- 37 - DECLARATION OF MEXICO We, the Ministers of Education of the member nations of the Organization of American States, gathered together in Mexico City on August 11 to 13, 2003, for the Third Meeting of Ministers of Education, after considering different proposals and varied arguments, resolve the following declaration: 1. We are committed to attaining the education goals of the Summits of the Americas, namely: “promoting the principles of equity, quality, relevance, and efficiency at all levels of the education system; ensuring, by 2010, universal access to and completion of quality primary education for all children and to quality secondary education for at least 75 percent of young people, with increasing graduation rates and lifelong learning opportunities for the general population; and eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005.” 2. We call on the different sectors engaged in educational activities so we can jointly promote a movement in the hemisphere that will ensure that education is the central priority of development for all sectors over the coming decades, thus creating an authentic alliance of the Americas in favor of education. 3. We have assumed the commitment of educating the present and future generations to ensure they are able to participate in a globalized environment and to construct a hemisphere in which no child is left behind. 4. We are aware of the challenges educators face due to increasing poverty among our populations and the everyday violence of our cities, together with the destabilizing international events that have occurred during the slightly more than two years since the Third Summit of the Americas. 5. We recognize the need to make education one of the tools of development to achieve greater social equality and to overcome poverty. We affirm the need to make sure that the economic development policies adopted by the countries of the hemisphere support their public education policies. 6. We hold that our societies will fully achieve their cultural, economic, and political development by placing top priority on expenditure and investment in quality education of all kinds, levels, and modalities, in scientific research, in technological development, and in disseminating and preserving the cultural diversity that is a source of wealth and inspiration for our societies and their education programs. 7. We assume our responsibility of consolidating an education system that is committed to democracy as a way of life, to social justice free of exceptions, and to respect for basic freedoms and individual dignity, avoiding all discrimination and intolerance. We therefore appreciate the statements made at our meeting by the organizations of civil society and indigenous communities. Collaboration among all sectors of our societies is crucial in attaining our goals.