Aécio Amado
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Nova Iguaçu - The World Education Forum (Fórum Mundial de Educação) which ended this Saturday (March 26) drew up a final document (Carta de Nova Iguaçu) in which it declared education a human and social right. "Education is a fundamental instrument in the construction of a more just society," said the document.

During four days the forum brought together some 30,000 people from over 25 countries. They were educators, social movement militants, students and official delegates.

The final document says: "We reaffirm our commitment to a public school that is free, secular and provides the student with quality education. We repudiate neoliberalism, conservatism and oligarchical systems that seek to privatize and turn education into merchandise."

Opinions on the success of the forum varied. The forum's main theme was "Citizen Education for an Educating City." Pable Venegas, a member of a Chilean NGO, said the debates he attended dealt with the main theme in detail. But, Ramon Moncada, of a Colombian NGO, said there was a lack of depth in the discussions, with topics being debated only in very general terms.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Nova Iguaçu, Lindberg Faria (PT) said he considered the event a big success and was pleased that the forum would return to Nova Iguaçu in 2008.

Translation: Allen Bennett