We are very pleased to welcome you to this edition of our bimonthly newsletter.

Many things have happened since the integration of the initial team of Via Education. The number of projects, their scope and influence has increased, and an extraordinary team of researchers has been consolidated.

Currently, Via Education develops various lines of action aimed to achieve sustainable social development, within which are included: evaluation of educational programs, consulting local development agencies and NGO’s, development of social responsibility programs, developing models of social enterprises, and education for democratic citizenship (EDC) programs.

In this edition of the newsletter we want to share with you some of our learnings in research projects related to education for democratic citizenship, such as the Civic Education Project and Ethics, implemented in conjunction with PhD. Sylvia Schmelkes of the Universidad Iberoamericana and directed by Fernando Reimers from Harvard University, involving over 120 teachers of Civics and Ethics in the states of Nuevo Leon and Guerrero in Mexico, the program “Learning to Participate Participating” with citizens councils in public schools associated to the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) at Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico; the research of Democratic competences in highly marginalized contexts in schools in Chiapas, Durango and Nuevo Leon, comparing the implementation of the Methodology for Citizen Participation in communities of high, medium and low marginalization, and the Community Development through the Participation, a project in the ward "El Realito" in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, in conjunction with a citizen council and alumni from the Council of Actions for Mexico (Consejo de Aciones por México) from Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Additionally, another very valuable learning for the team was their participation -representing Mexico- in the Hemispheric Course for the Evaluation of Policies And Programs in Education for Democratic Citizenship, developed by the OAS with a special team of advisors and specialists in education, and with more than 20 countries represented. This meeting has also helped to foster a series of international initiatives that are tangible for Via Education.

There is still a long way to walk trough, and we are ready to continue working on achieving our mission.

We appreciate your support and look forward to hear from your ideas for collaboration.

Via Education.