On 28th to 30th November in Bogota, Colombia, the Latin American Regional Conference on Artistic Education, "Toward Quality Artistic Education: Challenges and Opportunities", brought together for the first time government experts on cultural and educational policies from around the region. Organized by the Colombian Ministries of Education and of Culture with the cooperation of the UNESCO Regional Office of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean, the meeting was a preparatory event for the UNESCO World Summit on Art and Education to take place in Lisbon in March 2006. The conference aimed to create new channels of communication between the cultural and educational sectors, and to encourage member states to promote artistic education in the elementary and secondary education systems. As well, the conference aimed to identify the national policies implemented by Latin American and Caribbean countries, in order to promote information exchange about new experiences and good practice in the development of arts programs in and out of the school system. As a consequence of the Regional Conference, a number of recommendations will be taken forward to the World Summit of Lisbon, in order to promote artistic education as a fundamental component of public policy supporting cultural and social development. For more information (in Spanish), CLICK HERE.