainder of this year, they agreed to hold two seminars, one on geopolitics and another on the subject of the humanities.
For 2015 there will be a program covering topics of geopolitics, social geography, comparative literature, multimedia, epistemology studies, research methodology, techniques of social research and a variety of other areas that will be addressed through short courses, seminars, workshops, and the start of Master’s degree programs.

The courses will be taught at the Global Institute of Higher Education and FUNGLODE, in order for a larger number of Dominicans to gain access
to them. However, the agreement also includes an exchange program with students and professors from the University of Paris 8.