The Government of Mexico, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), conducts varied and flexible work in keeping with the Nation’s commitment and objective of proving and strengthening its capacity for world dialogue. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms this commitment with a policy of diversification that forms part of the close ties that link Mexico with many other countries around the globe.

In order to meet the strategic objectives established by the National Development Plan (PND) 2001-2006 as regards foreign policy, the SRE, through its Cultural Affairs Unit, has proved to be highly dynamic in the development of human capital, through activities of cooperation in education.

Investment in education constitutes the perfect strategy and driving force for a country’s development, therefore, it is one of the Mexican Government’s priority mechanisms of international cooperation.

Constant and ongoing improvement to education is one of the most daunting challenges for national development. For this reason, the SRE has signed Agreements on Educational and Cultural Cooperation which include a broad array of scholarship and grant programs for nationals of other countries. Mexico receives offers from foreign governments and international organizations to train human resources in priority areas for the country. In reciprocity, Mexico likewise offers scholarships and grants in order for foreigners to further their education in Mexican institutions of the highest prestige and so that visiting experts and professors may participate in different schemes of academic collaboration and scientific research.

Cooperation in education, and especially in the training of human resources, constitutes a privileged instrument for promoting national development and the intercultural dialogue that Mexico holds with the rest of the world given that the participation of visiting experts and professors, as well as the education of students and researchers not only enrich the experience and knowledge of the Mexican institutions that welcome them but also, with a multiplying effect, contribute to disseminating among other nations a broader and deeper knowledge of today’s Mexico – a plural and dynamic country – while at the same time enriching the knowledge of those abroad as regards our society and culture.

Mexico’s dual role in educational cooperation as both a receiver and provider entitles our country to exact cooperation from more developed nations and international organizations, to offer cooperation to countries with lesser relative development, and to work in programs of horizontal cooperation with nations whose level of development is similar to ours.

In the dialogue among nations, Mexico finds a wellspring of enrichment for its own culture and identity, therefore, it places essential importance on the training of human resources and on the mobility of experts and researchers.

The Government of Mexico opens its Scholarship Directory 2005 within the framework of the commitments it has assumed with other countries and international organizations and so that foreign students can pursue postgraduate studies or conduct specialized research in Mexican academic institutions. The Directory likewise includes different programs for experts.

The mobility of postgraduate students, researchers, and professors contributes toward advancing development among nations and is characterized by the interest on the part of the participants in sharing the knowledge and experience they acquire.

This Directory is comprised of 90 programs encompassing practically all areas of knowledge. It contains a series of specific programs involving direct participation by various Mexican higher education and research institutions, principally public ones, but also has the participation of important private institutions.

The 2005 Directory contains special programs on topics in which Mexico can offer valuable alternatives, among the most important being the Programs of High-Level Lectures and of Special Lectures for visiting lecturers and professors.

The Directory can be consulted at the website: http://becas.sre.gob.mx

Those interested will find detailed information on Mexico’s higher education and research institutions at: www.anuies.mx, www.conacyt.mx, www.edumexico.org and www.studymexico.

Mexico City, January 12, 2004

MORE INFORMATION AND APPLICATION FORMS CAN BE FOUND AT http://servicios.sre.gob.mx/becas/

It is a pledge about the specifically education of girls, having into account that mostly of the time -relatively-, boys have more opportunities to develop. This is an initiative from NetAid.org, join it!!!: http://www.netaid.org/campaigns/actionweek/gce_pledge.pt?group_id=6198

I believe that all girls have the right to an education.
Pledge your support to help girls everywhere, especially in the poorest countries, fulfill their right to an education. By doing so, you will have joined a worldwide community who are committed to achieving universal education.

I believe that girls, who account for more than half of all children not in school, should be granted access to education. I believe that ensuring that girls achieve a complete primary education can help end poverty and afford women a range of opportunities: to participate in society more fully, earn an increased income, make informed decisions about their health and their families’ health, and have better options for their livelihoods.

Through this pledge, I promise to do my part in helping all girls, in every country, go to school.

It is arguably the most vital key to ending extreme poverty: education. But approximately 115 million children worldwide are not enrolled in primary school. In September 2000, as part of the Millennium Development Goals on ending poverty and fostering development, UN member-nation representatives agreed to secure access to education for all children by the year 2015. The Millennium Goals confirm the belief that empowering individuals with a complete basic schooling has the potential to make an unprecedented impact in ending global poverty.



Social development experts underscore the fact that universal education for children – particularly for girls, who account for more than half of the world's children not in school – is the foundation for lasting change. The impact of education extends far below a surface level: broadening employment options, increasing income levels, improving overall health and well being, helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and stabilizing interpersonal ties.



No less tangible are the rippling effects education has on a community – and on an entire nation. Time and again, studies have confirmed the link between education and economic growth. Increasing the number of children who enroll in and graduate from school has shown to lead to: social and political stability; a decline in crime rates; preservation of resources; proliferation of improved social services; and a widespread reduction of national health costs.



According to the World Bank, 36 countries have already ensured that children are completing primary school. But for other nations, especially in South Asia and Africa, the number of children in school continues to lag far behind. Recently, UNESCO reported that in Sub-Saharan Africa, four out of 10 children do not attend primary school—a total of 38 million kids. Even in countries in Latin America where primary enrollment rates are increasing, dropout rates are high, as is the number of children who repeat grades.

But there are reasons to be optimistic. For example, Cuba’s national early childhood education system has achieved over 98% enrollment. And, since the World Conference on Education for All was held in 1990, 10 million more children in developing countries worldwide have been enrolled in school. By fostering education for all and bridging the gap on gender disparities, committed nations working in tandem with local and international development groups can hope to meet the challenges established by the UN Millennium Development Goals: To eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and ensure that all children receive a complete primary education by 2015.

Spread the Word
Spreading the word to others is vital to achieving education for all—and we can't do this without your help. Get your friends and family to join a growing movement of people who want to help every child fulfill her or his right to an education, through NetAid Campaign:

http://www.netaid.org/campaigns/backtoschool/spread.pt

Presto sarà l'anniversario di Iqbal, un ragazzo unico e bravo, che È stato assassinato nuove anni fa per cercare la giustizia in questo mondo. Questa é la sua storia.

La Lezione di Iqbal Masih
di Umberto De Vanna

E' il personaggio dell'anno. La sua storia è finita su tutti i giornali. Iqbal è stato ucciso il giorno di Pasqua. Ma è diventato un simbolo per i milioni di piccoli schiavi del mondo.

Gli hanno chiuso la bocca con una scarica di mitra proprio il giorno di Pasqua, il 16 aprile di quest'anno (1995). Aveva solo 12 anni ed era cristiano. Iqbal, dopo la messa stava andando in bicicletta a Muritke, il suo villaggio. Lo hanno freddato quelli della mafia dei tappeti, perché aveva avuto il coraggio di denunciare lo sfruttamento dei bambini del suo paese.

QUANDO FU VENDUTO dai genitori per sedici dollari a una fabbrica di tappeti Iqbal aveva quattro anni. Cominciò a lavorare anche per 12-13 ore al giorno per pochi baht. Dicono in Pakistan che i bambini hanno mani piccole e veloci e sono l'ideale per lavorare ai telai. E poi i bambini non scioperano, non protestano, non parlano. Iqbal era rimasto incatenato al telaio fino ai dieci anni, quando lo incontrò Ehsan Ullah Khan, presidente del Fronte di liberazione dal lavoro forzato in Pakistan, che lo prese con sè. «Pensai che salvando lui avrei aiutato anche gli altri», dice. E Iqbal cominciò come una fiaba una vita nuovissima. Divenne un piccolo leader per i sei milioni di bambini pakistani sfruttati. La sua crociata per i villaggi del Punjab lo rese coraggioso. Troppo coraggioso per i proprietari delle fabbriche. «Non ho più paura del mio padrone; ora è lui ad avere paura di me», diceva. E le sue denunce avevano costretto le autorità pakistane a far chiudere decine di fabbriche di tappeti nella provincia di Lahore. Poi portò la sua testimonianza in altri paesi asiatici, in Occidente, negli Stati Uniti. In Svezia, parlando a una conferenza mondiale sul lavoro minorile, aveva presentato la sua implacabile denuncia di bambino.

UN ANNO FA A BOSTON la Rebook gli aveva data una borsa di studio. Quindici mila dollari per studiare. «Farò l'avvocato», aveva deciso con i suoi occhi scuri spalancati. «Continuerò a lottare perché i bambini non lavorino troppo». Iqbal voleva anche costruire una scuola. In Pakistan a 12 anni solo un ragazzo su dieci va a scuola. Grazie al coraggio di Iqbal e alle pressioni internazionali, alcuni paesi avevano già annunciato leggi migliori e aiuti alle famiglie povere. Benazir Buttho si era impegnata a sradicare il lavoro minorile.

APRENDO LE CIFRE DELLO SFRUTTAMENTO INFANTILE, molti hanno scritto quest'anno: «Non è di oggi la piaga dei bambini sfruttati nel mondo». E hanno accusato l'indifferenza mondiale di fronte a questo problema. Altri, partendo da una visione forse più realistica, hanno presentato il rovescio della medaglia: il destino di quelli che, non trovando più lavoro in queste fabbriche, dovranno darsi all'elemosina, alla prostituzione, al traffico di droga. Così The Economist, che concludeva: «Il lavoro dei bambini non sarà abolito con una legge, ma con un insieme di circostanze che chiamiamo progresso». Questo significa che di fronte ai milioni di Iqbal del mondo, siamo sotto accusa tutti, soprattutto noi, gente del benessere, che esaltiamo il martirio del piccolo Iqbal e permettiamo l'ingiustizia mondiale.

Otenutto dal site del Bolletino Salesiano. Decembre, 1995.

Indígenas de Ecuador versus Texaco: batalla por 6 mil mdd

La petrolera afirma que dejó limpias las zonas amazónicas en que trabajaba

AFP

Coca, Ecuador, 26 de marzo. En un aeropuerto en pleno corazón de la Amazonia ecuatoriana, los reclamos de los indígenas son tan fuertes que incluso opacan el ruido de un avión: "¡Texaco debe pagar la contaminación de nuestras tierras!". "¡No vamos a desembolsar seis mil millones de dólares!", responde un directivo de la petrolera estadunidense.

Esta confrontación, pacífica y a distancia, se realiza en la pequeña terminal aérea de Coca, 200 kilómetros al este de Quito, en la zona petrolera de Ecuador, país que produce 418 mil barriles de crudo por día, pero que no es miembro de la Organización de Países Exportadores de Petróleo.

"Quinientas mil hectáreas de territorios sagrados indígenas han sido contaminadas por la explotación petrolera de Texaco y exigimos que la firma las limpie en su totalidad", afirma el portavoz de unos 50 manifestantes, Luis Yanza, quien calcula el monto de esa operación en "seis mil millones de dólares".

Los cuatro pueblos indígenas de la región (Siona, Huaorani, Cofan, Shuar), 30 mil nativos en total, demandaron en julio de 2003 a Texaco ante los tribunales ecuatorianos y exigieron una reparación. El proceso sigue abierto.

Filial de Chevron Texaco en Ecuador, Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) envió un equipo de expertos a visitar el terreno junto con un grupo de periodistas, y sus conclusiones apuntan a ser concluyentes.

"Texpet actuó conforme a las leyes y realizó un minucioso programa de limpieza en los sitios que le conciernen", explica Rodrigo Pérez, representante legal de la sociedad en Quito.

También cita los informes favorables de la compañía estadunidense United Research Services (URS), con sede en Wayne, Nueva Jersey, y especializada en estudios ambientales, tras una inspección de los terrenos.

El funcionario de Texpet insiste en que "no es Texaco, sino Petroecuador, la empresa nacional, la que debería estar en el banquillo de los acusados".

Historia de 38 años

Desde 1992, fecha de la expiración de su contrato, Texpet detuvo sus explotaciones petroleras en Ecuador -que comenzó en 1964- tras haber bombeado un total de mil 700 millones de barriles en esta región de la Amazonia, donde el consorcio detentaba 37.5 por ciento del control frente a 62.5 de Petroecuador, que sí continuó explotando el crudo.

"Entre 1995 y 1998, todos nuestros 161 ex sitios fueron limpiados", insiste Jaime Varela-Walker, director de Chevron Texaco en México.

En los cinco ex pozos visitados, los depósitos de residuos petroleros han sido vaciados y recubiertos de tierra. "Miren cómo creció la hierba", señala Jorge Bueno Galdo, experto de URS, en el sitio Shushufindi-29.

El depósito vecino ha sido remplazado por una zona de palmeras. Frente a un viejo reservorio, muestra un árbol repleto de limas.

El presupuesto previsto por Texaco para la limpieza, 13 millones de dólares, fue superado, explican. "Gastamos 40 millones de dólares", dice Rodrigo Pérez. "No vamos a gastar otros seis mil millones", agrega, antes de mostrar "uno de los 400 depósitos no cerrados por Petroecuador".

La sociedad nacional encamina su producción mediante el oleoducto Transecuatoriano, de 503 kilómetros de largo, entre Lago Agrio, al norte de Coca, y el puerto de Balao, en la costa pacífica ecuatoriana.

Tomado de: La Jornada. México D.F. Sábado 27 de marzo de 2004. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/044n1con.php?origen=index.html&fly=1