OEA - Informe CIDI INF. 642 25 de 2025

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ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Inter-American Council for Integral Development

(CIDI)

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OEA/Ser.W

CIDI/INF.642/25

27 January 2025

TEXTUAL

REGULAR MEETING OF THE

INTER-AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT (CIDI)

JANUARY 28, 2025

ON: CONNECTING EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT - IMPROVING YOUTH ACCESS TO LABOR MARKETS

BIOGRAPHIES OF GUESTS SPEAKERS

Keynote Speaker: Hon. Curtis King, Minister of Education and National Reconciliation, Ministry of [image]Education and National Reconciliation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Honourable Curtis M. King is a Vincentian by birth. He received his early education at the Belair Government School, the St. Vincent Grammar School, the St. Vincent Teachers Training College and the Commonwealth Caribbean Youth Centre in Georgetown, Guyana. He taught for 13 years (1983-1996) at the Gomea Methodist and CW Prescod Primary Schools before attending the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. He graduated from UWI in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, in History with honours. Mr. King also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Educational Management and Leadership from the University of Technology of Jamaica.

Upon his return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mr. King was assigned to the St. Vincent Grammar School as Graduate History Teacher. He later served as Deputy Principal (Ag.) of the JP Eustace Memorial Secondary School and the West St. George Secondary School. In 2010 Mr. King was appointed Deputy Headmaster of the St. Vincent Grammar School. A post he held until 2013 when he was finally elevated to the position of Headmaster of his beloved alma mater, the St. Vincent Grammar School. He held the post until his retirement from the public service on 24th January, 2019.

Mr. King’s period of administration at the St. Vincent Grammar School witnessed significant strides in academic, sports and extra –curricular activities. The School recorded an average pass rate St Vincent and the Grenadines of just over 92% at the annual CXC-CSEC Examinations and won all of the annual Inter-Secondary School Athletics, Table Tennis and U-15 Cricket competitions during that period. New initiatives included the introduction of an Annual Year Book, a Student Management Information System and the annual participation in the prestigious Penn Relays in the U.S.A. The re-introduction of the School’s ‘Old Boys’ (Past Students’) Day has allowed for greater interaction with and support from the School’s past students both at home and abroad.

Mr. King has always brought a high level of energy and enthusiasm to his work. Throughout his early years, he was an active youth leader and participated in numerous regional and international youth meetings and conferences throughout the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia. He served as president of several organizations including the Top Belair Progressive Organization, the National Youth Council of SVG, the Caribbean Federation of Youth, The Secondary Schools History Teachers Association and the Teachers Co-operative Credit Union. Mr. King is a tireless worker in the promotion of Local History, reparatory justice for Slavery, Credit Unionism and Youth and Community Development. He has received many awards and plaques of appreciation and recognition from several organizations at home and abroad for his work in education, youth and community development.

Those organizations that have honoured Mr. King include the Top Belair Organization, Men’s Ministry of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Fountain, National Youth Council, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Association of Principals of Secondary schools and Technical institutes, Caribbean Federation of Youth, Caribbean Association of Principals of Secondary Schools and Vincy Cares, a non-profit organization in the USA.

Mr. King is married to Suzette Abbott-King with whom he has 3 children, Mandela, Mikaela, and Mbeki

Mrs. María Claudia Camacho, Chief of the Labor and Employment Section, Department of Human Development, Education, SEDI/OAS.

Mr. King is married to Suzette Abbott-King with whom he has 3 children, Mandela, Mikaela, and Mbeki

Mrs. María Claudia Camacho, Chief of the Labor and Employment Section, Department of Human Development, Education, SEDI/OAS.

[image: Maria Claudia Camacho]Maria Claudia Camacho is Chief of the Labor and Employment Section at the Department of Human Development, Education and Employment in the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI), where she coordinates OAS actions to set priorities and develop regional action plans in favor of more and better jobs in the Americas.

She is a lawyer and economist from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, holds a Master’s in International Development from George Washington University and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University.

In her more than 20 years of professional experience, she has worked with practically all the governments in the Americas, multiple trade union organizations and business associations in strategies to promote employment and protect labor rights. She is a specialist in development and employment issues, particularly youth employment, active labor market policies, gender equity, and, recently, the future of work. She has been a consultant for the World Bank and UNDP and worked with the Government of Colombia in its agenda for social inclusion.

Sr. Andrés Espejo, Oficial de Asuntos Económicos, División de Desarrollo Social, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL)

[image]Andrés Espejo es oficial de asuntos económicos de la División de Desarrollo Social de la CEPAL, donde coordina el área de inclusión laboral. Es sociólogo, y cuenta con Maestría en Política Social en la London School of Economics, y Maestría en Economía Aplicada en ILADES/Georgetown University. Durante su carrera profesional se ha desempeñado como funcionario y consultor en diferentes organismos internacionales, entre los que destaca la OIT, UNESCO y la FAO.

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