A delegation from the Office of the Mayor of the City of Oakland, California, visited Venezuela to learn more about advances made in education. The members of the delegation met with the Mayor of Ocumare, a village on the Caribbean coast, and visited the Bolivarian University of Venezuela, an institution of higher education created in 2003 as an alternative to traditional Venezuelan universities.

Kitty Kelly Epstein, a member of the delegation, highlighted Oakland’s interests in the inclusive educational initiatives being developed in Venezuela, saying that they “deserved to be studied and incorporated in our society and in our communities.”

Epstein claimed that the visit also sought to strengthen links between both countries and pave the way for continuous exchanges of knowledge and practices.

Another member of the delegation, Nyeisha Duel, highlighted the enthusiasm of the Venezuelan people for the new participative models in the country. She also remarked on the work developed in communities and the satisfaction of the people benefiting from the educational achievements.

Press and Communications Office of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the U.S./August 5, 2010