The International Conference “Evidence for Equity and Educational Transformation”, organized by SUMMA with the support of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Evidence for Education Network (EEN), was held in Santiago de Chile on July 23rd and 24th. The purpose of this meeting was to provide a place for reflections and relevant discussions on how evidence can contribute to educational equity and transformation.
300 people attended, including representatives and authorities from ministries of education in the region, international organizations, civil society organizations, researchers and academics, and members of the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Pacific Islands. Representatives of partner organizations of the Evidence for Education Network (EEN) also attended. There were also participants from around the world, who followed the event online.
In the context of this Conference, the GPE KIX Hubs were represented by Victoria Kisaakye, Coordinator of KIX Africa 19 Hub; Maïmouna Sissoko Touré, Coordinator of KIX Africa 21 Hub; José Luís Canêlhas, Coordinator of KIX EMAP Hub and Raúl Chacón, Director of KIX LAC Hub at SUMMA. Rafer Gordon, Project Director at OECS participated in the panel discussion “Shared agendas: generating and mobilizing evidence for educational transformation”, along with Nuria Vives Font, Head of Teacher Professional Development Programs at “La Caixa” Foundation. Patrick Okwen, Team Lead, eBASE and María José Sepúlveda, Director of Evaluation at SUMMA also participated. Jonathan Kay, Head of Policy, Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), moderated the meeting.
The panel discussed the generation of a stronger link between the world of academia, civil society and governments, the promotion of research for action and the accessibility of evidence for decision-makers. On the other hand, there was discussion on the power to enhance research, development and innovation (RDI) ecosystems to generate more knowledge and better evidence. And in conclusion, the need to build shared work agendas to guide educational policies and programs and address the gaps of disadvantaged groups was highlighted.
Raúl Chacón, Director of KIX LAC Hub, noted: “These collaborative instances allow for the exchange of learning from experiences in different regions. There are common educational challenges, so it is key to find innovative mechanisms that promote the use of evidence in the creation of national educational policies. It is essential to value the articulation between the various networks that address the same issues from different perspectives”.
For more information on the International Conference click here.
