Instituto Fronesis - Pedagogía, comunicación y sociedad

Ecuatoriana. Licenciada en Ciencias de la Educación (Ecuador) y Candidata al Doctorado en Lingüística (México). Educadora, comunicadora y activista social con larga experiencia de enseñanza, investigación y asesoría a nivel internacional. Ha vivido de manera prolongada en cinco países –Ecuador, México, Nicaragua, Estados Unidos y Argentina– y trabajado tanto en el mundo académico como con organizaciones sociales, gobiernos y organismos internacionales. Ha realizado misiones de asesoría en todos los países de América Latina y el Caribe, así como en muchos países de África y Asia.

En Nicaragua (1981-86) fue asesora del Vice-Ministerio de Educación de Adultos y coordinadora del área de Educación y Comunicación Popular en la Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES), con sede en Managua. En el Ecuador ha sido investigadora en el Centro de Investigaciones CIUDAD, en Quito (1986-88), Directora Pedagógica de la Campaña Nacional de Alfabetización "Monseñor Leonidas Proaño" (1988-90), miembro del Equipo Técnico del Contrato Social por la Educación (2002) y Ministra de Educación y Culturas designada por el Movimiento de Unidad Plurinacional Pachakutik (2003).

La mayor parte de su experiencia internacional está vinculada a UNICEF y a UNESCO. Durante seis años (1991-96) fue Asesora Principal en la Sección de Educación de UNICEF, en Nueva York, y editora del Boletín Education News de ese organismo. Fue Directora de Programas para América Latina y el Caribe de la Fundación Kellogg, con sede en Buenos Aires (1996-98), y luego Investigadora y Coordinadora del área de Gestión de la Innovación Educativa en el IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires (1998-2000). Desde el 2000 trabaja como investigadora y asesora internacional desde su propio instituto, Fronesis, creado en Quito en 1991.

Desde 2006 es asesora de la Dirección General del CREFAL, desde donde organizó y coordina el Grupo Latinoamericano de Especialistas en Alfabetización y Cultura Escrita (GLEACE), creado en Noviembre 2006 y el cual cuenta con 26 miembros provenientes de diez países de la región (Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Haití, México, Nicaragua, República Dominicana y Uruguay). También organizó y coordinó para el CREFAL el Diplomado Latinoamericano en Alfabetización y Cultura Escrita (Pátzcuaro, Mayo 2007).

Fue miembro del Jurado de los Premios Internacionales de Alfabetización de la UNESCO (2000-2002), del Consejo Asesor de URBARED (2002-2005) y del Comité Internacional del Foro Mundial de Educación en Porto Alegre (2001-2005). Es miembro del Consejo Internacional de la Fundación Paul Gérin-Lajoie para el Estudio Prospectivo de la Educación Básica para Todos (desde 2004). En el 2004 se asoció al World Culture Open como Secretaria Regional para América Latina y el Caribe y miembro del Jurado Internacional de los premios WCO.

Durante ocho años (1990-98) mantuvo una página semanal de educación en el suplemento Familia del diario El Comercio de Quito. Es autora de cerca de 20 libros y numerosos estudios sobre educación y comunicación, publicados en diversos países e idiomas (ver sección de publicaciones.

Rosa María Torres del Castillo

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Ecuadorian. Educationist, linguist and social activist with extensive experience in teaching, research and technical advice nationallly and internationally. She has lived in Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, USA and Argentina, working in the academic world as well as with social organizations, governments and international agencies. She has undertaken professional missions in all Latin American and Caribbean countries as well as in many African and Asian countries.

She lived and worked in Nicaragua between 1981 and 1986, first as an advisor to the Vice-Ministry of Adult Education (1981-83) and afterwards as a coordinator of the Area of Popular Education and Communication at the Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES), based in Managua (1983-86). In Ecuador, she was researcher at the CIUDAD Research Center in Quito (1986-1988), Pedagogical Director of the National Literacy Campaign "Monsignor Leonidas Proaño" (1998-1990), member of the Technical Team of the "Social Pact for Education" (2002) and Minister of Education and Cultures, designated by the Pachakutik Movement for Plurinational Unity (2003). Since 2002 she moderates DebatEducacion, an Ecuadorean virtual community with over 1200 members.

Most of her international experience in education is related to UNICEF and UNESCO. Between 1991 and 1996 she worked as a Senior Education Adviser at UNICEF's Education Section in New York and editor of UNICEF's Education News newsletter. She was Programme Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Kellogg Foundation, based in Buenos Aires (1996-1998), and later Researcher and Coordinator of the Area of Educational Innovation at IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires (1998-2000). Since 2000 she works as a researcher and international education adviser from her own institute, Fronesis, created in Quito in 1991.

During 2006-2007 she was advisor to CREFAL, in Mexico. She organized and coordinates the Latin American Group of Specialists in Literacy and Written Culture (GLEACE) created in November 2006 and currently with 25 members from ten countries in the region: Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and Uruguay. She also organized a Latin American Diplomado in Literacy and Written Culture (CREFAL, May 2007)

Her recent experience in research and policy and programme formulation can be summarized as follows:

1996-1998: Conceptualized and organized the Basic Education Initiative "Learning Community" (14 selected projects in 9 Latin American and Caribbean countries) financed by the Kellogg Foundation (1996-98).
2000: Assisted UNESCO-Paris in the preparation of the United Nations Decade for Literacy (2003-2012) and drafted the Base Document for such decade.
1999-2000: Evaluative study on the first decade (1990-2000) of the Education for All world initiative.
2000: Analyzed youth education programmes worldwide and prepared a report on the subject for the International Youth Foundation-IYF
2000: Elaborated a prospective regional study on the situation of teachers, commissioned by UNESCO-OREALC as part of the closing activities of the Major Project for Education.
2001: Continental study on citizen participation and education commissioned by the Organization of American States (OAS) for discussion at the II Meeting of MInisters of Education of the Americas (Punta del Este, Uruguay, 24-25 Sept. 2001).
2002: World study on the state of the art of adult basic learning and education, for the Swedish Agency for International Development-Sida.
2004: Regional study on Education and Poverty commissioned by the International Movement for Popular Integral Education and Social Promotion 'Fe y Alegría'.
2005: Study on basic learning needs and litereacy practices in Rwanda (with A.Okech), and policy and strategy document for youth and adult functional literacy, done together with Rwanda's Ministry of Education.
2005-2008: Worked together with the Ministry of Education in Botswana and a UIE-UNESCO team in the design of a curriculum for the adult basic education programme in that country. She also worked with the Western Cape Education Department, in South Africa, in the design of the "Community-School Initiative".
2006-2007: Conducted a regional field study on "Literacy and access to the written culture by youth and adults excluded from the school system in Latin America and the Caribbean" together with CREFAL in Mexico.

She was a member of the Jury for UNESCO's International Literacy Prizes (2000-2002), of the Advisory Board of URBARED (2002-2005) and of the International Committeee of the World Education Forum (since 2001). She is a member of the International Council of the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation for Prospective Studies on Education for All (since 2004). In 2004 she associated with the World Culture Open as Regional Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean and member of the International Jury of the WCO Prizes. Since 2006 she assumed an institutional advisory role with CREFAL. She organized and coordinates the Latin American Group of Specialists in Literacy and Written Culture created in November 2006 and associated to CREFAL.

As a follow-up to the World Education Forum (Dakar, April 2000) she promoted and coordinates the network of signatories of the Latin American Statement for Education for All. She moderates various virtual communities: Comunidad E-ducativa (international), Debateducacion and Ecuador-lee-escribe (Ecuador), PronunArgentina (Argentina) and Ed-Community (international, in English).

During eight years (1990-1998) she kept a weekly page on Education in the Sunday magazine "Familia" of El Comercio national newspaper in Ecuador. She is the author of nearly 20 books and of numerous articles on education and communication, published in various countries and languages.