International Bureau of Education

The IBE's activities in the Caribbean began in May 1999 with the carrying out of a survey of curriculum development needs at upper primary and secondary education levels in the sub-region. This survey was intended to furnish the IBE with a preliminary overview of priorities in curriculum development, providing the basis for discussion about future collaboration in capacity-building for curriculum change with the countries concerned.

In November 1999, during the 30th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, the results of the survey were presented to delegates from Caribbean Member and Associate Member States, and follow-up activity discussed. It was proposed that the IBE organize a forum focusing on ongoing initiatives in the Caribbean to develop a coherent strategy on education for learning to live together, during the 9th Biennial Consultation Meeting of CARNEID (Caribbean Network of Educational Innovation for Development) scheduled for May 2000. However, various circumstances led to postponement of the forum with a joint IBE/CARNEID seminar being planned for 2001.

This meeting was organized in Havana, Cuba in May 2001, with the collaboration of the Government of Cuba and the Organization of Ibero-American States. The seminar addressed the broad theme “Curriculum Development for Learning to Live Together” in line with the themes of 46th session of the International Conference on Education (Geneva, September 2001).

At the seminar, the participants stressed the importance of developing closer networks in the field of citizenship education so as to better share experiences and resources.

The collaboration with the sub-region began a second phase in 2002-2003 as an action research project entitled Citizenship Education in the Caribbean: Between Policy and Practice. Two stocktaking reviews were commissioned (for the English Caribbean and Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic), on the links between policy and practice in citizenship education with particular reference to teacher education. The findings of these reviews were used as key input in the organization of a workshop held in Montego Bay  in November 2003 on the theme Preparing Teachers as Educators for Citizenship". The workshop goal was the preliminary drafting of a teacher education curriculum framework for citizenship education.