Fundacion Cisneros & Barrick Gold Corporation create alliance to expand key education program.

The Fundacion Cisneros and Barrick Gold Corporation have announced a collaborative agreement to help improve education in Latin America, addressing one of the continent’s most urgent needs. Working together, the two organizations will expand the reach of AME — Actualizacion de Maestros en Educacion, or Professional Development for Educators — the Fundacion’s dynamic program devoted to improving the skills of teachers throughout Latin America. Under the new agreement, AME will be offered for the first time in Chile, and will expand its base in Argentina, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, enabling the program to reach more teachers and students in the region.

AME uses distance-learning technologies, such as the Internet, television, and video, to offer free, comprehensive professional-development courses to teachers across Latin America. While content and administrative support are provided by the Fundacion Cisneros,
the delivery of the program in Chile and to the new sites in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Peru will be facilitated and coordinated by Barrick Gold.

Fundacion Cisneros Chairman Patricia Phelps de Cisneros states, “The Fundacion Cisneros, with its mission to improve education and help achieve universal literacy, is delighted to have entered into this partnership with Barrick Gold. Not only will it increase the number of teachers, and therefore students, who benefit from AME, but, with its exciting new course on the teaching of digital literacy, it will help to ensure that the promise of technology to increase access to information and education is transformed into a reality. Bridging the “digital divide” has been a long-term objective of the Fundacion Cisneros.”

Igor Gonzales, President, Barrick South America, adds, “Barrick invests in education programs in the communities where we operate because we recognize there is a direct link between education and quality of life. We are very pleased to join forces with the Fundacion Cisneros and support this innovative program, which is giving teachers in Latin America access to technology and professional support systems. We share their vision that well-trained teachers can inspire students, raise academic standards, and make an important contribution to national development.”