Declaration of Paramaribo from the Caribbean Conference on Higher Education

First OAS-UNESCO Caribbean Conference on Higher Education Adopts Declaration of Paramaribo
On April 13, 2010 the participants of the first Caribbean Conference on Higher Education (CCHE) adopted the Declaration of Paramaribo. The conference was opened on April 11 by President Ronald Venetiaan of Suriname, who called for greater collaboration among education and research institutes in the Caribbean. Conference participants included Ministers of Education and other Government representatives, Principals and representatives of academic and educational institutions, university networks and international and other organizations.
The CCHE was organized by the OAS, Department of Human Development, Education and Culture (DHDEC), the UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean and the UNESCO Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), in close collaboration with the Government of Suriname’s Ministry of Education.
Conference participants discussed trends and perspectives of higher education in the Caribbean, quality assurance and accreditation, science, technology and innovation in the Caribbean, internationalization and academic cooperation and the revitalization of the higher education system of Haiti. The Declaration of Paramaribo includes a Call for Action on the aforementioned conference issues. It was agreed that the Caribbean Conference on Higher Education would be held bi-annually and that a Technical Committee will be established to follow-up the recommendations and actions of the Conference.