[van-announce] December Teachers Tour to Cuba!

[Cuba Education Tours]

16 October 2006

Dear Educator,

Greetings from Cuba Education Tours!

We cordially invite you to join us in Havana from 26 December 2006 through 2 January 2007 to examine the Cuban education system, meet its people, and enjoy their culture. 

This one-week program is designed for teachers (and their spouses) who want to get to know the country and who may be considering taking their students to the island in the future. (Don't hesitate to share this invitation with your colleagues.)

A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE

Cuba's achievements in the field of education have been widely recognized by both critics and supporters of the Revolution. Since 1959, support for education at all levels -- pre-school, primary, secondary, post-secondary, and adult -- has been one of the highest priorities of the government.

Cuba's education record is outstanding and can be attributed to a number of factors, including: the continuity in its education strategies; sustained high levels of investments in education; and a comprehensive and carefully structured system. Some of Cuba's accomplishments include:

* Universal school enrollment and attendance.

* A 98% adult literacy rate.

* A strong scientific training base, particularly in chemistry and medicine.

* A free and fully funded system from pre-school through university.

* Consistent pedagogical quality across widely dispersed classrooms.

* Low student to teacher classroom ratio.

* Equality of basic educational opportunity, even in rural and urban impoverished areas.

* More women have access to higher education and are enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Cuba than in any other nation in the Americas.

* A 1998 UNESCO assessment of educational achievement in Latin America rated Cuban students far above their peers in the region in math, science, and literacy.

DECEMBER TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

* Meet with leaders and members of Cuban Teacher's Union for a professional exchange educational concepts and methods.

* Exclusive meeting world-renowned architect Dr Mario Coyula Cowley at the headquarters of Group for the Group for the Integral Development of the Capitol. His facility features an amazing scale model of the city used for rational urban planning.

* Private presentation in the Aula Magna reception hall at University of Havana (founded in 1728) with its historian, Dr Delio Carreras. Carreras has hosted world leaders such as Hugo Chavez, Pope John Paul II and Jimmy Carter. 

* Experience Cuba's rich artistic heritage: enjoy a private luncheon hosted by José Fuster, one of island's most important ceramists and painters, at his whimsical home studio. Fuster began his artistic career at the age of 14, when he went to the mountains to teach in the 1961 Literacy Campaign.
	
* Explore the region of Viñales Valley, containing some of the most spectacular geological formations in the Caribbean. We'll meet with tobacco farmers and visit the ruins of an ancient coffee plantation.

* Become familiar with the history and culture of Cuba's active Afro-Cuban religion through community, museum and church visits.

* Celebrate New Years with your North American and Cuban colleagues in one of the world's liveliest capitols.

* Learn to dance to Salsa, Son, Rumba and other popular Cuban rhythms and much more...

Please visit our tour website for more information and costs details at http://www.hellocuba.ca

Registration deadline is Wednesday 1 November 2006. We look forward to welcoming you aboard!

Marcel Hatch
Education Coordinator
Cuba Education Tours
708 - 207 West Hastings Street
Vancouver BC V6B 1H7 Canada

604-874-9048 Tel
604-874-9041 Fax

marcel at hellocuba.ca Email
www.hellocuba.ca Web

* B.C. Travelers Assurance Fund Registration No. 34338
* Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) No. 11338
* IATA Travel Industry Designator Service (TIDS) No. 96520852
* Communications, Energy and Paper Workers Union, CEP Local 2000, Unit 46
* Member: Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC)
* Official travel agency for the World Peace Forum Society 2006 Vancouver
* Friends and supporters of the Vancouver Internationalist Bolivarian Circle