Guatemala and Colombia together advance collaboration to strengthen educational management and innovation models
A delegation from the Ministry of Education of Guatemala traveled to Valle del Cauca, Colombia, as part of a technical learning visit to gain deeper insight into the ValleLabs educational innovation model and explore its possible adaptation to the Guatemalan context. The visit was organized jointly by MINEDUC Guatemala and SUMMA, through the KIX LAC Hub, with the support of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). This collaborative effort sought to strengthen cross-country learning and promote the exchange of experiences regarding educational management models and pedagogical innovation.
The interest of the Ministry of Education of Guatemala is linked to its national initiative, MiLab, which seeks to promote educational innovation laboratories with a STEAM approach to develop 21st-century skills and respond to challenges such as climate change, lifelong learning, and sustainable development. In this process, the ValleLabs experience, which combines participatory governance, specialized infrastructure, and project-based methodologies, offers key elements to advance the design, implementation, and scalability of MiLab.
Among the most relevant lessons learned, the delegation identified the importance of participatory governance and the mechanisms that allow the model to be sustained and scaled, the technical requirements associated with STEAM infrastructure, the teacher training and support processes, and territorial articulation as a key axis for sustainability.
As a closing to this experience, MINEDUC Guatemala shared a reflection that summarizes the meaning of this exchange and the lessons it leaves for the country: “All our questions are designed to explore the experience that you have already had in Colombia. We are interested in knowing what has been achieved and what has not been achieved, all oriented towards educational improvement.” – Claudia Morales, Director General of Educational Quality Management.
