From April 11th to 13th in Panama, professionals from 9 Latin American countries and international experts gathered to participate in the workshop “Strengthening Teacher Capacities in Food and Nutritional Education for Better Nutrition.”
The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme, the FAO Representation in Panama, and the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) of Panama.
The objective is to promote teacher training and strengthen local capacities to scale up nationally in the planning and implementation of projects and actions in favor of food and nutritional education (FNE), within the scope of school feeding programmes and the school curriculum in the participating countries.
The activity involved experts from the Brazil-FAO Cooperation and tutors from the countries involved in this process, including Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Representatives from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE) and the National Fund for Educational Development of the Ministry of Education (FNDE/MEC) also participated.
From Panama, teams from the MEDUCA took part, specifically from the National Directorate of School Health and Nutrition, the Directorate of International Cooperation, the National Curriculum Directorate, and teachers coordinating grades or subjects related to food and school health. Representatives from other ministries and sectors related to food, nutrition, and school health also participated.
The mission of the workshop was to facilitate the exchange of experiences and best practices from the region through the interventions of international speakers, develop capacities and knowledge of tutors and teachers in nutrition, food, and healthy environments, and strengthen the methodology of Sustainable Schools, developed by the Brazil-FAO Cooperation.
