Editorial Introduction

Abstract

As I write these words, the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago has just wrapped up, and a renewed sense of respectful hemispheric cooperation is being widely proclaimed. The Inter - American Democratic Charter, which stimulates and reaffirms all OAS member states’ commitment to democracy as way of life, has once again been invoked as a touchstone for such cooperation. At the Inter-American Journal of Education for Democracy, we are heartened by these trends, and we also look forward to similar collaboration at the upcoming sixth OAS Meeting of Ministers of Education, already in planning for August 12th, in Quito, Ecuador. We see our work as contributing to educational development in the Americas, and we envision this work unfolding in a spirit of mutuality and public-mindedness. The Journal serves as a space for the exchange of research experiences and ideas, a vital forum for reflection amidst the otherwise urgent business of constructing and strengthening democratic political cultures in our region.