FUNGLODE and GFDD, together with Grupo Santillana, to Organize Educational Innovation Forum

Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), partnering with Grupo Santillana, cordially invite audiences to participate in the Educational Innovation Forum that will take place in Santo Domingo from May 8-9.

The event will start off with the lecture “Information and Communication Technology Use in Education in Latin America: the
Inter-American Development Bank experience,” delivered by Horacio Álvarez Marinelli, Education Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), on Wednesday, May 8, at 7:00pm in the auditorium of FUNGLODE. The event will be open to the public.

On Thursday, May 9, starting at 8:30am, there will be a private high level working session on the theme of education that is organized by Grupo Santillana at FUNGLODE’s headquarters and will be by
invitation only.

After the working session, at 9:30am, Francesco Pedró, Chief of the Division of Sector Policy Advice and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education at UNESCO, will kick off the conference series with the presentation “ICT and Education, What Works and Why.”

Other presentations on the agenda include “Assessments Conducted by the IDB on the Use of ICTs in Education in Latin America”
​​and “ICTs and Education, Experiences of the Best: Korea, Finland and Singapore” that will be communicated by Horacio Álvarez Marinelli, Education Specialist at the IDB, and Mariano Jabonero Blanco, Director of Institutional Relations at Grupo Santillana.

The event will conclude with the conference “Digital Applications and Developments for the Classroom” by Miguel Barrero Maján, General Director of Digital
Developments at Grupo Santillana.

About Grupo Santillana
Grupo Editorial Santillana has its origins in the publishing house Santillana, which was founded in 1960 with the educational mission of providing teachers and students with innovative and high-quality instructional materials. Though Santillana originated in Spain, it is now an international publisher with affiliates in almost all Spanish-speaking countries, as well as
in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United States.

“Innovative Teachers” Competition
On May 9, within the framework of the Educational Innovation Forum, GFDD and FUNGLODE, in collaboration with Microsoft Dominicana and MINERD, will organize a competition for “Innovative Teachers.” 100 projects have been pre-selected at the national level, 30 of which will be chosen to
participate in the competition. The jury of three Dominican experts in the field of ​​education will select 15 semifinalists and three winners will emerge from that group.

The “Innovative Teachers” competition is a global initiative of the Microsoft Corporation and is part of the Partners in Learning (PIL) program that the company implements jointly with Ministries of Education and / Departments of Education throughout the world.
Its focus is on improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technologies in the classroom environment. Edward Ulloa, Puerto Plata Dominican teacher, was one of the winners in the Latin American competition that was held in 2012.

Partners of the Educational Innovation Forum
Grupo Santillana, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCyT), the Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic
(MINERD), Microsoft Dominicana, the Instituto Tecnológico de la Américas (TLA), the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU), Universidad Acción Pro Educación y Cultura (UNAPEC), the Open University for Adults (UAPA), the Global Institute for Higher Studies in Social Sciences (iGLOBAL), and the Salomé Ureña Higher Institute for Teacher Training (ISFODOSU).