Today's conference in San Jose, Costa Rica brought together representatives from a variety of organizations, all with a vested interest in improving the teaching profession. Maria Eugenia Paniagua, Secretary General of CECC/SICA, Jose Luis Guzman, Director of PREAL's Central American Working Group on the Teaching Profession, and Marcela Gajardo, Co-Director of PREAL, each contributed to the opening statement for the day with some background information about the organizations they represent, in addition to some of the challenges they see in improving education in Costa Rica. Paz Portales of UNESCO gave the first presentation of the day, discussing the activities of UNESCO's various regional offices and the potential for cooperation within the region. Beatrice Avalos of CIAE then discussed the need to regulations for teacher training institutions, in addition to other necessary features of policy reform. After a break for lunch, a panel featuring Dr. Yolanda Rojas, Jesus Ugalde, and Maria Eugenia Venegas stirred discussion about such topics as the need for standardization of a target teacher profile to recruit quality professionals, external factors that can complicate the role of teachers in Central America, recognition of the the education systems within the context of a quickly globalizing world, and the constant need for engagement from civil society in demanding policy reform. Jose Luis Guzman provided closing statements with several graphs indicating consistent insufficiencies of Central American education achievements. He stressed that although Central America is nearing universal education, the focus needs to be on the quality of education, warranting a shift from "education for all" to "learning for all."

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