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IDEC 2012

The 2012 International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC) is to be held in Puerto Rico from the 24th to the 31st of March, hosted by Nuestra Escuela, a community-based organisation which helps young people ‘to develop emotional health, complete high school, discover talents and become community leaders and activists for a just and democratic society.’ There are already more than 350 people from 29 different countries registered to attend.

Some of the organising group.

For Justo Méndez Arámburu, the leader of Nuestra Escuela, IDEC 2012 is an opportunity to do something about the irrelevance of the current education system in Puerto Rico. He talks about an education for the liberation of humankind, as proposed by Paulo Freire. ‘Nobody frees anyone,’ says Justo. ‘It is not possible for a government to free us, a new status cannot free us, not even a bill of rights sets us free. Community self-management can. ‘

In our schools, says Justo, ‘we present all the Puerto Rican political structure in the Social Studies class but we are not presenting the problems of corruption, failure, immobility, and violations of rights that these politicians bring. We teach about the police as those who are responsible for ensuring our security, when what they do in reality is violate it. Education does not discuss this conflict, it does not address the problem of the police. We learn that this is the order, the correct order. Education is not addressing our problems, let alone seeking for their solutions.’

This means that IDEC 2012 will have more political content than has been the case in earlier IDECs. Among the speakers will be Jean-Robert Cadet and Ana María Careaga. Jean-Robert was a slave in the Restavek system (from the French term Reste-Avec, which means ‘remain with’ or ‘keep’) in Haiti, and is now one of the most important activists against contemporary slavery. Ana was a kidnapping victim in Argentina's military dictatorship in the 70's, and has extensive experience in the field of human rights. She has carried out advocacy, presentations and conferences, in her country and abroad, on the consequences of state terrorism, a topic that she researches extensively.

IDEC 2012, according to Justo, will be more than a conference, it will be an encouragement for the Puerto Rican people to assume power over their own education system.

For more details, go to http://idec2012.org

 

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