Recent workshops in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic reflect the growing emphasis on intra-regional partnership. In this spirit of cooperation, Gabriela Bonilla of the EI Latin American Regional Office in Costa Rica and Rosario Avila from the Honduran teacher union movement travelled to facilitate workshops in Caracas and Santo Domingo.
The Caracas meeting on ‘EFA and HIV/AIDS prevention’ brought together almost 50 participants including representatives of the Executive Committee of FETRA-ENSEÑANZA and union activists from 19 of the 22 regions of Venezuela. There was a high degree of interest and discussion on fundamental aspects of HIV/AIDS education. Workshop facilitator, Rosario Avila, highlighted the commitment of Jesús Ramirez, President of FETRA-ENSEÑANZA and the engagement and dynamism of participating teachers and union leaders.
A similar workshop, also facilitated by Rosario Avila, was hosted by the Asociación Dominicana de Profesores (ADP) in Santo Domingo and was attended by the 42 regional union leaders as well as the Executive Committee of the ADP. María Teresa Cabrera, ADP President and Mily Pérez, EFAIDS Coordinator for ADP planned a very successful workshop, which will in turn enable participants to train a further 500 teachers and promote education on HIV and AIDS through the cascading model.